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"

[Theos Gullivarth Bass drake, preferably darkest possible scales]

[Lúg'hir Vicarium Soprano draine, preferably red scales]

[Roccan'hir Vicarium Tenor humanoid, preferably elf]

Lúg'hir Vicarium Give strength our wings that they won't falter.

Watch over our dive that we may fly true.

Guide us where the dark shadows gather

To strike down the source from where evil grew!

Theos Gullivarth Doubt not the strength nor skill of your strike

Delivered through claw or steel alike!

Throughout your being my strength pervade

And has yet ere you asked my aid!

Never shall waiver my love for you,

For this love I share is pure and true.

In this hour when darkness grew

Trust my love will see you through!

Roccan'hir Vicarium Shield us from this greatest of foes

Deliver us from those who seek our doom.

Protect us from hex and mortal blows

From this frightful thing that in shadows loom.

Theos Gullivarth Fear not those that only harm what must fade

Their substance won't last, their strength unmade.

Yet should you fall, I still shall guide

And bring you to the sacred bide

Never shall waiver my love for you,

For this love I bare is pure and true.

Even now when death does woo

Trust my love will see you through

Lúg'hir Vicarium Let not our blood be spilled in vain

Guard those we protect at such costly trade!

Roccan'hir Vicarium I beg heed our fear, our loss, our pain

Sacrifices gifted and yet to be made.

Theos Gullivarth Belittle not what your value be

Ere your first breath you've belonged to me!

I feel your pain as if my own,

In fear and loss, you're not alone!

Never shall waiver my love for you,

This love I declare is pure and true.

Dwell upon and always do

Trust my love will see you through

Lúgroccae choir Where you may lead, there we will follow

We will commit to what you now say!

Don't ever slip this love so hallow

Guide us now forth; So, come what may!

Theos Gullivarth Never shall waiver my love for you,

For this love I share is pure and true.

Now be sure and always knew

It's enough to see you through

"

Oldest know transcript of "Battle Prayer of the Lúgroccae" [the first major song in the movement "The Darkest Hour"] from the opera "The Shadow War Epic".

[Added side note: Though the various volumes of 'Witnesses of the Light' have always been a dubious source of information, it does mention a prayer with a similar content which is attributed to the Dragonriders at the time of the Last Stand at Juinkarr. However, it is written in such a way to fit with the views held by the Alliance of the early Second Age. Most notably, the prayer is directed at the Light instead of Gullivarth who is never mentioned in any of their transcripts after the end of the First Dark Age.]

***

The dark storm clouds hung thick and low overhead, obscuring the surrounding mountain tops completely from view. A last ray of golden sunshine found its way through a gap between the horizon and the ominous clouds, shining a forlorn beam on the seemingly small patch of shattered buildings where the ruins were huddled in the deeper parts of the valley as if frightened of the threatening storm.

"Strange," Audenier commented, the blue drake looking up at the dangerous clouds as he spoke more to alleviate the oppressive silence. "Storms usually blow in from the west, not the east like this!"

The councils of all six towers of magic were clustered together on the eastern gatehouse of the innermost wall, staring out nervously at the rolling clouds that crept unstoppable across the sky. Though the full strength of the storm was still some hours away, the strength it already threatened still terrified those waiting for the approaching catastrophe. Then, as if it was a sign of doom, the last of the light faded from view as the sun was enveloped by the clouds.

"I've seen some weather blow in from the east," Gharavhan stated dismissively, but then he yelped as well as a distant thunderbolt flashed before them. "But never anything with such strength. Storms this strong usually comes from across the south-eastern ocean..."

"I think that is why the two-legs called it the Ocean of Storms," Lekreh commented dryly, smirking wryly at Glenn when his rider scolded him over the strange bond they shared.

"Can you not feel the Mana within this storm?" Councillor Alund hissed worriedly, the equine looking over at the dragons next to him. "There is nothing natural about this storm."

"Whoever is behind this is truly powerful indeed!" Archmagus Vicia agreed worriedly. "For once, I fear the stories regarding the Age of Legends were underrated!"

"I did not think the northern orcs were still that sensitive to sunlight," Aerhin stated calmly, though small twitches of his fingers around the handle of his sabre betrayed his nerves to those who knew where to look. "The southern orcs tribes had not shown any aversion to it."

"They are not!" Archmagus Fidesu stated firmly. "They hadn't been allergic to the natural forces since the middle of the Golden Age at least. I think this storm is more a show of strength meant to intimidate as well as to make our fight as difficult as possible."

"Well, it is working!" Jerielle admitted with a nervous snap of her jaws eastward.

"What do you mean with 'make the fight for us difficult'?" Gharavhan asked curiously, the old brown drake turning to regard the black steer dressed in green.

"I would guess that it is more difficult to fight with the wind and rain constantly in your face," Farriha quickly stated.

"What wind?" Gharavhan rumbled confused. "I don't feel anything."

"You soon will!" Farriha stated confidently.

"I doubt it," a punitive doe dressed in the most brilliant white the draine had ever seen, suddenly piped up. When everyone turned to frown at her, she waved a small hand up towards the Citadel where the largest black dragon sat perched at the very top. "That guardian of yours has been actively countering the storm here on ground level for us for a while now!"

"How can you tell?" Farriha asked confused and the doe simply pointed to a distant patch of Yellowwoods trees. They were lower down the slope and quite a bit more east than their furthest defences, but they still swayed with such momentum in the stormy wind that it was a miracle that several hadn't been snapped in two yet.

"I thought he said he will not get involved," Charl commented confused, but still happy that the strong wind wasn't blowing them off the wall right now.

"He said he cannot fight the demon personally, but that he will assist us wherever possible!" Gahntuar reminded him.

"Some good news, I guess," Edward commented dryly. He was however interrupted by a dragon who practically crash-landed next to them in her hurry to reach them.

"Banners!" the honey colour draine announced even as she trotted to a stop. "Approaching from the west!"

"Thank Nixoruma!" Merec breathed a sigh of relief, turning to the new arrival. "The equines arrived just in time!" He was about to ask her if she had an idea of how many there were, but his mood dropped when he noticed the frantic mannerisms of the dragon. She was a veteran of the Echoren, one of the few who had lost her rider yet decided to remain with them, so it had to be something serious to have her this worried.

"It is not the equines, sir!" the draine confirmed his fears. "They march under the Flames of the Light!"

Gahntuar swore loudly at that. "What is the Alliance doing here?" he snapped as he crouched to let Merec up.

"We cannot fight a war on both fronts!" Merec hissed, feeling almost betrayed as he started to link himself in. "Farriha! Go find Roccan'gon Celine on the southern flank and get two squads from her. Meet us up with us again at the western gate!"

"Yes, sir!" the olive-green draine snapped quickly, leaping into the air just as Merec signalled to his dragon that he was secured. Gahntuar whirled about and was about to take to the sky as well, even though the rest of the Lúgroccan council was still strapping in. But then a gentle but firm hand on his foreleg stopped him.

"Can I ask you for a lift?" Archmagus Vicia asked a little awkwardly. "It will take us too long to get to the western gate ourselves."

Gahntuar growled annoyed and shared a quick look with his rider. The Amber Archmagus squirmed nervously as the two of them considered her request over the link. The strange soulbond they shared defied any explanation or logic, and it made all of the Magi Councils extremely uncomfortable.

"Get on quickly!" Gahntuar huffed as he crouched back down again. "But I won't be able to take another..."

"You'll have to hold onto me tightly!" Merec commented, sounding equally annoyed with the sudden request as he was influenced by the dragon's reluctance through the bond. "Gahntuar will fly as carefully as he can, but without a harness, there is always the possibility that you can fall..."

"I understand the risks," Vicia commented quickly as she scrambled awkwardly up onto the dragon's back and sat right behind the human.

Merec suddenly felt a glow of amusement from Gahntuar and when he looked, he had to suppress a chuckle himself at the looks of apprehension from the other Archmagi. The anxious stare coming from the black stallion who was the Coral Archmagus alone actually made the wolf's request worth it. When the Lúg'hir crouched, the rest of the dragons followed suit to take on an Archmagus each, though Jerielle said something very unflattering in draconic as the unpopular black stallion climbed up behind Aerhin.

It was a short flight to the still broken gate on their western perimeter, where the Lúgroccae had initially tried to hide from the world. They approached it with caution though, landing around the corner and marching briskly up the broken road to stand next to their old hideaway in the crumbling gatehouse.

"Any ideas?" Audenier growled nervously as they saw the long line of soldiers, clad in what used to be brilliant white tunics march determinedly towards them. They were still a long way off, walking bend against the powerful wind from the east.

"Not a damned one!" Merec snapped before suddenly remembering their resident divine. "Where's our scaled patron?"

"Not sure," Gahntuar admitted, glancing around as if hoping to see him coming. "Probably has his claws full dealing with Quattor...?"

"Maybe we can step aside and let the Alliance and the shadowlands wipe each other out?" Audenier suggested hopefully as their passengers started to dismount. Out on the mountain pass, the lead units of the Alliance suddenly passed into the protective sphere of Gullivarth's protection, and they nearly fell over as the wind against them died down. The commanders at the very front of the army looked around in complete surprise, before seemingly shrugging it off and marching ahead at an even brisker pace.

"I doubt that will..." Gharavhan started to grumble when Merec suddenly interrupted him with an astounded gasp.

"Is that ... Adulsworth in front of them?" the Roccan'hir asked astounded.

"How can you tell individuals apart at this distance without augmented..." Fidesu started to ask, squinting at the still far group. But then the Green Archmagus rounded on Merec sharply as he stared at the human, then up at the dragon before turning back to the human again in absolute shock. "Wait, that bond of yours includes sight as well?"

"It is mostly an emotional and sensory exchange at the moment, with here and there a vague thought coming through... though we are told that at some stage it will be so powerful that we can have intelligent discussions with each other over it. Even share memories if we were so inclined!" Edward smirked without looking back at the steer. The Lúgroccae had initially wondered if they should keep the full extent of the bond a secret but eventually decided against it as Gullivarth gifted it so flashy to them in the first place.

"It's adventitious to look at things differently," Gahntuar admitted, looking up as Farriha swooped in overhead to land on the broken roof of the gatehouse where they had been staying. Ten more dragons and riders followed her in, with twice as many gryphons following them as they landed on outcroppings and buildings with two dragons even stationing themselves on the guardhouse on the far side of the river. Gahntuar looked about and nodded with satisfaction at Farriha. Though this welcoming party was nowhere near strong enough to pose a real threat to the approaching army, it did suggest that these ruins were better guarded than they truly were.

"We have always known my eyesight is stronger and sharper than Merec's, but it was a shock to me to see the depth of colour he can see!" the Lúg'hir completed his earlier statement nonchalantly as they watched the Alliance march on undeterred. Still, a twitch in his haunch betrayed the nerves he felt at the approach of the unwelcome guests.

And he was not the only one on edge. As the first soldiers started to come into shouting distance, the archmagi started to form various Manashapes in the hopes of being sufficiently impressive to discourage the Alliance from getting closer. Though they held their spells in reserve, several of the dragons were less covert about their intentions as they growled lowly, crouching to the ground in preparation to pounce.

"That is far enough!" Merec suddenly challenged the approaching army, augmenting the strength of his voice with a quick Shape. To the surprise of the vanguard of dragons, the entire army came to a halt. Adulsworth turned around to quickly converse with a few other Alliance members next to him, making a show of drawing his sword and handing it to another before he and a few more started walking up to them again.

"You got to be kidding me," Edward growled in shock.

"Lúg'hir, sir!" Gharavhan yelped in shock when Gahntuar started to walk forward as well to meet up with them.

"Do you expect us to wait around here until they step up to the gate itself?" Merec called over his shoulder as he followed his dragon without hesitation. Edward managed a quick curse before the other council members started to follow their leaders.

The walk was quick and in no time, the two opposing leaders were standing mere meters from one another.

