Nivenmage

The Battle of Pyriam

Argenen found himself moving but he didn't know how. Some force had taken over his body and drove him towards battle. At the foot of the hill the sounds of battle became louder until finally they drowned out the roar of the rain. He could see mages, Daghym and Soulless ahead of him but the image was one of chaos. Then great flashes erupted around him as the mages beside him ripped open the sky over the Soulless ahead. The Soulless screamed as they were hit and torn apart by the blasts. At the same time the ones left standing were struck by massive swords swung by Daghym warriors.

Argenen couldn't move, he stood still trying to make sense of what was happening. A swarm of Soulless pushed through the Daghym, some on four legs, some on two, all as black as the night. One of them charged then at Argenen but was brought down by another blast from a Nevean mage. The battle moved around him and suddenly he was thrown to the ground as a Soulless beast pounced onto him and landed on his chest. His hands clasped at its neck, trying to hold back its teeth as it snapped for his throat. Then in some part of his mind he remembered his powers. At his command the space between his hands shimmered then tore open. With a muffled gargle the beast's head fell to the ground beside him and its body became limp. He tossed it off of him and stood up.

Around him the battle continued and the Daghym swords whistled through the air. A nearby swing sent a spray of vile Soulless blood over him. As the fear took hold again he dropped to the floor and crawled backwards in what he hoped was a safe direction. A Daghym fell into his view and was instantly leapt on by several Soulless things. The Daghym tried to push them off but they were snapping at his arms and legs and soon he was overpowered. After another moment of clarity Argenen jumped up and sent a wave through the Fabric at them. The force of the wave thrust the creatures backwards in a wide circle around his target, leaving Argenen stunned at what he had done.

The Daghym leapt up and back into battle immediately, cleaving the creatures that were still stunned by Argenen's wave. Beside him more Daghym had gained the upper hand and were forcing the Soulless swarm back. Trying to use the moment of peace, Argenen tried to find the captain's red flag. To his surprise it was far behind him. He made his way towards it, blasting aside the Soulless in his path. The fear had gone and something else now drove him. The Soulless fell before him with eerie screams but he kept his sight on the red flag which darted to and fro ahead of him. A final wave killed more Soulless and revealed the captain holding off the Soulless with waves of the same power while they tried to get at him.

He was alone and seemed to slowly lose ground as they edged closer.  Argenen lifted his hands in front of him, sending wave upon wave at them.  Slowly he made his way towards the captain.  It felt as if his only mission was to prevent that red flag from falling.  At last he got to the captain, who saw him and together they started to move backwards and started to climb another hill. Soon the Soulless no longer surrounded them and they stood atop the hill looking over battle. Then the captain shouted something but Argenen couldn't hear him.

The captain ran suddenly down the other side of the hill and Argenen followed him. A while later the sounds of battle were behind them but the captain kept running towards what Argenen worked out was the north. As they ran Argenen could finally hear what the captain was shouting.

"They've flanked us! They've flanked us!"

Argenen looked ahead where he was pointing and saw a group of Soulless running away from them.

"They're going to catch the Nivenmage!"

"What?" Argenen shouted for an explanation. Breathlessly the captain answered.

"The Nivenmage was going to escape secretly to the north!" He stopped running for a second to breathe. Then spoke again. "We have to stop those Soulless from ambushing them, boy."

Then he set off running again towards the Soulless. Argenen followed him, and for a second he allowed his mind enough time to realise that the two of them could never defeat that many creatures. He pushed the thought back and kept running, telling himself to just keep following the flag. As he climbed another hill he slipped in the mud and fell down. He looked up in dismay to see the red flag disappearing over the hill. He struggled back up and followed it.  On the other side the captain was already in battle with the Soulless.

With a cry Argenen started to run down the hill. He reached the fight and stumbled again, sending a wave ripping through the nearest creatures before he hit the ground. He stood back up and sent another wave through, but it was a mere ripple and he couldn't see the flag anymore. Most of the Soulless charged at him now and were met with explosions that scared even him. These eruptions came from his hands and brought death upon everything they hit. The Soulless fell with deafening screams but more came to replace them. They forced their way towards him until he was crawling beneath them, holding them off with everything he could.

He felt something grab his leg but he kicked it off and kept crawling. Then he saw the flag trampled into the mud and flashes ahead revealed the captain still fighting to kill as many Soulless as he could. Argenen stood up and ran forward but was tackled from behind. He felt a dull pain as one of the beasts bit into his leg. He tried to kick it off as another bit into his shoulder. From what seemed to be far away he heard the captains screams of "For Pyriam!" and he lifted his eyes again to see where they were coming from. Blood obscured his vision and all he could see was the constant movement of the Soulless around him. He couldn't move as both beasts tried to pull him in separate directions. In what was to be one final moment of desperation, he mustered up all his power and felt... Nothing.  The pain was too great.  He couldn't find anything inside to use.  Then there was a sudden flash.

A ringing in his ears told him he was still alive. He lifted his head from the mud to see the Soulless had been thrown away from him, but those that hadn't been killed recovered and started to move in again.  He could do nothing but watch them come closer.  Between their feet he could see the limp body of the captain. Then another flash. He heard more screams and saw more Soulless fall. A woman came into his view, fighting with greater power than anything he had ever seen before. Her waves almost radiated with a white light as they ripped through the creatures. Argenen could feel their force as they passed over him, and before he lost consciousness he saw her face. Even through the blood he knew who she was. All students did. She was the Nivenmage of Pyriam.