The smokes from the flames towered above him, covering the sky. Buildings were burning as far as his eyes could see, lightning struck the ground without mercy and the screams of his men filled his ears. The night had been peaceful just a moment ago.

Until they appeared.

“Aruen!” a robed figure ran toward him with a glimmering sword in his hand, “Tyril’s taking the children and wounded to safety right now.”

  “That’s all I need to know.” Aruen strengthened the grip around his dagger and dashed toward the robed man, “Don’t move.”

The robed man froze on the spot as warmth gathered in Aruen’s left hand. His legs wouldn’t budge, no matter how hard he tried. Speechless, he looked on as the red-haired man he would trust with his life closed in with bloodthirsty eyes.

A squeal came from behind, the burning heat began to spread. The robed man could only watch as his superior thrusted the dagger between his left ribs and arm. Blood painted the grass beneath them and the warmth behind him faded.

“Your methods are always so...” the man turned his head as soon as his body could move again. Ashes slowly scattered with the wind, leaving only a small pool of blood behind on the ground, “I can’t tell if you want all of us killed or not.”

  “Good job.” Aruen gave a pat on the man’s shoulder before he turned his head around and screamed from the bottom of his lungs, “Now can anyone tell me how there are orcs invading our island!?”

The thunderous roar from the sky overtook them as the rest stayed silent. It was obvious that none of them would have a clue. Orcs didn’t simply appear once a night, looking to dominate lands. On contrary, they had always been known for their code of honor -respecting those stronger. They knew better than to just invade an island full of mages on nothing but a whim.

“I’ll tell you why.” the bloodied dagger glimmered as Aruen pointed it toward the advancing enemy army.

Ripples formed in the air above his left hand as the heat increased rapidly. Clenching his hand into a fist, the heat disappeared.

Soon, a low rumble came from the skies above, and flames the size of men began to disperse the clouds, falling onto the army of orcs. Gasps came from the other men and women watching the dreadful sight. Some dropped their weapons, while others fell to their knees, understanding the meaning of what had occurred. What they couldn’t hope to achieve was unable to...

It was futile, their ends were near.

The flames dispersed as a thin, blue layer had appeared above the orcs. Unharmed, the army continued forward. Large area magic seemed no more effective than a child’s pranks.

Aruen lowered his arms and began to walk toward the rest, “One of our own have guided them to us.”

  “Y-You’re insane!” a bearded old man, dressed on par with the rest of the robed men, stopped in his path, “Not only do you claim to have the voices of others inside of that thick head of yours, but now you dare say that one of our own... A magician... Has betrayed us!?”

  “We’ll find out soon enough,” Aruen walked past the old wizard and turned around to face everyone present, “but they wouldn’t attack us if we still had the advantage...

If we don’t break that barrier, our lives will be gone before sunrise.”

Aruen gazed over the dark mass trampling their ground. The orcs that eagerly rushed forth were quickly dealt with by the lightning. But not even his lightning could break the barrier from afar.

“Lisen.” Aruen tried to wipe the thick blood staining his cheeks, only to smear it out further onto the red stubble he called a beard.

  “Aruen?” the same robed man, earlier appearing with news about the safety of those incapable of fighting, slowly walked up beside Aruen. He glanced back to the crowd forming behind him on the cliff edge, “Don’t tell me...”

  “Find a way in and kill whoever’s shielding the orcs,” Aruen leaned in to whisper before he left, “and be careful, their eyes are among us.”

Lisen stared out over the approaching army as Aruen left to face the other magicians. He was certainly the right man for the job, but... The creator of a barrier could only be found at its center.

“...Sometimes, I’m not sure whether you’re really trying to kill us or not.” with a sigh, Lisen began to move according to Aruen’s request nonetheless. He was seething with rage, even if he wouldn’t show it.

Twenty-three years... Having left the island only twice in his lifetime, it pained his soul to see the lush greenery get trampled over and over, until nothing left stood undefiled. It had been exciting to leave on a small ship as a youngling, but as the world got known to him, his home was the only warmth left. On both of his journeys, he had seen the doings of orcs before, and this was not one of them...