"So, the rumours are true then?" Adulsworth announced in a form of a greeting. "I see you have taken possession of Juinkarr!" The human looked around a bit, his eyes scanning expertly over the various clumps of dragons who were waiting on roofs and ledges for the order to attack. Yet, despite the dangerous atmosphere around them, he sounded genuinely impressed with what he was seeing.

"Not our first choice," Merec greeted him equally bluntly, "but such has been our history since our founding, it seems."

"What are you doing here?" Gahntuar growled instead, not in the least in the mood for fake small talk. He did, however, smirk a little satisfied with himself as the other nine Alliance members with Adulsworth stepped back in shock when the dragon spoke.

"We have received credible reports that you are making a stand here against the Shadowlands," Adulsworth stated unperturbed, though he did raise a questioning eyebrow at his fellow Alliance members' reaction. "As the Alliance of Light, it is our duty to fight against the shadow, wherever that may be! And as such, we have come to join this fight."

"You're joking right?" Audenier growled astounded, leaning in to show his teeth at the human in white.

"Let us get this straight," Charl agreed with his steed, folding his arms indignantly. "After a decade of persecuting us, you expect us to not only allow you to waltz in here unopposed but to welcome you with open arms? As some kind of saviours?"

"I admit that we had a... troubling history," Adulsworth admitted with an awkward cough, "one that could have been better had... different choices been made. But we have fought alongside one another barely two months ago in the Ealyndore forest, had we not?"

"Yes, and they barely a month later you go and stab us in the back, as you civil species would say!" Gharavhan hissed. The deep brown drake Adulsworth had never met before punctuated his displeasure with the present company with the usual nip in their direction, causing all ten Alliance members to flinch back.

"We never...!" Adulsworth insisted as he held up a hand to order his men to stand down as they grabbed at their weapons.

"A month after we stood together on the Echoren to save the elvan army," Gahntuar snapped equally angry as he interrupted the human, "a detachment of the Alliance stalked and attacked a small group of raw recruits busy with basic survival training on the northern fringes of the Gulmore plains, which was completely out of your way. The Lúgroccae pair in charge of them were killed outright, leaving young, poorly trained dragons with barely broken-in riders on their own!"

"Broken-in riders are those who stop getting airsick," Merec commented dryly when Adulsworth gave him a questioning look. "You can go ask the gryphons about that!"

"That is..." a heavyset human with a thick, bushy moustache started to argue, but Adulsworth interrupted him before he could work himself up too much.

"Brigadier Steele!" Adulsworth snapped furiously at the man next to him, only turning back to the Lúg'hir when he was sure his subordinate would be behaving. "This is news to me!" he stated determinedly. "But I assure you that we will launch a thorough investigation and bring those responsible to justice once..."

"You can't!" the brown drake's lupine rider growled irritably.

"What ...?" Adulsworth started to ask when the brown drake growled ominously.

"The younglings decided to find justice themselves," Gharavhan hissed, raising his crest in a challenge. "They followed that group of yours back to the village where they stayed. And when those responsible were not handed over, they took overly drastic action ..."

"That is a lie!" the human brigadier snapped again.

"No, I can assure you that they burned Kantmere to the ground!" Aerhin stated softly, but visibly angry. "We had to exile them to the closest thing we have to a prison at a time when we could ill afford their loss!"

"No!" Steele snapped equally ferociously as he jabbed a finger at the elf, only to jump back in shock when the elf's red draine snarled at him. "It is a lie that ...!"

"Enough, Brigadier Steele!" Adulsworth snapped indignantly, first rounding on the human and then the angry draine as well. "We will investigate this as we do any other accusation against our members. Even if they are already slain!" Still glowering, he turned to Merec and Gahntuar. "Now," he hissed, "in Ealyndore you demanded of me the chance to prove yourself. I now ask the same of you!"

That took the winds completely out of their sails. They stared in surprise at the Alliance commander before glancing at each other unsurely.

"You make a valid point," Merec started to say, turning back to Adulsworth, "but unlike then, we cannot afford..."

Merec never managed to complete his excuse, as he was interrupted by the arrival of the biggest damn dragon Adulsworth had ever heard of. The ground seemed to shake as the big black dragon landed just behind the Lúgroccan council.

"What in the name of the Light!" the tiger brigadier growled worriedly as the monster of a dragon turned to look at them with a dangerous light in his eyes.

"Ah, welcome, General Adulsworth!" the massive dragon rumbled joyfully, speaking in a flawless common. "Thank you for coming to us on such short notice and with great speed as well. Your arrival is most welcome..." The last part he growled reprimanding, turning to glare an evil eye at the entire Lúgroccan council, who for all their bravado just now quickly submitted to him with bowed heads and flat crests. "But time is short. I fear that we may have only hours to make final preparations before the first strike from Barathrum's Commissioner falls on us!"

"But sir!" the Lúg'hir, who was the only dragon not to be bowing in respect at this enormous drake, appealed like an undisciplined lieutenant. "How can we trust those who see all that we do as nothing but evil?"

"We are in no position to turn away any aid!" the big drake rumbled, sounding like a disappointed parent as he turned to regard the Lúg'hir. At that moment, it struck Adulsworth how similar the two dragons were. But then, the bigger dragon stated something that confounded his understanding of the world once more.

"I have begged the Light for their services and I will not have anyone turn them away!"

"Sorry, but who are you?" Adulsworth asked stunned.

"I'm many things," the big dragon replied, turning back to the Alliance delegation, "but you know me best as Gullivarth!"

At the mention of his name, the little clump of soldiers quickly clustered together even tighter, standing on guard with their spears pointed at the menacing creature.

"The Black King?" Brigadier Steele hissed as he drew his sword.

"Quite," Gullivarth sighed, equally unimpressed with the display from the Alliance as he was with the reaction from the Lúgroccae. As Steele's blade slipped from its scabbard, the dragon Theos disarmed them with a sharp look, numbing the fingers of the leaders to the point where they couldn't hold their weapons anymore. "But now, I'm Theos Gullivarth, servant of the Light and charged to guide and assist the Lúgroccae in this fight against Quattor."

"Quattor... who...?" Aurrin growled, the tiger brigadier eying his fallen weapon before turning to make sure the guards still held their spears securely. For some reason, the big dragon only affected the five commanders.

"Quattor," Gullivarth repeated patiently. "The fourth-ranked of the original seven Gatekeepers, or as you know them, the Demon Council of Barathrum."

"Wait!" Adulsworth retorted, obviously second-guessing his own convictions now as he scowled at Gullivarth before turning a betrayed glare at Gahntuar and Merec and he rubbed his numbed hand. "Gullivarth the Black is infamous as one of the most ruthless and feared leaders of the Shadowspawn army during the Dark Age. How do we know the Light has sent you here? The Light will not allow anyone into its service without definitive proof!"

"Yes, you would know, wouldn't you?" Gullivarth replied patiently, before lifting a claw up for emphasis. "I believe you recognize the phrase: 'There is no greater proof of whom you follow than the course your actions take. No-one who truly serves the Light will allow deeds of darkness to pollute their lives.'"

Gullivarth failed to hide a knowing smirk as the resolve of the group of Alliance members suddenly waivered when the despised creature quoted flawlessly from their precious Annuals of Light. Even the guards, who were the only ones to be still armed, started to lower their spears in uncertainly.

"But merely speaking words that had been written down is easy as you all know," Gullivarth continued a little victoriously just as Brigadier Steele opened his mouth to state exactly that. "Normally, I will let you witness my actions for yourself and let the Light speak to you directly. But we do not have the luxury of time at the moment, so I will give you this." Gullivarth lowered his head to address Adulsworth directly. "You specifically will recall this: 'The Light will never go out completely, even in the all-encompassing darkness of the Eternal Night!'"

"How did you...?" Adulsworth gasped worriedly, taking an uncertain step back before he could catch himself.

"Just over two weeks ago, you spend your mandatory week of isolation at the old Kentereal capital, seeking an answer to the question if shadowspawn can be servants of the Light as much as any Seleborian can," Gullivarth announced. "I was with you in the Meditation Hall of the Kerrathiene Temple of Light! I was the one who spoke to you when your candle had gone out..."

"You what...?" Steele snapped, a dangerous glint alight in his eyes. "How can you be expected to lead us if you couldn't..."

"The candle going out was a reprimand to him to stop wasting time and report to where he was needed!" Gullivarth snapped, rounding so fast on the human that the guard next to him dropped his spear. "He had received his answer and it was time..."

"Why should we..." Steele interrupted the dragon again, but then he was interrupted with a furious snarl from the dragon.

"IF YOU DO NOT WANT ME TO PROVE MY DIVINE AUTHORITY, THEN WHY DID YOU CHALLANGE IT IN THE FIRST PLACE!" Gullivarth roared as a hint of golden light appeared about his form. "IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO REMAIN QUIET AND LISTEN, YOU WILL NOT SPEAK AGAIN!"

Steele tried to retort again, but then his eyes grew wide as no sound came from him. Again, he tried to speak, to shout, but not even a faint gasp could escape him as he gaped like a fish out of water. Gullivarth glared a moment longer at the annoying human, clearing his nostrils of smoke with a whoosh of breath in the human's face. Then the great dragon turned towards Adulsworth again, taking a deep breath to calm himself again.

"Okay, I..." Adulsworth started to say, but Gullivarth continued as if the general did not speak.

"What I wanted to get at," he stated softly, "was that, with the light having gone out in your Meditation Cell, you had two unlit candles with you. One you returned to the priest at the temple while you kept the other, which is with you even now, carried in your inner pocket to remind you of your duty to the Light."

"Blasphemy..." Aurrin whispered appalled as Adulsworth removed the little candle from his pocket.

"It's a candle!" both Adulsworth and Gullivarth stated annoyed as they turned to glare at the tiger.

"Unless you can prove otherwise, it is a normal candle!" Gullivarth insisted as Adulsworth looked up that the dragon in surprise. "It is not a hallowed object, nor is it sanctified in any way. It is not even the property of the temple anymore once it is given to those who meditate, so General Adulsworth here did not need to return it!" The dragon leaned in towards the tiger to emphasize his next statement. "Go look it up if you survive the coming night!"

"But everyone knows..." the tiger tried to insist, but he was interrupted by another whoosh of smoky air from the dragon.

"'Everyone knows' is the most pathetic proof in existence!" Gullivarth hissed. "I understand that everyone knows I died at the end of the Dark Age, yet here we are, arguing about A BIT OF WAX!"

Aurrin opened his mouth to continue to argue the point, but he could not fault the logic and instead, he turned his gaze away awkwardly.

"The only purposes of the little candles are to give light in the dark of the cell, as all candles do!" Gullivarth announced, glaring challengingly at each Alliance member in turn. "The only added symbolic message it has picked up in the meantime is to remind the devotees that they are dependent on the Light. Not the other way around! And in the case of the General here, it still is doing its job to remind him that he is a servant of the Light and not the one who gets to dictate how the Light should behave!" The dragon Theos glared about the cluster of Alliance members again. When there were no more objections, he huffed annoyed and turned his piercing gaze on Merec and Gahntuar before turning to speak to Adulsworth again.

"Now, can we stop wasting time and get to work?" he hissed annoyed. "I believe you have some important improvements to the defences in mind and there is already barely time to finish everything."

"Very well," Adulsworth replied, gripping his candle tightly before he replaced it in his pocket. "Although, can you please return Brigadier Steele's speech? He may be quite outspoken, but I do require him to lead one of the brigades we arrived with."

Gullivarth turned to glare at the mentioned human before he gave a very rude snort. "Very well," he hissed dismissively, "but if he continues to insult the sanctity of the Light, there will be little I can do to help."

"I never..." Brigadier Steele snapped insulted, but as soon as the sounds left his mouth, he clacked his jaws shut with an audible click.

"Right then, if there isn't anything else...?" Gullivarth challenged those around him before he turned around and started walking back towards Juinkarr again. "Come then, we have much to do and barely any time to do it in!"

