The two stared incredulously at the expanding cloud of smoke. The ground it covered expanding by the second, slowly blotting out the sky.
"What in the Nine Tails...? Illia what is that? I've never seen anything like that..."
"It's... It's a fire, I think? I don't know why everybody would've ran to it instead of staying here and making sure it didn't-
Another reverberation went through Arras's body, this time though he felt it in his bones. It hadn't traveled through the land, it was a familiar feeling. The feeling of magic. Massive outputs of the stuff off in the distance. Suddenly, he had a good idea of what might be wrong. Illia had clearly felt it as well, her thoughts had ceased as she went wide eyed at the sensation.
"I'm not even going to ask if you felt that Illia. That was such a powerful outburst of magic that we could both feel it from half way across the forest. We need to leave, now."
"Wh-Arras! We can't just leave these people, we've spent the last month here, living with them!"
"Why not?! I care about you way more then I care about any of the people here. We did work for them and they gave us a place to stay, that's all it was! We don't owe them anything beyond that."
"If you care about me-me... I... Look, alright? Let's just take a look and then we can decide if we want to help or not, please? It might not even be that bad, just a lot of people using a lot of magic for some reason."
"...Fine. I'll follow you, but just know I don't want to get close to that Illia. I've never felt anything like it before, it makes me feel... Disturbed, on edge."
"Thank you." She nodded, acknowledging what he had said but... Practically ignoring it all the same. Then Illia flapped her wings twice, and took off.
With his heart still pounding in his chest, Arras followed after his airborne companion. Deftly running into the forest ablaze.
...
Magic tremored through the air, more than Arras had ever felt in his life. He was slowly growing accustomed to it, but it felt as if his entire body was shaking from the energy. The smell of smoke filled his nostrils, it was almost overpowering... Though not quite. Amidst the soot and ash that gently fettered down from the skies, a stark contrast to the torrentuous uplifting of the heavy smog, was a faint scent of blood.
He could feel the magic more clearly now, to say it was a single large source of magic would be extremely incorrect. Arras found he had to adjust his assumptions somewhat. No, what was actually happening was that dozens of spells were being used in quick succession every few seconds. He could still faintly see Illia through the cover of the tree line, though she was quickly growing more and more difficult to keep track of the further into the woods the two reached.
The intensity of the magical energy grew to a fever pitch, Arras could tell that he was practically a room across from whatever was happening. And then he was given yet more incentive to stop in his tracks.
Bodies lightly littered the floor. Some faces Arras did not recognize... Some faces... He did.
Why? Why would they choose to fight like this? I... What are they... Why are they fighting amongst themselves? They are all... Humans, are they not?
He heard the gentle flapping of wings approaching from behind, and he did not react, merely continuing to stare on in shock. Attempting to process the confusing conflict of logic and emotions.
Illia stood still, in a moment of somber silence as she took in the sight. The omnipresent pulsation of magic doing nothing to shake the two from their states for the short few seconds that they stood.
Arras wouldn't claim to have liked these humans... He didn't even really know them that well. But... Something about seeing a face you've seen so often... Bloodied... It reminded Arras of something. A flash from a moment in the past, a moment he'd seen red in. He couldn't help but compare the attack on his brother with what he saw now. He shook violently for a moment, before slowly turning to face Illia.
She was the one to start a link. "Arras... I-"
But she was not the first to speak.
"Why? Why is this happening?" He stared at Illia with cold eyes, a mix of sadness and directionless rage covered by confusion crawling within them.
"I... I... I don't know."
No answer, she had no answer. His thoughts seized as his mind struggled to wrestle control back from his body, his mental barriers had been loose. A small part in the back of Arras's mind chastised himself for such sloppy work, but the overwhelming majority of his mind didn't care.
"What is happening?"
Misplaced anger began to rise in his chest, it certainly wasn't directed at Illia, but once more an aura began to flare into existence around Arras. His magic bubbling to the surface, practically begging to be released. On what, he wasn't yet sure, but seeing the agonized, still faces of the people he'd been living with up until yesterday only stoked the flames. Logically, he knew he didn't really care about these people, that they didn't mean much to him. But...
The circumstance did not care for the logical side of his brain. Illia's sorrowful demeanor, the comparisons his mind was refusing to stop making, the wild raging energy permeating his surroundings putting him on edge, the smell of death and smoke, everything was forcing him into a fight or flight reaction. And he was heavily leaning towards the former of those two options. He couldn't stop seeing the face of his brother skewered alive when he looked at the bodies of the men he'd lived with for, for all intents and purposes, almost half of his life.
"Arras... Arras please, calm down. I've never felt this much... Anger from you before. You're... Scaring me here."
He very well could sort these emotions, he knew he had the ability to do so, he'd made sure of it. He could make a logical decision if he truly wanted to, which in all likelihood, was to simply leave the area. All he had to do was reinstate the mental barriers he'd practiced oh so much and... But...
Do you want to let these emotions go? To smother them under the weight of logic? Surely, whatever did this to these people, your people... Deserves such wrath?
"Illia. What. Is happening?"
He wasn't angry at Illia, He wasn't really angry at any one thing in particular, there was nothing to direct his rage towards, no solid target or object. He was just... Angry. Both he and she knew that. But the mix of Arras's own aura, which Illia certainly knew had more magic then her own, and the overpowering emotion she could feel straight from his mind certainly didn't help to calm her. Yet regardless of that, she looked down nervously and began to speak.
"Another group of humans are fighting against the people of the village. I don't know why, I didn't get close enough to ask anybody... That's all I know."
...