This... This was the doings of humans; greed.

Aruen closed in on the outer edge of the small burning town, right by the north entrance. It was littered with green-skinned corpses. A small number for what was to come, yet that number was already closing in on their entire fighting force. Evacuation had to be finished soon if they would make use of the tower.

“Where’s Gerd?” Aruen searched among the villagers either preparing to fight until their deaths, or despairing over their cruel fates, “We can’t retreat from here until he’s back with confirmation-”

  “Brother is-” a small hand stopped him from behind his back. The soft voice seemed on the verge of crying, “Brother left that way, and hasn’t come back yet.”

Aruen knew the voice with every bone in his body. She should’ve been at the tower right now. This place was too dangerous for children.

He hastily turned around and held the young girl’s shoulders. His grip strengthened as he stared at her. She had been told not to come here, to stay at the tower, yet... It was heavy; the gaze of those trusting eyes. Aruen couldn’t yell at her when her pale eyes were full of tears. He would receive a mouthful of complaints in the morning, if it ever came.

Kneeling down, Aruen brought the girl in for a hug, “I’ll go take a look, so run back to safety. That nice old man in robes over there will protect you on the way.”

  “But-”

  “No buts...” Aruen lifted her up with a confident smile while standing up, “You’re a big girl now, right? Asmira.”

He let her down and ruffled her short, untidy hair, “Once you get back to safety, count to a thousand. I promise I’ll be there, okay?”

  “...Promise?” tears trickled down the child’s reddened cheeks, “You won’t leave like mommy?”

Aruen could only smile at her innocent words. It had been far too long since the love of his life had left the world, with two unruly gemstones alone in his care. Those had been painful and hard days... Now, the children were the only ones keeping him sane as he still often woken up, sweaty, from his restless nights.

With a soft kiss on her forehead, he gave her a reassuring look, “I promise. I’ll bring Robert with me, too.”

Asmira looked back several times as she hurried away with the old wizard.

He couldn’t waste any time either, if only to keep his promise. The orcs would easily break into the village once their main force reached up the plateau. If somebody hadn’t evacuated until then...

“I’m heading east!” Aruen sheathed his dagger and turned around, “You know how barriers work. Break a hole and slay as many orcs as you can before it repairs!

Sarlow has command while I’m gone.”

  “You heard the fool! Those savages are just large in numbers...” the muscular man thrusted his sword through the air, with the approaching army at the tip, “Now protect Tempest with all you got!”

The air got colder the further away he got from the center, where everything had begun. Stairs led him down along the mountainside to a lower plateau, and the modestly shaped houses entered his sight. The echo of his footsteps, stomping over the laid out stone path, spread in the silence. Everything seemed abandoned, but Gerd, as well as Robert, were out there -somewhere.

Blossoming trees grew along the pathway. The same ones he had planted along with Asmira, Robert, and...

“Robert!” pearls of sweat formed on Aruen’s forehead, “Robert, answer me!”

His words faded into the night without a response.

Robert might even be back at the tower already... He had promised his father to behave. He promised to watch over Asmira.

“Robert, dammit! Don’t play hide and seek with your father... Now isn’t the time!” Aruen stopped and took another look at the area he had passed. His breathing was getting rougher, “Robert-”

A plank fell over and clattered onto the stone path. Unsheathing his dagger, Aruen hurried over to the house on his left.

Wooden boards and planks leaned against the wall. Ready to strike with his dagger, he shoved the boards away, but sheathed his weapon as soon as he could see the small feet retracting.

Two girls desperately pushed their backs against the wall, trying their best not to usher any sound. Streams painted their muddy cheeks as tears had trickled down for some time.

Aruen crouched down to meet them at their eye-level.

“You two need to get to the tower.” he brought them up on their feet one by one, “Are there others hiding here?”

One girl exaggeratedly shook her head, while the other nodded once; slightly, “Mommy told us to stay here...”