***

A deep gloom had settled over the field of battle, with only a soft glow on the western horizon still indicating that it was only afternoon. The dark clouds had now blown in entirely and despite the strong gusts of wind that had brought them here, they seem to have settled in place like black sheep settling down to chew their cuds.

Adulsworth watched in fascination as the five teams of six magi who had initially been held in reserve to patch up the wall during the battle were working on the additional defences Adulsworth had ordered. Closest to him, three lupines cast their magic, excavating another layer of soil from the ditch they were creating and dumping it onto the large pile of dirt being formed on the castle-side of the ditch. The ditch was already waist high and with a satisfied nod, the three Black magi started to climb out of the hole. The lone equine in the ditch was still hard at work, forming loose soil into a complex pattern of spikes and vertical blades that extended from the bottom of the ditch up to the top of the embankment before two vulpines cast the entire structure into a more solid mass. It was not cast completely into stone as it took too much effort for what Adulsworth needed to be done by the small group of magi, but it still resembled something firm enough to it for his purposes.

"Are these spikes really necessary?" Merec asked, sounding more than a little annoyed as he inspected a finished section of the defences. "Wouldn't we achieve more if you only compacted the soil into a simple heap?"

"The abatis, or spikes as you call them, are not as solid as they look!" Adulsworth replied. Though he sounded a little disappointed by the fact, he still nodded in approval as he tested one himself. "To be fair, I'd have preferred proper wooden stakes or even well-constructed Frisian horses, but as you pointed out earlier, we don't have the time or resources to construct those."

"Still, if we drop the decorations, we can dig more of these lines you insisted on!" Archmagus Vicia agreed as she and the other archmagi came walking down the outermost line. "We can maybe even cast these earthworks to proper stone for you."

"Agreed!" Archmagus Eroul agreed with a growl, the tiger obviously not happy with the idea of the spikes either. "I doubt these things will kill anything!"

"They are not weapons, you dim-witted..." Eloff, the lupine brigadier of the Alliance growled, but he quickly caught himself and with a deep breath to calm his nerves, he apologized even before Adulsworth could berate him. "I apologize for my outburst. I'm still tired after the strenuous climb..."

The tiger only growled unsatisfied, but then turned his attention back to inspect the final touches of the earthworks.

"What the brigadier here tried to say," Adulsworth stated calmly, though he did spare an annoyed glare at the wolf who had his ears pinned back in shame, "was that even if we were to cast these spikes into the highest quality steel, they would not kill anything unless there was a stampede in the wrong direction. Nothing, not even the wargs of the orcs would willingly throw themselves onto something sharp like that. No, they are meant to intimidate the opposition and as long as they can keep their shape, they will do their job!" The human general looked about him for a second before glancing back towards Juinkarr's Citadel as if trying to catch a glimpse of Gullivarth again. "And judging by the breeze we can start feeling, this is as far as we can dare to sally out, so anything beyond this point will only be a waste."

"All this is foolishness, I say!" Havold snapped again, the Red Archmagus hitting the ground with the end of a long staff he was carrying. "The walls were created for a reason, why not use them as they were meant to be!"

"The walls are just another line of defence," Adulsworth sighed, talking patiently like a parent explaining something to a child. However, the human's tone only served to infuriate the black stallion even more. "Yes, they serve as a much better defence than these things ever could, but we want to make it difficult for the horde to get to the wall in the first place! We want the attackers already tired by the time they have to scale the real defensive structures."

"We are not going to be manning these things!" the Coral Archmagus insisted, pointing the top end of the staff where a shimmering crystal was embedded between a complex mesh of carved ivory at the ditches.

"We agreed that I am to take overall charge of the defences of Juinkarr!" Adulsworth reminded the stubborn stallion, though an upset snort from Gahntuar revealed that most there was not happy with the decision enforced on them by the great dragon Theos. "Or are you going to continue to try and argue against my experience?"

"These things are not going to hold!" Havold insisted, leaning in threateningly towards the human.

"We know!" Eloff growled exasperated, throwing his earlier restrain to the light wind around them. "They are there to discourage outflanking manoeuvres and warg charges against our flanks while we are out here, and to obstruct the use of any siege towers and ladders against the walls when we eventually fall back to it!"

"Thanks to the difficult mountain pass, we had to leave our entire cavalry and most of our heavy equipment behind!" Adulsworth added equally exasperatedly, not backing down from the challenge by the equine. "Luckily, we do have some advance Field-Ballistae we were able to bring up and our resident Dragonriders can fill in the role for our cav us."

"We are not cavalry!" Merec quickly snapped, sounding as upset at having to take orders from Adulsworth as his dragon. "You can tell us where to strike, but we will decide how we go about it!"

"But you can fulfil the same role I needed from the cavalry if you strike in a certain way!" Adulsworth insisted, turning to stare determinedly at his old foe. "And I'm willing to bet that you'll be doing an even better job of it than mere horses ever can!"

Despite being annoyed with the situation, Gahntuar couldn't help but rumble joyfully at the praise, though the Lúg'hir quickly berated himself when the despised Alliance General smirked victoriously at him.

"Added to protecting our flanks," Adulsworth continued as he turned back to the equine Archmagus, "these ditches and earthworks need to be filled in again before the horde can even start to advance on the walls themselves, which will buy us valuable time for the equines and bovines to arrive!"

"Why didn't you tell us that before?" Eroul suddenly snapped, the tiger Archmagus throwing his hands exasperatedly into the air. "We could have put triggerrunes beneath the earthworks! It would have been an easy additional measure!"

"Triggerrunes?" Adulsworth asked, frowning at the Jet Archmagus. "What are those?"

"Magical traps that go off when they are disturbed," Vicia explained quickly.

"Think big fireballs if you step in the wrong place," Merec added.

Adulsworth stared dumbfounded at them for a moment before his eyes went wide as the military impact of such weapons occurred to him. He swore silently as he turned to regard the prepared defences. "I wish I had known of those earlier!"

"Which is why you have to allow us to make our own decisions!" Merec hissed upset. "You cannot just order us to do something without knowing how we operate! You may have the most military training and experience of all of us, but we understand the intricacies of our fields better than you ever can. So, tell us what needs to be done and why, and we will make it happen!"

"You are right, I apologize!" Adulsworth muttered, still looking out over the prepared field of battle and completely missing the others blinking at him in surprise. His mind raced on how to incorporate the new weapon that had just been added to his arsenal and he ignored the strange growling and hissing the Lúg'hir was making.

"Did an Alliance member just... apologize?" Gahntuar was asking his rider in draconic even though he knew through the bond that the human was as surprised as he was.

"Missing the opportunity with the triggerrunes is on me!" Adulsworth suddenly announced as a thought came to him. "But we don't have time to fix that so we will have to make do. Although... do those triggerrunes need to be covered by anything that needs to be disturbed? I believe Roccan'hir Merec said something about stepping in the wrong place..."

"No, they can be put anywhere and as was pointed out, triggered by simply stepping on them!" Eroul agreed, frowning at the human general. "And once they are placed, it is incredibly difficult to detect them again."

"Can you put some of them randomly between the earthworks?" Adulsworth suddenly asked, failing to hide a dangerous smirk. Then, remembering what Merec said about understanding the various skillsets, he elaborated the orders. "I need the triggerrunes especially towards the attackers' side of the earthworks… I want the orcs to be worried about the ground they stand on while fighting us! But I also need clear space to allow the defenders to move freely as they need to. That includes an open way back to the next defensive line and finally all the way back to the gate."

"I... don't think triggerrunes had ever been used like that, to be honest!" Eroul gasped as he considered the request. "But there is no reason it cannot be done. What traps did you have in mind?"

"What can you give me?" Adulsworth asked, sharing a grin with the lupine brigadier who only glanced worriedly back at his general.

"Quite a lot"! the Black Archmagus replied with a grin. "Fire, ice, lightning, sleep... There are also several curses such as petrification and Fleshbind, but their use is strictly forbidden by the Circle, even against Shadowspawn." When the small group of Alliance members blinked at him in surprise, he elaborated. "If you allow something for one group of creatures, reasons to use it against anyone else will quickly be created. In the end, something that had been forbidden quickly gains acceptable use."

"I think... focus on fire then!" Adulsworth replied thoughtfully, nodding in understanding. "A few ice and lightning traps will be of use too, but I mostly want something very visible, even from a distance and that everyone can fear."

"And how many do you want?" Eroul asked. "My magi are exhausted..."

"As much as possible," Adulsworth replied. "We also don't have much more time, so please focus on the easternmost line and around the road that leads up to the gate. I believe the brunt of the attack will be there."

"It will be done!" the tiger stated, turning to a fox near him to start giving orders.

"This is still madness!" the Coral Archmagus insisted as he watch the two Black magi leave. "I say we stay on the walls!"

"I agree that the magi will be most effective on the walls where that Aether you use for spells is the strongest," Adulsworth stated calmly as he turned back to the equine, "but the horde will have magic users of their own and I need someone able to counter them in the forward defences!"

"The Reds are not going to abandon our positions above the gate!" Havold insisted, smacking the end of the staff he had against the ground again for emphasis. "We will be able to do more to help you when you come running back to the safety of the proper fortifications!"

"I will ask for volunteers to assist you in the forward defences amongst the Yellows," Vicia stated softly, glaring dangerously at the equine. Havold returned the glare momentarily before he grunted something unintelligible beneath his breath and turned around to leave.

"Thank you, Archmagus!" Adulsworth stated just as the wolf also turned to leave. She looked back at the Alliance general with a momentarily surprised expression, before nodding in reply and leaving as well.

"It is interesting to see Bovidae, Ursidae and Tigrae so high up within the Circle," Adulsworth muttered to the two brigadiers with him when he thought they were alone. "Aren't they culturally opposed to magic?"

"I guess it is a personal thing, sir!" Eloff replied, watching the other wolf leave. "Even we still have quite a number from species culturally friendly towards magic, that despite the 'Original Roots' debacle."

"I always thought the Circle of Five was a united front!" Steele added. "I never expected there to be rivalries between the individual towers like this!"

"It is mostly between the Amber and Coral Towers," Merec replied, startling the human momentarily. "I think their roles are too similar. Then again, I guess there are rivalries wherever any form of power is mentioned."

"Not the Alliance!" Adulsworth insisted proudly. "We have a strict ranking order that everyone adheres to!"

"You claim that there is absolutely no rivalry between the various temples?" Merec asked with a disbelieving frown, before pointedly looking over at Brigadier Steele.

"No!" Adulsworth insisted before he hesitated a little. "Well, maybe a little... oh shut up!"

"If simple ditches are such a good addition to defences," Gullivarth asked, failing to hide a smirk at the expense of the Alliance, "why didn't Corrumwhell have them?"

"The town did have one, originally," Eloff stated, glaring up at the dragon in annoyance. "But like most towns of Thendor, they were filled in over time since there was no apparent need to maintain the defences after the end of the Dark Age."

An uncomfortable silence befell them as they watched the Black magi who were still capable of casting, set up the triggerrunes Adulsworth had requested. Nodding in satisfaction, General Adulsworth turned to Brigadier Steele.

"We are about as ready as we can be, given the time we have!" he stated calmly. "Since your division had the most time to rest after the climb up here, I want you to start manning these stations. I will have you relieved by Brigadier Aurrin at the first opportune moment."

"Yes, sir!" the human Brigadier growled, making it clear that he was obeying only out of duty to the Light than true loyalty to the general.

"Why didn't you leave his division behind at our original defences in the Belthean Valley, sir?" Eloff asked with an annoyed grunt as soon as the other human was out of earshot. "Surely, Brigadier Jeuronne would have been a better choice to bring up here!"

"Mostly to keep an eye on him," Adulsworth admitted. "And I trust Brigadier Jeuronne more to handle our original defences should the battle go poorly here!"

There was a far-off warning roar of a dragon, which was quickly picked up first by one and then another before the warning horn by the gate itself finally sounded.

