"Surrounded?"

Serafin clung to the crystal orb, her knuckles turned white. "Then we will organise and push through, your soldiers should have enough crimson fire left to pave a way, and then-"

"No, commander." Tatanya pierced the ground with her staff, a dark purple haze beginning to spread from its head. "They hid their true number from us, until now. Even should we break through, they will hound us without relent." She traced lines around her staff with her foot, which began to shine in a bright green light. "To your luck Lady Marion planned for such an event."

With a perfect circle formed the mist coalesced into the shape of a door which flung open, nothing but blackness beyond it. "The anchor point is at our hold headquarters, from there we can lay low and make our way home."

"And simply leave my soldiers behind?" Serafin took a step backward.

"To transport even two people across such vast a distance is a strain, even on a genius such as myself." Tatanya shrugged. "They came here to die, did you not say so yourself?"

"I will not abandon the ones who came all this way with me." Serafin reached out and offered Tatanya the crystal orb. "Take it and make sure it reaches the empire. The capitaline fleet should not be far. I will stay behind. I must."

Tatanya stared at her, and shook her head. "What good is your death here, your life in service of Aeterna, of lady Marion is much more useful than dying in these wastes along with a bunch of commoners and outcasts."

"I did not take you to care much for me." Serafin narrowed her eyes and pushed the orb against Tatanyas chest. "Take it. Feel free to spin a tale of how you claimed it all by yourself, it should earn you a lot with the viceroy."

"The viceroy will have my head if I return without you!" Tatanyas face was twisting with anger. "Have you already forgotten? This whole mission was to make you look good, what is the point if you throw your life away for a meaningless campaign that is doomed to fail?"

Serafin looked over her shoulder. At the entrance of the chamber Tatanya had dropped their banner. Her face grew pale. She walked past the mage, sheathed her blade, and picked it up. "This was not meaningless."

Her heart beat faster, her eyes widened, and when she turned to look back at Tatanya the mage began to tremble and shrink. "The first and second legions perished in the face of the enemy, they died for Aeterna, knowing their sacrifice would be remembered by the ones who came after them."

She rose the banner. The cloth was old and the colours nearly faded, but the gesture made Tatanya drop to her knees. "Ten thousand hands held this banner, ten thousand have come before me and gave their life for our imperator, our empire, our dream of a humanity undivided and unconquered. Out there the soldiers that I lead here, that I commanded to follow me, are dying, knowing that all they will achieve is another line on the pillar of heroes, and I will be damned if I turn my back on them."

Tatanya tried to scurry away as Serafin came closer, stopping as the crystal was dropped into her lap. "Past and present demand my sacrifice, and I will not run. My only regret is that I only have this one life to give to my soldiers, my ancestors, my imperator. When you return, tell of us. I ask not for myself, but for the others."

She turned to leave, concealing her shaking by clinging to the banner. "Tell our kin that the expeditionary army died without taking a step back, with Aeternas light in our hearts and our weapons in hand."

The long way up was a silent one. Her heart was still hammering in her chest, but all thoughts had left her, drowned out by seething, overpowering anger.

She was not going to end as a coward.

Within the palace she could already hear the sound of battle raging outside. Passing through its gate, calamity spread before her eyes.

The sky was a burning red, and the air full of the sounds of slaughter.

Her soldiers were in panic, many in near full flight. The Zanaan undead kept rank with a few Mhalli troops doing their best to keep the Atali conscripts in line.

A few turned and saw her, freezing in motion. Geyen was on the plaza, surrounded by lesser officers, and he raced towards her. "Commander, the west and south is lost, we are barely managing to hold the northern gate, we need your orders, shall we retreat?"

"Calm your panic." Serafin was shocked at the calm in her voice. "Recall the troops from the north, tell them to return here. Cede as much space as you have to."

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"Here? But commander, if we lose the north-"

"I know." Serafin laid a hand on his shoulder. "We will not be leaving this city. But we can build a defence here and take as many of these savages to the grave with us."

He began to tremble. "We. We are really going to die. All of us?"

"That we are." Serafin took a deep breath, and looked east. The streets were flooding with the inhuman and their allies. She could even make out humans among them, some still bearing the makeshift weaponry and insignias of their service to the empire.