  “Then she cannot have gone far.” Aruen stroke his thumb over their cheeks, wiping away their tears, “Let’s hurry to the tower and I’ll promise to come back with your mother, alright?”

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Both girls gave a nod and seemed ready to follow him, but the loud echo of a horn caused them both to crouch with their hands over their ears. The sound that shouldn’t have been here came from the roof above them.

Aruen stared straight up. Holding his hand toward the low ceiling, he clenched it into a fist as he brought it down. Wind began to howl, blowing through the area without remorse.

A black blow horn fell to the ground. Taking the initiative, Aruen lunged forward with his dagger, and pierced the dark-green chest as it had fallen right after. Retracting his short blade, he watched as the orc lifelessly slumped further onto the ground.

He picked up the horn and faced the children, “We need to hurry.”

Sarlow was protecting the only safe entrance to the village, and any stray orc should have been struck by lightning. They shouldn’t have been able to get this far in... And his son was still out there.

“Stay close to me.” Aruen looked back at the two girls holding hands, glancing restlessly back and forth between the houses, “I’ll make sure nothing’s hurting you-”

  “Aruen!” a robed man slowly limped forward on the pathway. He carried a child on his back, “Oh thank the stars, it is you.”

  “Gerd-”

  “I found Robert passed out by a tree.” Gerd handed the boy over, “He seems alright, but you need to leave here quickly. I’ll buy you some time.

The orcs, they’re coming up the mountainsides...”

Gerd glanced toward the two other children. Taking a deep breath of the fresh air, he faced the young father with a bitter expression, “...There are no other survivors from this side, just a bloodbath.”

Aruen didn’t meet the two girls’ eyes. He knew the pain all too well...

It was already too late.

“You better return in one piece.” Aruen walked away as fast as he could without leaving any of the three children behind, “Don’t increase that number.”

Gerd said nothing, not until Aruen would be too far away to hear him. Slumping down by a house wall, he stared at the incoming wall of orcs, “...Always asking for the impossible, aren’t you?”

Blue sparkles flashed as arrows grazed the layer surrounding Aruen and the children. He looked up to the next plateau. The peaceful houses had been transformed into platforms for the orcs as they engaged a cold-blooded battle.

“...Get closer to the wall.” Aruen slowed down to let the girls catch their breaths, “There’ll be less arrows that way.”

Aruen continued up with the girls right behind him. The orcs’ numbers only increased with each drake ship arriving on the strands far below. A swarm of death; ruthless savages only caring for money and power, and the power had shifted into their favor.

“We’re soon there.” Aruen looked back again, making sure nobody was left behind, “There’s a nice old man inside that you can trust.”

Just a little bit further...

The base of the silvery tower entered his gaze as they got out of the maze made out of burning houses. Large orc corpses were lying around the front, as if they had desperately tried to charge the building to no avail. Safety was just up ahead.

Lightning seemed to dance as it struck down against the orcs appearing from around the sides. Aruen focused completely on the short path that was left open. Some weak arrows wouldn’t be enough to stop him. Not now.

He placed his hand on the white wall and closed his eyes until a chiming sound began to reach his ears. A large wooden door slowly appeared before them.

“Dad!” Asmira ran past the two girls entering first and hugged Aruen as he appeared fourth behind the large door.

  “I brought Robert.” Aruen smiled as he sat the boy down against the wall before returning the hug, “Has Sarlow returned here?”

  “Nobody but you has entered since I and Asmira got here.” the bearded old man walked up behind Asmira’s back with a grim look, “We need to start thinking of saving those already here...

You know where I’m going with this, don’t you?”

Everyone else stayed silent as Aruen and the old man stared at each other. With a sigh, Aruen released his grip around Asmira, standing back up. Removing the necklace from his neck, he placed the key it held into the old wizard’s palm.

“Take care of the rest from here.” He faced back to Asmira one more time, whispering gently as he ruffled her hair, “I’ll be right back, so listen to the elder for now... And take care of your brother while I’m outside.”

She sniffled back some tears, giving a slight nod. Standing still, Asmira watched as her tall father walked out of the entrance. He turned around and waved with a smile on his face.