"Looks like we are out of time!" Merec grumbled as Gahntuar crouched for him to climb on. But before he mounted up, he quickly turned to Adulsworth. "How many of your people have arrived already?"

"Not as many as I would have hoped!" Adulsworth admitted as he watched the first brigade take up their positions for the fight. "But they will be enough to weather this first wave, I think."

***

Drums.

The insentient beat of invisible drums was all that could be heard in the failing light as even the faint glow on the western horizon faded into natural night. On the battlefield, several of the magi had enchanted large boulders to glow, lighting up the field somewhat as the gloom of the past few hours gave way to nearly impenetrable darkness.

Then, the first vanguard of the orcs started to appear over a slight rise to the east of Juinkarr. They marched in disciplined unison, approaching the field of battle in orderly blocks that came to a standstill on the crest of a slight rise just before the final descend towards the Shadowlands as they started to mass their forces. The banners of their clans and divisions whipped madly in the strong wind, yet the horde did not seem troubled in the least by the storm at their backs. Indeed, even the flames of their torches did not stir in even the slightest of breezes.

"How many tribes did that..." Adulsworth bit back a crude phrase before he turned to Merec to ask his question in a more civil manner. "... did your informant say they have?"

The Alliance General and the lupine Brigadier he seemed to trust the most stood on the walkway between the barbicans of the innermost gatehouse, watching the horde setting themselves up for the coming battle. The Lúgroccan council was stationed on his one side, while the councils of the Ivory and Nacre Towers were on his other side. The Amber Council had taken up positions above the gatehouse of the second wall along with the Jet Tower's, while the Coral Tower was alone at the very front guarding the outermost gatehouse as they had insisted they would.

"Five tribes!" Merec answered crisply, though he did glare momentarily at the General's degrading attitude. "Around eighty thousand troops in total with various heavy equipment such as catapults, rams and siege towers. It will take time to have them set up, but we shouldn't dismiss those threats. Then there are also some hundred and twenty dragons led by a new Claw-of-the-Master we know nothing about... and twenty or so of something they called 'zajar hundur'. I don't know if those are special units or something, but they don't sound very pleasant. Oh, and the demon himself is also here apparently."

"You really believe there is a demon that survived the Dark Age?" Adulsworth grunted unamused. "And that this creature is here today?"

"Something hunted us for over ten years!" Merec grunted equally unamused. "And that thing has been set against Gahntuar's family ever since he hatched to prevent us from coming to this moment. And our resident divine seems certain he is here as well!" Adulsworth snorted rudely at the mention of Gullivarth as a divine. Merec and Gahntuar glared irritably at the human, but the general was too focused on his forces taking up stations just inside the second wall, with some units taking up positions on the outer wall more as a show of force than to present any real threat at the moment.

"How many troops were you able to bring?" Merec asked, forcing himself not to argue with the Alliance member and instead turn around to watch the Alliance still entering through the western gate.

"Four divisions, twelve thousand men in total!" Adulsworth replied, obviously not happy with the overwhelming difference in numbers. "At least the magi are brilliant at setting up defences quickly, so we should stand a decent chance at warding off any attacks until reinforcements arrive."

"When do you think they will have massed enough of a force to launch their first attack?" the ursine who oversaw the Ivory Tower asked hesitantly.

"They are much too early in my opinion," Adulsworth replied as a momentary flicker of something red caught his attention between the front lines of the orcs. "If I was the Horde overlord, I'd wanted to be ready to attack as soon as the night was over. With the light of the sunrise behind them..."

The human was suddenly interrupted, and a horn sounded from the orc lines as the first units of the orcs let out a bloodcurdling battle cry.

"Oh?" Adulsworth commented surprised. "They're in a hurry..."

Even as the horn sounded, the battle commenced. Orc archers stationed slightly to the north of the field opened the fighting with a series of volleys into the first line of defenders. From this distance, the little pinpricks of light from the fire on their arrows looked impressive as the projectiles arced high into the sky before dropping amidst the closest prepared defences. However, they did not do much damage as the Alliance and the few Yellows between them crouched safely behind the mounds and warded the projectile off with upraised shields. Even where the fire arrows did manage to land beyond the defensive line, the foliage did not burn properly as it was the middle of summer and the grass that survived the digging was still green and healthy.

However, the archers did manage to pin the defenders down and they were unable to return fire or prepare sufficiently for the first wave of attack by the horde. The mass of orcs marched forward menacingly, their pikes lowering into position as they approached the first of the ditches. An order was given, and the horde picked up their speed slightly, though they held their formation as they jogged the final few yards to the ditch.

Then the first triggerrune ignited.

The resulting ball of fire exploded amidst the orcs, scattering those closest to it in all directions. The units adjacent to the first blast faltered momentarily in shock at the unexpected attack, but the mass of attackers was too great to be halted so easily and the horde broke like an ocean wave upon a rocky beach against the first earthwork line.

***

Brigadier Steel swore yet again as another of the orcs' flaming arrows planted itself in the ground close by his foot. Further down the line, one of the Alliance soldiers was not so lucky and the yowl of pain drifted ominously over the crouching defenders. Instinctively, Steele needlessly readjusted his upraised shield in response.

There was a momentary lag in the rain of arrows and the human dared to look about himself. The damage the volleys of arrows were doing had been minimal, but the disunity in which the or archers were firing was keeping his men pinned down very effectively. He dared to try and look over their earthen defences but swore again when a fresh volley of arrows dropped onto them.

"Steady men!" he called out, as much to calm his nerves as to make sure his troops didn't break around him. Not that the volleys of arrows alone would be enough to break their morale, but the unseen sound of approaching doom was more than a little unnerving.

What were those bloody magi the General had stationed amongst his men doing? Why were they not stopping the arrows and giving his people the opportunity to stand their ground properly? He had always made no secret that he did not like those people, but he had to admit that when they managed to get these defences up so effectively, he had been at least a little intrigued with their ability to assist. Now, however, with the arrows falling unchallenged amongst them, it just proved his point that one can never trust those who can conjure up stuff out of thin air or...

His internal rambling was cut short when the first of the triggerrunes ignited close to where he had stationed himself. He cursed and jumped up from his protective crouch.

"Up men, UP!" he roared, shocked to see the first orcs already by the ditch's edge. "Close formation! Hold your ground!"

Luckily for them, the orc archers had stopped firing due to the proximity of their own soldiers and the Alliance managed to offer resistance. However, they still barely got their spears up as the first formation of the horde broke on the embankment. Some of the orc warriors seemed to splash over the earthwork with the sheer momentum of the wave, only to be mostly cut down by determined fighting from the Alliance. An intense madness of close quarter combat ensued and three more triggerrunes ignited in quick succession in other sections of the line.

"Push them back!" Brigadier Steel shouted, rushing over to where the warriors were not overwhelmed quickly enough and additional horde support pushed the Alliance back. "Hold the line! Hold the line! Bowmen, take out their archers!"

A dangerous-looking ribbon of fire whipped in his direction and he managed to avoid it barely. He looked up onto the embankment to see a goblin spell-caster crouching on the very top, with three more quickly scrambling up to join their comrade. The creature yanked its ribbon of fire back, flicking it around to amputate the arm of a young lion who came charging at it before it lashed out at Steele again. The human brigadier managed to get his sword up just in time to parry the magical whip, leaving a nasty nick in the blade of his sword.

Then, just as the goblin pulled back to sling the whip at him again, a dart of ice sailed past the human, hitting the goblin in the neck with enough force to yank it off the embankment and back into the ditch. Three more darts followed in quick succession, taking the goblin's mates out as well just as their own whips formed. Steele whirled around dumbfounded to see a vixen in yellow lead four more magi against the goblins, decimating the surprised goblins with well-aimed spells as they started to come over the earthworks as well.

Steele blinked in surprise to see the magi fight, but the explosion of yet another triggerrune brought him quickly back to the chaos of battle. The triggerrune traps were doing their job surprisingly efficiently, it seemed, and the orcs started to waiver against the relentless defence. But the harsh commands barked by their officers at the back of the mass urged them onward and over the crest of the earthworks again.

"Your enemy is that way!" he heard the far-off caw of an angry phoenix and he manage to catch a glimpse of the bird some thirty yards further off. He swore again when he noticed that the section of the field there started to give way to the relentless press of orcs.

"Good work, men!" he shouted at his men where they were busy pushing the horde back into the ditch even as he started to make his way to the new failing point. "Keep it up and we'll..."

But even as he spoke, the orc arrows started to fall around them again.

***

"Division four is arriving, sir!" a short, heavy set human with dark curly hair announced crisply, but tired as he came to report to Adulsworth. Brigadier Coles turned to regard the distant fight, the explosions of ignited triggerrunes and the flashes of magic as the Yellows and the goblins exchanged spells. The chaos was terrifying to look at, even from across the field of battle. "Looks like you've started the party without us?"

"We would have preferred to wait for you if we could!" Adulsworth smirked, as he regarded the last of the brigadiers to arrive. "Have your men set themselves up between the second and third wall and get a quick rest in. I may be calling on you sooner than I would like!"

"Yes, sir!" Coles saluted his commanding officer and quickly strode away to carry out his orders.

Adulsworth watched him leave only for a short moment before he turned a worried gaze back to the distant battle. The mass of orcs on the distant rise had been steadily increasing even as their comrades were fighting to overwhelm the first line of defences. Speaking of which, the fighting on the first earthwork was intense and the small group of leaders could see even at this distance that some sections of the embankment had already fallen to the horde. But not enough to claim that the shadowlands were winning the fight, however. Brigadier Steele's men were holding their ground superbly and in at least three sections, had started to push the advancing horde back into the ditch.

But then, the tide of war turned ever so slightly again in favour of the shadowlands again as the orc archers, who had repositioned even further north and closer to the river, opened fire on the exposed flanks of the defenders. In no order, the Alliance archers were pinned down again, and the orc archers focused their attention again on the section of the defences where the road ran through.

"I was hoping to keep this back for later," Adulsworth said to Merec after he swore silently again, "but I need some of your dragons to get rid of those archers. Strafing attacks only though, the main orc force is too close, so don't get bogged down in trying to destroy that unit. Chasing them away should do for now."

"Yes, sir!" Merec replied dutifully, albeit a little stiffly. With a flash of Mana, he sent up a small Firedart, a slight addition to the basic Shape turning the fiery projectile a bright green. With no target, the spike of flame shot up as high into the sky as the amount of Mana invested into the shape allowed before it fizzled out.

A blue dart indicated the Battlewing to go out and three smaller white ones at irregular intervals the target area to be hit.

"I have to admit... that form of communication is rather neat!" the lupine brigadier commented as he watched the last of the white spikes fade away.

"Our strategist came up with the idea a while back, and we have used it to great success already," Gahntuar grumbled distractedly as he anxiously watched the groups of wings take to the sky from closer to the Citadel.

"Just one problem though..." the wolf cautioned. "Won't it tell the other side as well what you're going to do?"

"It is a code," Merec stated dismissively as he watched the squad of five dragons-rider pairs, one riderless dragon and ten gryphons fly off towards the nearby cliffs, where they disappeared against the backdrop of basalt. "So, as long as we change it regularly between battles, I don't think it will be a problem. It is the same issue with using battle horns I would think."

"I guess," the lupine brigadier relented, trying to follow the dragons as well but he had lost them against the cliffs already.

"Aren't the orc archers going to hit their own attackers?" Fidesu asked, the bovid Archmagus sounding more than a little stunned at the very idea of friendly fire.

"The aim is to discourage the defenders, not to actually kill as many as possible, so they are focusing on the soldiers at the back," Adulsworth stated calmly, although he fidgeted the pommel of his swords nervously. "But they do hit a wide area, so some friendly fire is always an option!" The human clenched his fist as he noticed the dragon next to him twitching his paws anxiously as well.

