Trian pushed his wings as far as he could. The winds felt strange, the air hot. Magic thrummed all around. He could feel the heavy pressure, as if he was in the North. Snow still covered the valley as he landed before the crowded city walls of Ravenhall. Mobile teleportation platforms had already been set up, leading straight down into the Haven. Hundreds of civilians were crowded in front of the city, the Shadowguard trying to reign in the panic as they funneled people onto the platforms and through the city gates. Healer! he shouted right as he landed. The bright barriers above shined with magic, the cannons at the ready, all the magic near overwhelming to his senses. Trian set down the two people he had carried. They had fallen on the way here, trampled before he went in and got them out. Thousands were arriving through the many gates in Morhill, most making their way to Ravenhall, and the Haven. A Medic appeared, Hadley, he realized, clad in ash armor and crouching down next to the two injured. Blood covered her hands. Trian didnt wait. He gave her a look before he vanished, flying down and back towards Morhill. A stream of people, all kinds of species, was being funneled towards Ravenhall, and the Haven. Taleen machines lined the road and helped carry people whilst trying to prevent a panic. Still, they had to intervene constantly. Two Shadows shot past him in the air, followed by a group of Sentinels. Trian watched the endless stream of people as he flew, seeing faces streaked with tears, dirt, and blood, mobile platforms set up along the valley, Guardians funneling people away and towards the gates. The light all around flickered yet again, as if he stood in a candlelit room on a winter night, a cold breeze moving the flame. People screamed and shouted, Aki moving in with his machines to pluck out and carry those who were panicking. The mountains shook, an avalanche forming nearby, rushing through the forests before a team of Shadows flew there, an ice mage slowing the descent, walls of rock sprouting from the ground to stop the snow entirely. Trian teleported and flew, finally reaching Morhill, the gates open with guards shouting and Guardians keeping people moving. He saw a constant stream of people coming out of the teleportation halls. People from the western cities, people from Virilya, from the former Baralia, from Kroll, Asila, and Nipha. Every town and settlement with a connection to Morhill. Aki guided people in the city onto mobile gates. Trian assumed they led to the Meadow, Iz, or the Haven. Our shelters are safe! This region is defended against the Extraction. Stay calm! Akis voice resounded from Executioners and Praetorians alike. Trian joined a group of Sentinels breaking up a throng of people coming out of a teleportation hall. Danys group. He helped two people up as the others healed and did the same. Stay calm! he shouted when Cornelius turned, the dust mage looking out towards one of the nearby stone roofs. Trian felt something strange. Get away! Cornelius shouted at the throng of people, his voice lost in the chaos. Trian watched as space itself unfolded, a strange creature stepping into reality. Six legs, all of them elongated and purplish. Its head looked like a smooth sphere, no eyes nor mouth. What is that? he aimed his hand to charge a spell when a purple sphere rushed down from somewhere else. He saw a Guardian run and jump in front of the projectile, the impact silent before the machine burst in an explosion of metal shrapnel. Shouts turned to screams as three more spheres came down, two stopped by Guardians with the last exploding in the crowd, a shock wave of void magic disintegrating flesh and armor alike, people flung aside as strips of flesh, bone, and blood splattered into the crowds. Trian screamed and sent his lightning at the creature he had seen step into reality. It jumped away from the building as his surge of red lightning burned against the roof, leaving a trail of glowing stone. He staggered back, hit by the smell of blood and death, the air vibrant with thick magic, his vision a blur as he saw more spells impact the screaming and running crowd. He heard a voice shout from nearby. Something hit his face, his vision clearing slightly. A ringing came to his ears. Headmaster! We need to get away! Theyre too high- Raphia shouted, roots springing up from the ground before a dull impact resounded from beyond, void magic eating through her spell. Headmaster! She shouted again. Trian breathed out, his vision clearing. We retreat to Ravenhall, he said, his hands shaking as he saw the running crowd mowed down into nothing by strange creatures of the void. Another impact broke through the wooden barrier. Raphia was hit and slammed against the wall of the teleportation hall. Her eyes looked vacant, a hole in her chest, blood leaking out. Trian sent bolts of lightning out at the approaching monsters, seeing a Centurion jump down from a roof opposite them, its core glowing before a detonation shook the ground, sending debris, flesh, and bits and pieces of the void creatures through the plaza. He covered his head, finding Dany already crouched next to Raphia. No no, no not like this, Raph! Please! She bit her lips, hands calm as her magic flared up. She reached into the chest of the other Sentinel. Shes alive! Cornelius appeared next to them, waves of dust magic whirled up to obscure their position. Void magic flashed past, the Sentinel spinning when something ripped away his arm. He landed in a crouch and grit his teeth, touching the wound with his remaining arm. We have to move! Take her with you! I cant! Shes not stable! Dany shouted. Trian reached down and grabbed the girl. Ill hold her. Side street, this way! He nodded past the building, the others following, Dany with her hand still in the chest of her friend. They moved, shrouded partially in dust. Screams resounded all around, explosions and spells shaking the ground and buildings. A heavy impact cleared the dust, Trian looking down the narrow street at a single creature covered in purple and leathery skin, its head opening up like a blooming flower. Purple energy gathered within. He turned and charged his lightning, holding Raphia with one arm as he tried to put his body between himself and the creatures spell. Dany kept healing