Light from the outside faded slowly as the door closed, and disappeared.

Aruen stared into the smooth wall reflecting a blurry version of himself. It would only take a second to remove the seal and get inside the tower again...

Clenching his fists, Aruen turned around, increasing his pace until he was running down the hill. Sarlow was still down there with the other villagers. They all had the duty to protect, and would never leave him in the same situation. He still had people to protect.

“Sarlow!” Aruen froze an orc crossing his path and shattered the statue to splinters with his dagger before heading further into the fray, “Do you hear me? Sarlow!”

  “So the young master returns,” Sarlow puffed air out of his nose as he felled an orc to the ground with a clean cut down to its knees. Piercing its chest once, he turned to face Aruen, “we might still need another hand or two.”

The metallic smell of blood reached Aruen as he got closer. Sarlow might have never been good at magic, but he could handle his sword and lead a group like no other... Yet the shallow cuts displayed all over his body was more than enough to understand the strength of his opponents.

Aruen grasped Sarlow’s right shoulder and leaned in, making sure he was heard under the screams, “Anyone still alive needs to retreat.”

  “About bloody time!” his moustache vibrated to his own voice, “Defend me and I’ll get the message out in no time.”

Sheathing his sword, Sarlow took out a small hourglass from his chest pocket, holding it up to his eyes. The water inside splashed from side to side against the crystal clear glass. A soothing sight, even in the midst of despair.

He covered it with his fist as he closed his eyes, concentrating on the needed words, “Liun.”

A light shot out toward the sky along with a high-pitched clang as he opened his fist. The clouds were slowly painted green in the shape of a raven. Their signal to retreat had been released.

The hourglass cracked, slowly turning to dust that swept away with the wind. With a sigh, he faced Aruen and nodded, “We’ll slowly fall back and keep the path clear-”

The sound of a horn echoed over the battlefield. A chill ran down Aruen’s spine as he turned around to where it came from. Orcs swarmed in from the burning houses, occupying the rooftops, and worst of all, even more of them blocked off their path to the tower.

Sarlow unsheathed his sword as he felt the tension rise within his body, “...I suppose it’ll have to take some time.”

Aruen watched as Sarlow ran in, screaming without hesitation. Concentrating, Aruen began to gather the heat from the flames into his left hand. He couldn’t let the sword-enthusiast outdo him.

But as he raised his hand, sharp pain suddenly rushed in from his shoulder. He crouched down, reflexively covering the wound with his hand. The shield against physical attacks was still up, covering his body, but...

Blood was surely seeping out from his shoulder.

An orc grunted from behind him, sword raised. He brought it down, but was swiftly parried by the dagger in Aruen’s hand.

Using the momentum, Aruen closed in and cut into the savage’s muscular leg before burning him to ashes with the touch of his heated palm.

Standing up, he gazed around. Everything seemed different from just a moment ago... The echo of swords as they struck against each other, the low rumble of the thunder coming from beyond the rain...

The rain that shouldn’t be falling.

Dull pain suddenly came from his chest and his legs couldn’t carry his weight any longer. One by one, the comrades around him fell to the ground with steel piercing through their chests. Their screams filled the air. Yet he could do nothing but watch in silence.

Aruen brought his hand to his chest. The feathered wooden shaft sticking out seemed almost like a joke, but the dull pain told him otherwise. It had gone through his shirt and was stuck, right next to his heart. But the pain didn’t linger, no blood of his own colored his clothes. It was just a throbbing pain left, as if he had gotten into a tavern fight and took one too many hits.

He stuck his hand in under his shirt, ripping out the arrow. A wooden mask fell to the ground and split in half. The wooden mask which he had always protected ever since making it... Had now protected him.

Tears rolled down his dirtied cheeks, dripping to the ground. He was unhurt, still able to fight the orcs, to protect his home. Yet the salty liquid wouldn’t stop pouring out of his eyes... As if he had lost something important.

A half of his very being.

The voice other than his own, the one he would always hear in his head, had disappeared; ripped out. Only emptiness lingered in its stead...