"Easy there, big guy," the Alliance general tried to hush the creature he had opposed for years. "I know you want to assist in the fight, but you should trust those Wing-commanders you've assigned to do their job."

"You don't share a soulbond with me, so how can you possibly know what I'm thinking?" Gahntuar growled annoyed, turning to glare at the human and allowing himself a victorious smirk when the Alliance member flinched back slightly.

"A what?" Adulsworth asked stunned for a moment, watching in morbid fascination as Merec reached up to stroke the dragon's neck like soothing a worried pet.

"Easy Gahntuar," Merec whispered. "Everyone can see you're tense."

"We are all tense!" Jerielle retorted. "We lost many good dragons and riders on the banks of the Echoren only a few months ago, and here we are about to lose even more!"

Adulsworth opened his mouth to say something but then thought better of it. Instead, he turned back to the field of battle where the Lúgroccan squad had turned away from the cliff and was approaching their target from behind.

"Such is the way of war, I'm afraid," the Head Councillor of the Ivory Tower replied solemnly, the stag completely oblivious to the death glares he received from the dragons as he watched the battle with an almost detached interest as if he was reading from a book rather than seeing the actual fight.

"Of course, Leronne!" the Nacre Head Councillor agreed sarcastically, the dark mare sharing the dragons' glare at her colleague. "Not everyone can avoid fighting!"

The stag turned to regard the mare with a frown, but Adulsworth stepped forward and in between the two before he could say anything. The human remained silent, however, lifting a spyglass in time to see the first two dragons descend at a great speed into the exposed backs of the archers. As per his orders, they sowed chaos for only a few seconds, giving a few bites in random directions as their riders stabbed seemingly equally random with their lances before they and the four gryphon-knights assigned to their flanks broke away again. But barely had the first pair taken to the wing again when the second pair crashed into the archers from a slightly different angle. There was a flash of fire as some of the archers tried to aim at their attackers, but the attack seemed to have gone wide in their panic.

The second strike-team pulled away again, only for the first to crash into the unit's side once more from a new angle and the archers broke ranks. The orcs screeched in terror as they fled back to the safety of the mass of the horde. The second strike-team turned to harass them as they fled but a quick bark from the squad-leader, who had remained circling overhead to keep a better eye on the action, quickly called them back.

"Umbrin counter attack!" Jerielle suddenly announced, "from the southeast!"

Gahntuar was on his feet in an instant, but the alert squad-leader had noticed the wings approaching them in time. In quick order, the Lúgroccan squad quickly formed up again to confront the twelve new dragons. The two groups met, but the new two-pair teams proved to be much more difficult to overpower than they had been in the forest. Added to that the close cooperation of their gryphon-knight escorts and the Umbrin counterattack did not last long. Three Umbrin dragons fell onto their own attackers before the other Umbrins were forced to retreat as well. For a moment, the Lúgroccae turned to pursue them, but a distant roar from the Battlewing-leader called them back.

"Nicely done!" Eloff gasped as he watched the dragons fight, the Alliance brigadier sounding genuinely impressed with the dragons for once.

Down by the front-line, the Alliance archers finally managed to reposition as they were finally freed up, and they started to target more heavily armoured troops that had been brought up closer to the melee. The orcs crouched down and took cover behind large shields, holding their ground determinedly. However, the initial attack was less disciplined than these units and already started to falter when they couldn't breach the first ditch properly.

"I'll admit, this is going better than I had feared!" Ursiele commented as sections of orcs started to collapse and fall back again. Another tirggerrune ignited, but the magical explosions were going off less and less frequent as the outermost traps were all but exhausted by now.

"The real fight hadn't started yet, I'm afraid!" Adulsworth cautioned, angling his spyglass across the battlefield. "That was only a small excursion to test the strength of our defence, and get us to expend our arrows and those traps the Jet Tower laid for us s. They've sent in the younger, less experienced and less disciplined forces first to soften us up a little in preparation for the real warriors."

As Adulsworth scanned across the battlefield, he swore silently as he noticed a fresh unit of archers take up position again and start to target the Alliance archers once more. Only this time they were supported by a unit of pikemen, so when the Lúgroccan squad already circling overhead turned to scatter them as well, they were less effective in breaking their morale.

"What are those!" Merec suddenly asked, pointing out beyond the unit of orc archers. The pitch of his voice was slightly raised in panic, although outwardly he valiantly tried to remain calm.

Adulsworth turned his spyglass to the indicated area and cursed loudly as a squadron of warg riders appeared in the strange light emitted by the magical lanterns. The dragons saw them too late as well and the monstrous canid creatures crashed into the backs of the strike-team who were unlucky enough to be on the ground at that moment. A desperate fight on the ground ensued and only one dragon and one gryphon managed to escape albeit badly bloodied.

"Warg-riders!" Adulsworth hissed upset, lowering his spyglass not to have to look at the overwhelmed riders being hacked to death.

"When did they get those?" Gahntuar hissed anxiously.

"They've always had them," the ursine Archmagus replied, frowning for a moment at the Lúg'hir before something seemed to register. "I'm guessing you've never encountered them because they couldn't make the long journey to the peninsula, and they are not that effective in the dense trees of the Ealyndore."

Gahntuar glared at her upset before turning his attention back to the battle with a dissatisfied snort as he watched the squad-leader out in the field switch tactics and try to break up the orcish archers with repeated volleys of dragon fire.

"Have Aurrin reinforce the front lines with a fresh division," Adulsworth ordered as he turned to his orderly. "But let Steele know he should continue to hold his position for now. The orcs are eager for a fight and I'm expecting the true attack any moment now. I doubt we will have the time to rotate new troops in."

"Yes, sir!" the orderly snapped to attention before running off to carry out his orders.

"I'd suggest you reinforce your people as well," the general stated to Merec as the young lion rushed off. Merec was about to reply when the centre of the orc battle-line disintegrated. More and more, the less experienced orcs who were part of the initial attack started to fall back as their flanks collapsed. Then, another horn sounded and the heavier orc infantry the Alliance archers had targeted earlier, started to move forward.

"Right," Adulsworth announced, lifting his spyglass again. "This is it then."

***

"This is not good!" Amaren muttered worriedly as he flew over the degrading battlefield. After what felt like hours, the horde had managed to push the Alliance off the first line of earthworks, and it was a mad scramble to fall back to their second line of defence. As such, the entire Lúgroccan force had been called up to assist with the retreat, to try and get some semblance of order again. Yet, even as Amaren reached the front-line, his attention was drawn to the side as the first triggerrune since the initial attack ignited again.

"Wings from the east!" the intimidating golden draine who was his Battlewing Commander shouted. Even though he had glimpsed something of what they were facing through his rider's eyes, Amaren still glanced ahead as his sight was better at such distances, and his heart shrivelled somewhat as he saw the dark sky writhe with dragon wings. "We need to keep those Umbrins busy while Fargamer's Battlewing keeps those misshapen wolves from breaking through the retreating two-legs!"

In quick order, Lúg'gon Ethiene ordered her Squad-leaders into position, while she remained slightly to the south where her forces were weakest.

"Gullivarth's..." Amaren started to curse as the Umbrins came close enough for his better night-vision to make out individual dragons. "That must be at least half their force! Eshore, Jerache! With me!" He dove for the centre of the attacking force with speed, not even bothering to call the group of gryphons assigned to his squad with him.

"Giving us the hard work?" Shella commented softly, yet her voice seemed crystal clear to him with the assistance of their strange new bond, despite the howling wind of his dive. The dragon noticed her looking a little jealously of to the flanks of the battle where the other squad commanders were taking up position nearby the cliffs on either side.

"Our squad is the only one still at full strength!" he reprimanded her with an understanding smirk at her internal struggle to do her duty on one hand but to let the more experienced squads deal with the most dangerous job on the other. "Emihere has lost half his dragons already and Choine is down one pair already as well."

"I know, it is just..." Shella did not complete the statement as she realized Amaren already knew. The drake just smiled for a moment as he glanced back at her before turning his attention to his squad.

"Alright, basic manoeuvres!" he gave the order. "Aim for the wings and try to knock them out of the sky. But don't pursue them unless you are absolutely sure of your kill! We just want them gone, so don't waste your strength or open yourself up needlessly."

"Yes, sir!" the squad managed to reply.

Only moments later, the two groups of dragons clashed in mid-air. A mad fight ensued as the Lúggae twisted and turned in attempts to outmanoeuvre their Umbrin counterparts. But the Umbrins were by now also well versed in the art of contorting in mid-air and it was a struggle to keep the overwhelming force of enemy dragons at bay. Luckily for them, their new gryphon-knight friends proved to be a great boon as they zipped between the dragons, either keeping their backs that little bit more secure or herding an Umbrin within easy striking range of a Lúgroccan allay.

In the madness, an Umbrin managed to grab a hold of Amaren, but Shella managed to drive the blue drake off with a well-aimed stab at the enemy's wing shoulder. The Umbrin screamed in pain and dropped away, being pursued for a moment by two gryphons before they pulled back. In the surprising moment of calm that followed, Amaren wiped a trickle of blood away with a forepaw where an earlier Umbrin had scored a lucky hit past the rim of his helm.

"How goes the battle below?" he asked Shella as he recalled his sire mentioning his tendency to become single-mindedly focused on a given task. As his rider assessed their ground forces, he dared to look around at what the rest of his Battlewing was up to. Though his squad was succeeding in holding their airspace, he was shocked to see the other squad leaders having difficulty in the fight. Emihere's squad was down to just him and one other pair, threatening a complete collapse of his left side. On the other side of the battle, Choine's squad was being surrounded and Lúg'gon Ethiene was winging her way desperately towards them.

"It's a bloody mess down there!" Shella complained. "At least the second line of earthwork is finally making a stand, for now!"

Through Shella's eyes, Amaren noticed Lúg'gon Fargamer send up a squad to assist in the south where Emihere was barely coping, even though his lupine rider was focusing on the hated wargs being funnelled down the main road only to become trapped by the extensive earthworks. Amaren scanned the skies around him again, rumbling in satisfaction when he confirmed that the Umbrin centre was not as overwhelming as it used to be.

"Eshore!" he called to the light blue draine under his command. "Go assist Ethiene! Jerache and I can hold here for the moment!"

"Perta, help her get them out of that mess!" Shella added to the draine's equine rider, having felt her steed's intent over their bond. "And make sure they know they only need to chase the Umbrins off! They are pushing too hard and end up becoming bogged down!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Perta replied crisply before she and her strike-assist peeled away to join their Battlewing Commander.

"But you and your wing-mate report back here as soon as you can, understood?" Amaren shouted after them, receiving only a quick "Sir!" from Eshore as four gryphons turned to join them.

Amaren watch them leave, unsure if he had done the right thing when Shella noticed a bright yellow Umbrin try to rally their centre again. Even without a remark from his rider, Amaren roared out a challenge and singled that one drake out, flying headlong at him.

The battle continued to rage on for what felt like another hour until a series of loud thuds from below cut through the mad cacophony of battle. The sound of thick wooden frames snapping back into a resting position was unmistakable and both Lúgroccae and Umbrins reacted without hesitation, instantly rolling out of the way of the javelin that was sure to come flying up at them. Only, it was not the sound of ballistae they heard.

Even though he had seen it through Shella's eyes moments later, Amaren looked down at the battlefield himself in shock as the line of catapults on the ridge fired off their burning payloads across the battlefield.

"When... how?" he started to ask dumbfounded as he watched with morbid fascination how the one flaming bounder sailed through the air to fall on their third of their four lines of earthwork defences.

"They must have been brought up here by those trolls!" Shella guessed, pointing to where three last catapults were being assembled by said trolls. "We need to get rid of those things!"

"Fargamer is already on it!" Amaren stated, pointing a snout at the light, lime-green drake leading an attack run on the closest of the catapults. "We have our own issues to deal with!"