while Cornelius summoned his magic. I will not let you die. It felt as if time slowed, his perception spiking as his red lightning crackled in his hand. Should I have flown up? No, we needed the cover. Would his spell be enough? He doubted it. And still, it felt right. If one of his students would survive instead. He sent out his lightning and grit his teeth, pushing in all the mana that he could. He saw a flash of silver rush past, green eyes, blades shining purple. A shield flickered before the Executioner crashed into the being of void, walls torn away from the houses as its blades cut into the monster. The machine turned its head. Fly past above me! To Ravenhall! Trian steadied Raphia. She looked pale. If not for Danys words, he wouldve thought her dead already. The others followed as he carried her, past above the struggling monster, still alive despite the Executioner, strange screeches resounding before it was silenced right when they passed by, his wings moving as Dany tried to keep steady, her gaze focused entirely on her teammate as she flew by his side. Trian saw glimpses of void projectiles above, other spells mixed in between. He saw glimpses of machines and Shadows, Sentinels, and war machines, cut down by the increasing number of monsters, shouts resounding through the chaos, calling for retreat, for Ravenhall. The buildings shook again, all light fluctuating for a moment as they rushed through the alley. Two more streets when a Centurion broke through the wall, grappled by something that looked like a thin and hairless spider. They flew past, an explosion roaring out behind them when they had crossed into the next street. This way! Cornelius called out, the wound on his shoulder no longer bleeding. Trian saw the city wall right when a monster stepped out into existence at the end of the alley. Four long and thin limbs, a flower like head and long fingers. A figure came crashing down, a shock wave of fire extending. Wet impacts resounded before the woman stood up, her black axes wreathed in fire. Blood and dirt covered her face, her brown hair flowing free. A grin was on her face. Verena didnt speak a word as she rushed past them, back into the fray. Trian flew up and over the city wall of Morhill, his eyes going wide at the sight of the battlefield beyond. Void creatures still appeared all over, the monsters hunting down the fleeing humans, Shadows and adventurers fighting alongside Taleen machines, Sentinels flying past with injured people, others crouched above dying humans amongst the chaos, protected by war machines shouting as they sent burning projectiles into the monsters. He kept flying, Dany next to him as they tried to keep their flight stable. Trian forced them down when a void projectile flashed past, dodging in the last moment before they went on, just above ground and between the fighting. Screeches resounded as ice and crystal exploded, walls of stone set up with teams of fighters protecting those injured, healers teleporting among them. I will go help! Cornelius shouted and vanished as Trian continued onward with Dany. Up the slope with hundreds of beings, silver machines slaughtering the monsters but unable to kill them all, Guardians using their forms to block the creatures, rushing between projectiles and those running for their lives. They passed a group of Mind Weavers, their monsters clashing with the beings of the void. Trian glanced to his left and saw a line of creatures, several of them charging purple spells. The light flickered and he could feel the dense magic all around. The hair on his arm stood up as he felt the pressure change. A bright beam of red thrumming light flashed past them, incinerating the group of monsters, snow and stone burned away with a furrow of glowing rock left behind. More beams lit up now, Trian looking up to see the cannons set into the mountains above Ravenhall. Red light lit up as their beams slashed into the monsters. He saw golden streaks of light rush past to strike their enemies, more Shadows flying in the air now, walls of ice, stone, and crystal erected to protect the fleeing civilians. We made it. Something hit his back, the impact cold. A numb feeling instantly went through him. His wings vanished and he fell. Someone caught him, still in the air. His vision darkened before he gasped, a hot searing pain flaring up. He heard Lukes voice and grit his teeth against the searing pain. He wouldnt scream in front of his Sentinels. He could feel the healing magic as his vision darkened. Trian coughed when he woke up again, opening his eyes as he took in the sounds and smells. He was on a crowded plaza. Sentinels and other healers ran around, crouched above people with limbs or half their heads gone. The air was thick with the iron smell of blood. Above he saw the bright barriers of Ravenhall, the rumbling of enchanted cannons roaring all around. He winced as he sat up, touching something wet on his cheek. His hand came back with blue color. He saw a few of the healers applying more to unconscious people on the ground. Others were marked with orange. Pain shot through his back as he turned. He found the brown haired healer he had carried. Raphia. Sliding over, he saw the blue paint on her face, a large bandage around her chest and destroyed armor. Trian broke down, hands on the ground as sobs racked through him, each one sending pain through his back. He punched the ground and forced himself to stop. He focused on his body and spells. His back hurt, but he was not in danger, his health and mana steadily recharging. Summoning his wings, he flew up, finding it less painful than walking. He saw no void creatures appearing in the stone city streets. The barriers? Or the Haven? Rushing to the outermost walls, he found void spells impacting the bright light of the barriers, spent and injured fighters gathering in the squares and streets, on buildings, or leaning against the walls themselves. Beyond, he saw the last fighters outside, standing with a line of machines and magically constructed barriers. Cannons roared, red beams of arcane energies tearing into the approaching monster hordes, dozens disintegrated with every blast, but crawling through the valley and over the mountains, he saw thousands.
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