"Our mission here was part of a greater purpose, Geyen." Her words made him focus, his back straighten. "The savages held something of great importance to the empire within this palace. It has been retrieved and is being returned to our imperator as we speak."

She forced a smile on her lips. "We may die here, but we delivered a blow to these monsters unlike anything they can imagine. And those who follow in our footsteps will finish what we have started."

Her smile spread to his face. He gripped his sword and quickly nodded his head. "Yes! So long as Aeterna rules, humanity endures! I will marshal the soldiers."

He leapt down the stairs with a spring in his step which Serafin could not match. Her shoulder slumped. It was better this way.

It did not take long for the streets to fill with retreating soldiers. Many had lost their weapons, their armour, or a limb. More and more of these incapacitated gathered around the centre of the plaza, while any who could stand and fight were dragged into a new ad-hoc formation, with a blade or rifle to the head if necessary.

Four cannons had survived the trek, and were amassed in a battery. Wherever the sound of battle was the loudest, they fired, not knowing what they may hit.

Serafin could monitor their crumbling position by the roofs. On many they had planted their banners, which were now being taken down one by one. But their progress was slowing down, with many a building going up in crimson flames as the crews detonated their weaponry, blocking whole streets.

The sun was beginning to set but the fighting was not dying down. Geyen returned to Serafin, who had been standing at the top of the stairs of the palace, overlooking the plaza near motionless.

"Everyone who was able to make it has, commander." The exhaustion was written into his face, but he had retained his zeal. "About a thousand are left combat ready, another thousand and a half are crippled or disarmed."

Serafin did not move, her gaze was pinned on the horizon southward, from whence they had come. "Anyone who can stand will fight. Mix the Zanaan with these atali criminals, keep your own in the back. Do not waste your ammunition on warnings, if someone takes a step back, shoot them."

After a moment of hesitation he nodded. "As you command."

"And send whoever is now highest among the mages to me." Serafin bit her teeth together. "I have something that they need to do."

The night seemed unwilling to end. Fires, lighting up closer and closer heralded the coming of their end. Much of the fighting had died down as Serafins troops were fortifying the plaza. Whatever furniture that could be moved had been dragged out of nearby houses to form barricades, the last explosives had been rigged to the sides of buildings, and the remaining mages gathered in front of the stairs to the palace. They had been casting their incantation for hours, two had already collapsed from exhaustion.

Serafin herself was holding onto the banner, her eyes falling shut again and again.

Then the silence was broken, and her eyes shot wide open.

The northern street was by far the widest of the three leading onto the plaza. Half a legion could have marched down it side by side without issue. The entire space was now filled with hulking figures, only barely illuminated by the torches they carried.

Many of them were taller than the buildings at their sides, their weapons were the size of full grown trees, and from their malformed mouths they sounded a chant that burrowed its way into her head even while she covered her ears.

Their calls and drums were answered by rifle and cannon. The rifle shots barely dug into their wooden skin, the cannon balls made some stumble, one even pierced through the chest of one, but even he simply carried on walking.

Panic spread through the ranks. Atali conscripts turned to flee, and met their end at a bullet through the chest instead.

Serafin stumbled down the stairs, the ranks of her soldiery parting before her. The enemy had almost closed the distance without a single loss.

"Do not look away!" She called out, and rose her banner high. Her voice manage to drown out the chants, the drums, to drive away the imminent doom, if but for a moment.

"Look upon these abominations! Look upon these monsters that have sought to destroy us for generations. Their hatred-twisted faces, their disgusting calls, and see why we are here!"

The first row of hillspeople had begun to sprint, and the ground began to quake. "Every monster we slay here is another that will never harm our families ever again, every slain titan a reminder for these savages that they will answer for their crimes of squatting on land that is meant to be ours. Hear their hatred, they know they have lost!"

"For every one of us who dies this day, a hundred will return to this place, weapon in hand, and a thousand will take up arms for every one of those! Martyrs of Aeterna, hear me!"

The sun had begun to rise, its first rays shining down upon them, reflecting glimmers of gold, and illuminating the overwhelming mass that charged towards them. "Face your enemy and strike them with all the fury you can muster, so that when we meet Aeterna we need not bow our head in shame!"