He turned his attention back to the battle in the sky and was grinned to himself when he notices the Umbrin centre had nearly collapsed. True, the Umbrins had dealt some serious damage to their Battlewing, but they were slowly losing their advantage and seemed on the verge of breaking. To his right, the additional squad Emihere had been sent was pushing the Umbrins back successfully and to the left, Choine had managed to break out of the encirclement. Already he could see Eshore and his wingmate Wilchun return.

There were more thuds from the catapults and more stones were hurtled over the battle. Most fell on the third line again, but a few reached the walls of Juinkarr itself, the Reds there reacting quickly with brilliant displays of fire. Some kind of mass was added to the flames as the great arcs of fire managed to deflect or on a few occasions even break apart the stone projectiles. Though some of the lighter projectiles did manage to sail completely over even the reach of the Reds to land somewhere amidst the ruins of Juinkarr itself. One particularity ambitious stone dropped somewhere near the Citadel itself even, and although it was much lighter than the rest, it still packed enough momentum to seriously damage the crumbling buildings where it landed.

"Those catapults!" Shella warned again as the dragons Fargamer was leading were rebuffed by well-placed archers, with only one burning from dragon fire.

"I fear without ground support, they are out of our reach!" Amaren snapped irritably, hating the truth of the matter. There was a roar of contact from Eshore to get his attention and, thinking they were reinforcements, the teetering Umbrin centre finally gave way.

"Sir," Eshore yelped terrified as they came within shouting distance. Despite their success in the northern side of the battle, both drakes seemed on the verge of panic.

"What news from Roccan'gon Steivan?" Shella shouted to the mare on the light blue drake's back.

"Lúg'gon Ethiene has been slain!" Perta shouted back, close to tears. "We don't know where her rider is!"

A deep cold crept over Amaren's chest at the news he never thought he would hear, and over the bond, he could feel Shella's mind go blank as well.

"Who," Amaren had to swallow to get his voice to work again. "Who are the most senior squad-leaders? They will have to take over here quickly!"

"You are, sir!" Eshore replied quickly.

Amaren stared at him in shock, his mind suddenly grinding to a complete halt for a moment. Cold dread spread from his chest to his extremities as his new responsibilities came crashing down on him. He glanced this way and that to try and orient himself again, vaguely noticing the last of the Umbrins breaking from their engagement over the battlefield. Below them, the Alliance line was wavering in the face of the catapults firing over their heads. But they were still holding onto the second line even as fresh orc warriors were rotated in. They should still be able to hold for a while longer if the catapults did not fire on them directly... and the catapults were out of reach for the Lúgroccae...

"Where... where is Lúg'gon Fargamer?" Amaren finally managed to ask.

"Still trying to break up the orc main army with strafing attacks!" Perta replied, pointing to where Fargamer tried yet again to attack a catapult, only to lose yet another of the dragons with him with nothing to show for their trouble.

"This isn't working!" Amaren suddenly decided. "We need to fall back!"

"What choices do we have?" Shella replied anxiously from his shoulders. "We cannot abandon the soldiers outside the walls!"

"We're no good to the ones inside if we are dead either!" Amaren decided. He turned to Eshore once again. "Find Fargamer! Inform him and Celine of what had happened to Lúg'gon Ethiene and Roccan'gon Steivan, and that we are falling back to regroup. The threat from the Umbrins is dealt with for the time being and without ground support, there is not much we can do beyond the Alliance's front-line!"

"Yes, sir!" Eshore snapped dutifully, failing to hide a gasp of relief as he turned to carry out his new orders.

"Let's get out of here then," Shella grumbled, not happy with abandoning the people outside the wall but understanding that they have no choice. With a roar, Amaren called the dragons under his command back and with a last forlorn look at the disintegrating battlefield beneath him, he turned to head back to Juinkarr.

***

"We all knew this would happen!" Adarah growled as she rushed down the stairs of the gatehouse where the Reds had stationed themselves. "But would they listen?"

She took the stairs two at a time on her way down, nearly outpacing the ten other Reds who had volunteered to go with her. Like herself, they were all very capable battle magi and the unfolding disaster outside the walls was too much to bear. They did not sign up to only knock projectiles out of the air after all, and each of them was eager to prove themselves, especially in the face of the three dozen or so Yellows who had been fighting valiantly in the thick of battle. They should be the ones saving the day like true Reds were expected to.

"What are your plans, milady?" a young, excitable vixen asked curiously, the excitement of the coming battle making her a little more giddy than usual.

"Whatever it takes!" the lioness growled as she burst from the building and onto the broken-up pavement of the road that led through the main gate. "The exhausted soldiers outside are being overwhelmed by fresh troops and if we don't do something now, it is going to be a bloody disaster!"

"And Archmagus Havold ordered this?" a wolf asked, looking back up the stairs unsurely.

"Yes!" Adarah lied, looking up at the sound of snapping of wings as what remained of the Lúgroccae's first unit passed overhead, retreating to the safety of the Tower. The sight of the dragons irritated the lioness even more: Even the pets of the Amber Tower was doing a better job than the Coral Tower was at playing their part in this fight, though they too had taken some unacceptable casualties against an overwhelming enemy.

The black stallion that lead the Coral Tower had been adamant that they hold position above the gatehouse, but even she could see they needed better magi outside the walls. It had taken some serious convincing from her part and even then, his agreement to allow her to lead a small team outside was dubious at best. But she knew this was something that had to be done, especially with the first of the Dragonrider brigades being forced to withdraw.

The small cluster of Reds rushed confidently down the central road that lead east, watching appalled as sections of the front-line started to disintegrate. Soldiers turned and fled, causing more to follow their comrades as they did not have the courage left to stand alone against the overwhelming wave of fresh orcs. The press from the front became so great that they were pushing the fresh soldiers trying to get to the front back to the gate and Adarah was forced to shove them back with a small Manashape that solidified the air around her squad.

In their desperation, many of the soldiers abandoned the paths pointed out to them altogether, veering out to try and scramble over the earthwork defences in a bid to get to safety as a group of wargs broke through a nearby hole in the frontline. But instead of reaching their destination, several of the Alliance soldiers only ended up setting off the triggerrunes meant to hold back the horde, sowing even more chaos amidst the disorganized retreat. Seriously, who in their right mind ever thought making the very ground a weapon was ever a good idea?

Then, the press of soldiers around them suddenly dissipated when a group of wargs came at them. Adarah lashed out with her version of the Firewhip at a nearby warg who had turned around to strike at a soldier it had knocked over, catching the creature by the one back leg and severing the limb with a quick yank of the ribbon of fire. She dispatched the rider with a more traditional wave of weight-augmented fire while three other Reds made short work of two more wargs that came rushing at them.

"Stop laying about and get your people to withdraw properly!" she snapped at the human soldier when she noticed the brigadier badges on his shoulders. She didn't give him the time to respond, turning around to shove a group of heavy orc infantry back over the embankment with another weight-augmented wave of fire.

"Trevor," she snapped to the equine next to her. "You and two others go stop the rout on the southern flank. Elaine, you and two others do the same for the northern flank. The rest of you, follow me. We're going to plug that hole in the centre!"

The reds disembarked quickly to carry out their orders, and Adarah started to deal some serious damage to the horde as they pushed to widen the hole in the front line. Emboldened by the arrival of magical support, a few of the Alliance soldiers managed to rally around her but for the most part, it was a losing cause. There was a shout of alarm and Adarah turned to see a group of warg riders had managed to form up behind the Alliance's lines. They charged down the compact road, chasing after the badly bloodied Alliance soldiers as they were fleeing in a blind panic. Some of the fresher soldiers tried to brace themselves, presenting a barrier of spears to ward off the charging shadowspawn. But in the madness of the rout, they failed to get up a uniform defence in time and the first warg jumped at a weaker section of the presented phalanx, crashing a gaping hole in the formation. The other wargs followed suit, some clearing the disarrayed spears easily while others mistimed their leap and ended up skewered on the Alliance's defence.

Adarah killed the lead warg with a well-placed slash of her fire-whip, decapitating the monstrous wolf with one quick movement. To her right, the fox caused mayhem amongst the attacking wargs, throwing something like a ball of light amidst them which exploded into several dozen sharp, flaming needles. Though the spell did not kill or maim outright, it sent the wargs into a blind panic and they scattered momentarily. One came rushing at Adarah but before she could form any kind of Manashape to defend herself, the warg was slain with a well-aimed spike of ice to the ribs.

"Adarah!" a vixen in yellow gasped surprised as she dispatched the rider as well. "What are you doing out here?"

"Felicity?" the lioness gasped, equally surprised to see the vixen was also out here... and still alive. Though not for long it would seem. The vixen was cradling a badly injured arm in a fold of her tunic, which was already more red and black than yellow thanks to the blood it was soaked in.

"We need to help Brigadier Aurrin secure the remaining two lines," Felicity suddenly started to say, the panic in her voice evident. Her eyes darted wildly about as she search for someone who wasn't in the vicinity. "And- and we need to help Brigadier Steele withdraw his troops back to the tower..."

"Why waste the time fighting out here?" the lioness scoffed, momentarily turning away from her old friend to kill a nearby orc. "The walls are much better suited to handle this fight!"

"No matter where we fight, we are badly outnumbered!" Felicity growled annoyed. "We have to buy as much time as possible for the equines to arrive! And those who have more experience in fighting than you and I combined decided this is the way to do it!"

Felicity scanned the battle around them again in a rising panic.

"Do you know where Brigadier Steele is?" the vixen asked as if the lioness would know. "I lost track of him when the catapults opened fire."

"Then shouldn't we go after the catapults then?" Adarah questioned, but the vixen shook her head determinedly.

"I've tried... they are too heavily guarded!" she stated with a weak motion to her arm, the tiredness of a dangerous Manaburn suddenly so prevalent in her voice that it shocked the lioness to the core. "I lost eight of the ten Yellows with me... Even the dragons couldn't get to them without losing too much manpower. The best we can do for the moment is to hold back the hoard a little while longer! You know where the human brigadier out here is?"

"I think I saw him back there," Adarah commented, pointing a finger to where the line had completely disintegrated. But when the vixen started to move in that direction, the lioness caught her by the uninjured arm. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I need to find him!" the vixen stated desperately, but unsure of her own answer. "I need to... need..."

"Liz!" Adarah snapped urgently, the use of her old nickname she had last heard when they were still only initiated at the Ivory Tower shocking the vixen enough to bring her back to reality. "Go back! Go find that Green friend of yours! You're in a bad shape and best not to risk aggravating that Manaburn any more than you already had! You've been out here for what, three... four hours already?"

"Adah?" Felicity whined, looking up at her old friend in surprise. "But..."

"No buts!" the lioness insisted, pushing the vixen back to the Tower gate. "I'll take over here!"

"I... Be careful..." Felicity finally relented as the seriousness of her condition dawned on her. Loathe as she was to admit it, the lioness was right, and she could not take any more of this.

"Go!" Adarah insisted, glaring at the stubborn vixen until she nodded tiredly and joined the progression back to the safety behind the walls.

"Right then!" Adarah announced when her old friend disappeared from view, lighting fireballs in her palms as she turned back to where she had last seen the human brigadier. "Let's do this!"

***

"Brigadier Aurrin is on his way up, sir!" the young vulpine lieutenant shouted as he came running up to Brigadier Steele. "He is securing the last two earthwork lines and will be relieving you here shortly. But he asks that you offer assistance to a strike team who will be pushing forward to the catapults before you start to withdraw your troops fully!"

"About fucking time!" Steele snapped, looking about himself at the wavering front line. His troops had bravely given their all, but the relentless pressure by inexhaustible orcs on the line was becoming too much and now the catapults on the rise were too much for them. If Aurrin could push through and deal some damage to those cursed contraptions, it would be wonderful. But he had his doubts if this second ditch was going to hold much longer, let alone long enough to help this strike team from the tiger.

"Tell Brigadier Aurrin to hurry up if he wants a go at those catapults," Steele shouted as he turned back to the lieutenant. "We'll see what we can do, but we are on the verge of collapse here!"

"Sir!" the orderly replied and ran off to return the message.

The snapping of leather, like sails billowing in the wind, drew his attention up and he couldn't help but scowl as he saw the last brigade of Dragonriders retreated as well. He wasn't sure what irritated him most: That he had to admit his admiration of their skill and determination, remaining dedicated in the face of overwhelming odds; or the fact that had it not been for their intervention, his brigade would have crumbled long ago; or the realization that they were last dragons being pulled back and leaving him and his men alone outside. Not that he could blame them, he knew. This fight had bloodied their original brigade as badly as his had been and he had seen the other taking unnecessary casualties when they tried to destroy the catapults on their own. Militarily, it made sense to pull them back now, but emotionally it still rubbed him the wrong way.

"Find Commander Evans," Steele continued, turning to his own orderly. "Inform him to prepare to withdraw back to the walls. But first, we must...!"

He never managed to complete the sentence. At that moment, a section of the line near them collapsed and a squad of the horde's heavily infantry broke through. One came rushing at him with a bloodcurdling roar, and Steele had to dodge quickly least the serrated edge of an axe the burly creature was swinging about took his head off. The human had to duck a second time before he could parry an overly aggressive overhead swing from the orc. Steele toppled the off-balance orc with a well-placed kick and dispatched him before he could get up.

"Close that gap!" Steele shouted as he turned to look for his orderly, but in the chaos of the moment, they had been separated. He did however encounter one of the commanders under his command.

"Mauwen!" he called to the big bovine who had wrestled an axe from another orc and was using the weapon himself with greater efficiency than his own sword. "It's almost time to get out of here!"

"About bloody time!" Mauwen cursed as he yanked his new axe from the scull of a less armoured orc.

"But there is a plan from Brigadier Aurrin to push ahead to the catapults," Steele urgently added as he reached the bull. "Send your orderly to inform Commander Garvon that we can fall back as soon as...!"

Again, he was interrupted by the excited yelping of wargs. The monstrous creatures burst through the hole in the line that had not been closed in time, the steeds biting and clawing the hole wider as they spilt over the embankment and in between the Alliance as the soldiers finally broke.

Steele was screaming bloody murder as he tried to rally some kind of defence, but it was a lost cause. The wargs flooded through the gap, spreading out up and down the earthwork, their riders stabbing with wicked lances at the backs of fleeing Alliance soldiers and causing absolute chaos as they went.

One rushed in his direction and he dove out of the way, narrowly avoiding the lance tip that came at him. Luckily for him, the lance was a stabbing weapon and could not slice or he would have been done for as the pole of the lance struck him hard on the back. The warg scrambled to a halt, snarling furiously as he turned around to attack him again. Only, one of the Firewips the goblins were so fond of using was flung at the misshapen canid, catching the creature by the one back leg. The warg yowled in agony as its limb was severed before it was put out of its misery by a shearing wave of fire.

Steele rolled into a crouch, looking up in surprise to see a small cluster of magi in red pushing confidently up the road as they rushed to save the crumbling line. They were led by a young lioness whose eyes flashed with particular fierce determination as she scanned the fighting around them.

"Stop laying about and get your people to withdraw properly!" she snapped. She did not wait for a reply, turning about immediately to attack another warg with a wall of fire that sent three of the creatures flying back into the ditch they just came out of. Steele cursed after her as he quickly got to his feet.

"Hold the line!" he shouted, turning to where yet another hole in the line had formed. Another goblin shot a spike of fire at him and he barely managed to avoid getting hit in the face by the thing. An equine dressed in red quickly took the goblin out and he turned back to the fighting, stopping one young soldier as he was fleeing and shoving him back towards the fight. "Hold the line, damn you. Or you'll be getting an axe in the back!"

Another orc took a swing at him, but he parried the overly aggressive strike and hit the orc in the face with the pommel of his sword. But as he was about to dispatch the shadowspawn, when another hit him from behind. His back exploded in pain the like of which he had never experienced before, and he collapsed to his knees. There was a precisely placed lash of a Firewhip over his shoulder from somewhere, but Steele was barely aware of the flash of light and heat that flashed past him.

All that mattered was the excruciating pain in his back that felt as if it burned through his chest, his breath that didn't want to come, the fading of the Light at the edge of his vision. He toppled forward, not registering the ground pressing up against his cheek as he fell. He tried to move, to get up even though he was not sure why anymore, but his limbs were like lead and refused to work.

Then, there was another searing pain from somewhere...

And then... nothing

***

"There is nothing more they can do for the moment!" Merec started to argue as the first Battlewing crossed over the outer wall again. "The Umbrins bloodied Steivan and Ethiene's Battlewing pretty badly, and Fargamer and Celine are only going to waste lives if they remain out in the open."

"I hope Amaren is okay..." Gahntuar whimpered in draconic as he squinted up at the dark wings, unable to make any individuals out at that distance in the gloom. The statement was mostly meant for his human, but Jerielle had overheard him.

"I'm sure he is, sir!" the red draine tried to comfort the dark drake next to her. She dared to steal a quick nuzzle at his neck, only to have her rider berate her with a soft clearing of his throat. She returned the scolding with a quick nip before turning her attention back to the battle.

"No, pull them back!" Adulsworth commented distracted as he focused on the collapsing frontline. "Whoever gave that order made the right call... There are still many of those shadow dragons in the area and we don't want to lose all of our winged forces!" As Merec gave the official signal to retreat, the Alliance general lifted his spyglass to his eyes again to scan over the battlefield once more, only to swear softly under his breath. "What is Steele doing?"

Surprised by the near-silent outburst, Merec paid more attention to the battle on the ground again. But with the aid of Gahntuar's sharper eyesight, he could now clearly see how their position was collapsing faster than they could handle it. They had to watch on in horror as the cohesion of the foremost units of the Alliance disintegrated completely. In the face of constant pressure and now certain death as their flanks crumbled, their discipline evaporated. Soldiers were fleeing recklessly from most of the second line, trying desperately to get back to the safety of the Tower wall and only ending up either tripping over each other, obstructing the way for the fresh troops sent forward to relieve them, or both. The confusion was so great that some soldiers even tried to scramble over the earthworks, ending up setting the triggerrunes meant to protect them off themselves.

"I wish we had better artillery!" Adulsworth swore as Fargamer and Celine' Battlewing also withdrew from the skies. "Those catapults are going to damage us greatly."

The catapults were now hammering the last two lines where Aurrin was trying to set up the rest of his brigade, as well as the Reds stationed on the outer wall. Some of the projectiles were light enough to sail well into the ruins themselves but heavy enough to smash down the rickety walls of the ruined buildings therein. The ballista the Alliance had brought up tried to fire back in response, but their javelins were designed to take out individual targets at a higher elevation and they were proving rather ineffective against the horde and their heavy equipment.

"Only the dragons can reach them now..." Eloff stated thoughtfully, looking over to where the last of the Lúgroccae descended to one of the Nacre Tower's medical centres.

"But not without losing more than we can afford to do so!" Adulsworth cautioned, recalling the disaster on the Echoren with a shudder. "And if we lose the skies, it is over!"

Suddenly, Adulsworth swore aloud as he focused on a single spot on the battlefield.

"What is it?" Ursiele asked worriedly.

"Warg riders!" Adulsworth hissed, "coming down the centre again! Steele, get your people organized!"

But the mad retreat turned into a full-on rout and they were powerless to do anything but watch as the wargs charged at the exposed backs of the fleeing Alliance soldiers.

***

She coughed and gasped for breath as she woke from the unconsciousness. The air was still filled with dust and smoke and she coughed even more as she curled into a protective ball. It took her a precious few seconds before she managed to regain control of her breath and she dared to look around bleary-eyed.

What the hell happened?

"Mom!" the sound of her hatchling calling out in panic brought Ikessa back to the present.

"Seggy?" she called back, coughing yet again with the effort to raise her voice.

"Mom, are you okay?" the youngster yelped terrified. "Where are you?"

The sound of rocks falling over caught the pale-blue draine's attention and she stared dumbfounded for a moment at where half of the wall to her cell had collapsed.

Her cell.

Suddenly she recalled where she was and without thinking more about it, she scrambled to escape over the pile of debris and out into the darker than usual night. She had been in her cell, silently contemplating her decisions and circumstances over the past ten years, when suddenly... when...

She wasn't sure what happened. Only that she was now able to get out and unchallenged, allowing her to try and free her hatchling as well. She turned back to the building where she was being held prisoner by the Shameblood and snorted again in surprise to find the corner between her cell and her hatchling's had completely collapsed. Through sheer luck or divine intervention, they were both free!

"Mom?" Seghrien called again, propelling Ikessa forward urgently. She rushed back onto the ruins of the crumbling wall, noticing immediately where the youngster was cowering in the far corner of the room.

"Come Seghrien!" she called him, but he remained in his corner, shivering uncontrollably as his eyes darted around in terror.

"Mom, you... you're bleeding!" the little red drake whimpered, crouching even lower when he noticed her by the opening in the wall. Only then did Ikessa become aware of the dull throbbing of her head.

"I'm okay Seghrien, dear!" she crooned, crawling into the cell to curl protectively around him. "But we need to go, now! Come little one! Don't be afraid..."

Carefully, she nosed the youngster towards the hole in the wall, ushering him out into the open night air again.

"What is going on?" Seghrien whined, crouching low again as soon as they were outside. "Did the Masters come for me?"

"The Masters...?" Ikessa asked surprised. She stared in confusion at the youngster when a series of far-off thuds registered to her mind. Finally, she turned away from her hatchling to look about her and gasped shocked when she noticed that it wasn't dark because the moon hadn't risen yet, but because the Storm of War was hovering overhead. Then, the faint sounds of a terrible battle off towards the east reached her and when she turned, she gasped yet again to find the walls of Juinkarr had been re-erected!

Off to the side, she saw Gahntuar and his most trusted lieutenants sitting on the wall, keeping a close watch on the battle outside their gates. With him, she could make out a few colourful robes of at least the White and Green magi standing next to him.

WHAT had he been up to in the few days she had been locked up? Better yet, HOW did he manage to pull this off? No wonder the Master had been so desperate to see him destroyed!

"Mom?" Seghrien whined worriedly, pressing up tightly against her side. "What is going on?"

"I don't..." she started to gasp when her upside-down world was shaken yet again.

"Get a move-on," someone was shouting, and she turned to see a platoon of Alliance members of all things appear down an ally and rush off towards the east. "If you don't get to the gate in time, we're going to lose it!"

"... know..." Ikessa completed her vague thought as she stared off after the platoon of soldiers. Then, one of them noticed her and came rushing up to her.

"What are you two doing sitting around here?" the dark-maned lion with commander badges on his shoulders called out to them. "If you don't need healing from the Greens, then go help support the relief effort outside, or it is going to be ending up in a fucking rout!"

The lion did not stay to see that his order was carried out, instead he rushed after his soldiers towards the fighting. Ikessa blinked after him, completely stunned. Since when did the Alliance not hunt any shadowspawn they could find with extreme prejudice, but give them orders as if they were allies. She cast a glance up at where the Shameblood sat as if to make sure he was really there. The Alliance of Light and any kind of shadowspawn... Allies?

Yes, the world was coming to an end... that was for sure!

"Mom?" Seghrien whimpered, bringing Ikessa back to what was important. Whatever was happening here, she will have no part in it!

"Come now, my dear!" she crooned comfortingly as she started to urge the youngster away from the shattered building that had once been their prison. "We must go!"

"Where?" Seghrien whined, allowing himself to be herded forward.

"Anywhere but here!" Ikessa announced with a determined hiss, her mind racing as she and Seghrien disappeared into a relatively intact ally. The battle outside made taking direct flight impossible, especially with all the Lúgroccae battle-ready, not to mention the array of ballistae she could hear firing off along the second wall. Her only option was to make for the western gate on foot, already a near-impossible feat. But if they could manage it, and with all eyes turned east, they could make their escape from there. But what then?

Quattor was obviously attacking Juinkarr... that was the one thing she was sure of... but if it was to drive out the Shameblood or get to her, she wasn't sure. She was after all the first Claw to turn away from him and that he could never allow to go unpunished. Nor will she seek reconciliation with the Masters, even if it could save her life. She would willingly be damned before she allowed her only offspring to suffer the fate of his father.

No, she could never go back. But nor could she stay here either. She could clearly remember the thoughts of vengeance in the Shameblood's eyes, a barely suppressed bloodlust to extract payment for the blood of his family, his friends, spilt by his father and herself. He may have given his word that nothing would befall the hatchling, but she did not trust him.

No, she had to move forward. But where could she disappear to?

The Shameblood had taken refuge near the Amber Tower, so could she do the same in the forests around the Nacre Tower? That was an idea worth pursuing; It was too out of way for either the fanatic Umbrins or devoted Lúgroccae to find her, yet still near enough the typical dragon territories not to draw attention...

"MOM! WATCH OUT!" Seghrien yelped in a blind panic, and Ikessa snapped her head up to see stones, coated with a burning mixture of tar and straw start to crash into the ruins around them again. While most were deflected by arcs of fire from the outermost wall, several fell into the ruins and a few isolated ones cleared even the second wall to crash into the shells of buildings where they found themselves. One such projectile crashed into the top of a barely standing wall next to them, shattering the structure and scattering burning stones and broken building rubble around the two of them. Ikessa tried to reach her child, but the cascade of dust and flames and stone pushed her back.

"Seg..." she tried to call, but only ended up coughing again in the thick, scratchy dust.

"Seggy?" she managed to wheeze out, but in the thick dust that hung like mist around her, she could barely make anything out.

"Seghrien?" she tried again, but there was no answer. In a blind panic, she scrambled up the pile of debris that now filled the ally, desperately flinging herself from one side of the ally to the other, looking for any sign of maroon scales anywhere. Hiding in a building, buried beneath the rubble.

But the youngster was gone.

"SEGHRIEN!"

But only silence greeted her. Silence, except for the sound of the battle in the distance as men and orcs fought and died.

***

"How far out did you say the equines are still?" Adulsworth hissed upset as he looked through his spyglass once more. Aurrin had managed to halt the rout, but at the cost of the second-to-last line of earthen defences. At least this line was proving to be the best fought over by far, as the horde was now within striking distance of the Reds on the wall. In addition, the defending magi were able to provide some cover to the soldiers below them, so the catapults were no longer quite as effective as they had been a few hours ago.

"I really don't know, sir!" Brigadier Coles replied. "They were a day or two behind us at least when we left the defences in the Belthean valley. So, I doubt we will be seeing them any time before midday tomorrow."

"I really hope there is some truth to the rumours that they can march faster than the average army!" Adulsworth grumbled after he swore yet again under his breath. "I was hoping to hold off defending the outer wall until they showed up!"

"We did better than anyone of us could have imagined!" the Councillor of the Ivory Tower stated thoughtfully. "Sunrise may still be an hour or two away... I think... but we have held them off for most of the night. And the last of your earthwork lines outside the walls is only failing now! With the assistance of the Reds, things will be more difficult for the horde."

"The Reds are really going at it!" Brigadier Eloff agreed, unable to hide the awe from his voice. The wall was alive like an angry dragon as it spewed arcs of fire, interspersed with a few magi brave or foolish enough to attempt throwing various forms of lightning at the horde below. One even smashed an incoming projectile to pieces with a shockwave, scattering the burning debris back onto the horde below.

"Brigadier, Eloff," Adulsworth suddenly stated, lowering his spyglass to look at the lupine brigadier. "Start preparing your men to assist Brigadier Aurrin in garrisoning the outer wall. The Reds are holding their own for now, but I doubt they will be quite as effective when they come under direct assault."

"Yes, sir!" the lupine snapped to attention before turning away to carry out his orders. Adulsworth turned to the polar bear in charge of the Ivory Tower.

"What about the group of Reds who had sallied out around midnight?" the Alliance general asked. "Any news of them?"

"Archmagus Havold informed me that they lost contact with most of them," Ursiele replied. "I do know that the last group of Yellows who had been pulled back half an hour ago brought two of the Reds with them, but they couldn't find the others."

"Wait, isn't it a group of magi over there?" Jerielle suddenly asked, squinting down to a spot near the river where the horde had encircled a firestorm.

"They are cut off!" Gahntuar gasped, jumping to his feet. Though he had never liked Felicity all that much, the thought of her being surrounded and killed did not sit well with him.

"We need to do something!" Merec agreed, quickly turning to the lime-green draine next on Jerielle's far side. "Farriha!"

"Sir?" the draine replied unsurely.

"Take one of the Battlewings and see how many of the trapped magi you can evacuate."

"Sir!" Farriha snapped determinedly and after a last glance at the battlefield, she quickly leapt into the air. The flight to where the rest of the Lúgroccae were resting up was short but in her haste, she landed harder than she had intended to.

"Ethiene?" Farriha called out desperately, looking around for the widely respected golden draine.

"Lúg'gon Ethiene has fallen, ma'am!" the other Battlewing commander stated, walking up to her with a slight limp in his step. "We don't know what happened to Roccan'gon Steivan..."

"Their Battlewing has been taken over by Lúg'gon Amaren and Roccan'gon Shella," his rider added quickly.

"I... er... are-are your Wing able to fly out on a sortie?" Farriha asked, the shock of the news that had somehow failed to reach them causing her to falter momentarily.

"The Greens are still busy with some of our units," the almost white drake replied with a shake of his head. "But Lúg'gon Amaren's Wing had more time to rest after their healing. They took some serious casualties during the recent aerial combat, but even with just two squads they should be able to fly out..."

"Thank you," Farriha replied, turning to face Amaren just as he approached her. "A group of magi has been cut off by the orc advance, and the Roccan'hir had asked that we evacuate as many of them as we can. Will you be able to join me and bring them to safety?"

"We have had a chance to rest up a bit," Shella stated confidently as she turned to regard what was felt of the Battlewing. "We will get them out, ma'am!"

***

"Come closer you bastards!" snarled at the orc horde as they pressed in on the last few surviving magi out in the field.

Her Firewhip was now almost constantly out now, despite the early signs of a severe Manaburn forming like a painful pressure in the bottom of her skull. The dangerous ribbons of fire seemed to be one of the few things that held the orcs at bay, causing significant damage where the press of attackers was too great for her prey to back away from the tendril of solid plasma. She snapped the whip at a particularly heavy-built orc who was screaming at his fellows to rally them, but a goblin appeared from nowhere and with a quick flick of a wrist, the creature conjured a shield that protected the orc captain.

Reacting quickly, a Yellow equine shot a Firedart at the goblin, hitting it in the chest before it could reposition its shield. With the shielding goblin out of the way, the last of the Red lupines who came out with her cast a bolt of lightning at the captain. Electricity was a dangerous spell, unpredictable across distances greater than a few yards and as likely to kill the caster as the intended target, not to mention it was incredibility Mana intensive. But with the metal armour of the orcs pressing in around them, it was worth the risk. As it were, the unstable energy lightning was made up of jumped through a great swathe of orcs who dropped after tensing for the duration of the spell.

"We need to break out and get back to the gate!" a lupine in yellow snarled in the moment's respite.

"And how do you propose we do that?" a fox in red snapped back, throwing small blades of light like darts at the orcs as they started to press in from the other side.

How indeed? How had it come to this? Adarah had lost all contact with the two smaller squads as soon as she had sent them to the flanks of the initial collapsing line. She had no idea of how they were faring, or if they were even alive still. If any of the magi outside the wall were still alive, to be honest. Four Yellows had ended up with her group, taking orders from her as if she was one of their council members. And in that fight, she had come to respect the classless magi, who she had always looked down upon as trying too hard to be a Jack-of-all-trades and ended up missing their opportunities to be truly great.

Together, with the wider set of skills at their disposal, they were more dangerous than a single homogeneous Tower could ever have been. Yet, even so, they found themselves completely outnumbered and surrounded, completely cut off from the Alliance they had come out to save. Two of the Yellows were already dead as was one of her Reds. She did not know how the survivors of her group were fairing, but she knew she was developing a serious Manaburn and it would not be long before they are completely overwhelmed.

The Yellow was right, they were on their own here. They had to stop defending and start making a push back to safety.

"Charles," Adarah suddenly snapped at the wolf in red, "you and the two Yellows keep the orcs off our backs while we break open a path back to the gate!"

A fire-whip curled at them, but one of the two Yellows reacted quickly to block it with a shield spell before it could do any damage. Charles followed up quickly, blasting a powerful gust of wind in the direction the whip had come from, scattering the horde there momentarily. Adarah took her change in the mayhem, throwing all caution to the wind and committing to a heavy, Mana-intensive spell. The shockwave in the very ground toppled the orcs in the direction of the gate. The fox next to her followed through with another powerful wave of fire.

"Come, move!" the lioness yelled, and the small group of magi rushed towards the area that had been cleared. As the horde closed in quickly around them again, the fox cast his wave of fire again. But just before he could ignite the Manashape, a loose Bind-flesh spell from an unseen goblin caught him and he toppled over with a startled yelp. The Yellow equine crouched by him, dissolving the curse with a quick flash of Mana. However, the mare failed to notice the fire-whip before it was too late.

Adarah screamed in rage, blasting the responsible goblin with a strong wave of fire. But as the Mana ignited, it scorched her mind, knocking the breath completely from her and leaving her with a throbbing migraine. Clear signs of a critically dangerous Manaburn. Yet the orcs only continued to press in on them. The lioness tried to mould another attack spell, but the shape struggled to form properly. She could still cast, but her mind was warning her that she would not survive channelling much more Mana.

She swore and forced her entire will into shaping the Mana to her needs.

Then, one of the reds with her cast a powerful wall of fire that sheared the horde away somewhat. Another wall followed and another. It was only when the fourth wall blocked to horde off momentarily from them that she realized it was not a Flame smell, but natural dragon fire.

Even as the realization dawned on her, several dragons dropped from the sky amidst the embattled magi.

"Come!" a human rider was shouting at them. "Climb on!"

"Come guys, this is our last chance!" the last remaining Yellow shouted, scrambling desperately to the closest dragon. The vixen in the saddle quickly pulled the tired and desperate wolf up onto the saddle as the reddish-brown drake crouched for him.

The three Reds also hurried to a dragon each, but as Adarah was about to climb onto the dark red drake, a fire-whip snapped against the drake's chest. He roared in agony as the ribbon of plasma cut through his peytral, the piece of metal designed to protect his chest swinging awkwardly to the side. The leather snapped as the dragon reared in shock and the piece of armour fell to the ground with a dull thud.

"Lady Adarah!" Charles shouted worriedly as Adarah was also thrown to the ground again as the dragons in the air tried to lay down a fresh line of cover fire

"Hakriel!" the scrawny wolf rider echoed the terrified cry of the red magus as his dragon coughed.

"I'll live!" the drake growled glaring this way and that for the red magus he had come to rescue. Luckily the wound was superficial, and the dragon could still fly, but with the goblins closing in again they would be less likely to escape if he remained too long.

Once more, Adarah cast her entire will into forming her Manashape and, rising into a crouching position, she allowed it to ignite. The shape was not formed as she had hoped, but the Mana formed into a wicked plasma blade that arced through the approaching horde, killing dozens of orcs and goblins in the process.

"Wings to the east!" an olive-green draine without a rider was shouting, while a black drake echoed her with a desperate "Time's up, we need to go! Now!"

Adarah's strength left her completely and as she toppled over, two large scaly claws grasped her around the waist. There were more desperate shouts that her foggy mind could not comprehend anymore, and she was vaguely aware of being lifted into the air.

Her vision darkened and though she tried to remain conscious, sleep claimed her one last time.

To be continued...