And suddenly, Arras had a target to direct his anger at. His aura flared again as potent anger threatened to tear down the last mantles of common sense that still kept him from running into the fray. Illia trembled under the weight of it, not quite having understood the depth of the difference in terms of the magic she held and the ludicrous amount of magic that Arras had available to himself until now.
For all her life, which was admittedly pretty short, Illia had been told she was certainly above average. Better at what she did when compared to her siblings. Any magics she attempted, she picked up easily. Barring healing, yet her mother had insisted on it. As far as Illia cared, the environment had been stifling.
Her siblings were envious of her skill in fields that they wished to pursue, avoiding her at any chance she got, isolating her. Maybe she could've dealt with that if she had at least been able to flourish in those fields, yet she had been forced to focus on magics which she had almost no talent with... Those she grew up with disliked her, nothing she wanted to do got her acknowledgement, and anything that would she simply wasn't good at...
The poor situation made her bitter just thinking about it, but the past was in the past. Illiana Veile could say with certainty, she didn't care for what she had left behind. Regardless of all of that, the underlying thought she knew to be true was this. Her pool of magic, had been higher then her peers from the start of her life. Albeit, not to an absurd degree, but she simply always had... MORE, than her siblings.
And now, staring at her companion, her friend, Arras. For the first time in a long time she felt truly nervous. They'd come a long way from being predator and prey like when they had first met, they'd shared secrets... Or well, he'd shared secrets, shared space, ate together, she knew him and he knew her. Just like she had been present for over half of Arras's life, he too had been there for just about half of her own. Yet even with all of that, Illia simply couldn't help but shiver as she stared into a pool of magic at least three times deeper then her own.
...
"I see."
"Arras, I'm sorry, I take it back we can go, I don't think we should get involved in this. I really don't think we should, this is beyond us. We've both had a chance to grow and get stronger we can just go live in the f-"
"No."
"Please-"
"No."
"You were right Illia, we do need to help."
That last thread snapped, that last thing stopping Arras from going absolutely ballistic. Emotion finally won over logic for the fox. Yet this time, instead of crippling sadness it was a unyielding rage bringing him a clarity of mind he'd never felt before.
"You don't need to help me if you don't want to, but I can't leave them to die. I can't let it go, let it vanish like everything else."
Illia didn't respond. She merely stared down at the ground, shaking.
Arras stepped forward with clear purpose, his mind the most fractured it had ever been, yet simultaneously as clear as can be. He walked into the fierce pulsation of magical energy, brimming with purpose.
...
First things first, Arras's presence in the field of battle was felt immediately. His aura hadn't diminished in the slightest even after his initial flare up. A hundred percent of his magical reserves were on full display and anything within the vicinity could FEEL that pressure. But what those who felt his presence weren't sure of, was if they were friend or foe.
Subtly, the discharge of magic in the fight from both sides laxed for a few moments as the confusing presence was felt, but quickly picked back up. Some spells were even fired towards Arras, but with only a twinge of focus walls jetted from the earth to defend him. Friend and foe alike took cover behind trees and magically constructed defenses, lobbing spells of various lethality back and forth at each other.
Arras slowly walked forward, taking in the situation step by step. The occasional spell would come flying towards him every few moments, but as previously mentioned they were easily blocked with minimal cost to his reserves. His aura barely flickered under the strain, and just as quickly flared back to full power after a single instant, recovering any minuscule drain to his magic within seconds.
His mind felt clear as could be, every magical pulse, every casted spell distinct to his senses. It was as if the world was moving in slow motion for the fox. Rapidly, he began to pinpoint where these spells were coming from, glancing to see which faces he recognized, and which he didn't. It was difficult to spot them precisely through the burning forest, but spot them he did.
For the first time, Arras's aura noticeably shrunk, above him, a dozen balls of flame came into existence. Both of his tails stood on end as the flames manifested. Dimly, he noted some shouts of alarm coming from all directions around him, but that didn't change his course of action.
He began his assault, each ball flying deftly through the air towards twelve separate targets. The action was simple, manipulating his magic at this moment felt easier, more fluid than it had ever before. His perception of time had greatly sped up in his trance, and thus the execution of this attack was flawless. He felt twelve sources of magic flare, and immediately after felt the explosions of twelve projectiles. Trees fell, walls crumbled, and when all was said and done Arras only felt ten remaining.
Two of the dozens went down in his first attack, and yet Arras felt nothing for them. They had brought this result down upon themselves. Once again, the amount of magic reverberating through the forest dulled for a few seconds. For a brief moment, the only sound was that of the flames crackling around him. Then, came retaliation.
Dozens of attacks came raining down on where Arras had been standing an instant ago. Arras had no hope of defending against such an assault, but he also didn't need to. With the cover of the burning forest, he barely even put any effort into creating an illusion of himself. The smoke covering for a stock still image of his form which bore the brunt of the barrage. By the time the rain of spells had stopped, he was nowhere to be seen, yet everybody knew that the original caster wasn't dead.
Even though attacks continued from their enemies, for that instant everybody was far more wary of the unknown factor. Their aura still somewhat prominent even after such a massive discharge of magic. Then, that aura shrunk once again, precipitously so, yet still it was so very noticeable. Instantly, defenses were braced, yet screams loosed all the same.
The earth itself turned against it's wielders, the hold they'd taken over the land in order to defend themselves rended from them, then it rended their bodies moments later. Spikes lashing out from the walls claimed another three lives. Even more voices cried out, but by now the people that Arras had been living with until now began to realize which side was being attacked.
...
Arras attempted to repeat a similar attack, but quickly found any influence he tried to weave being quickly blocked out. With all he was getting in return for the attempt being a swift retaliation. After Arras's initial surprise attack his enemies had put more magical power into their spells in order to block out any of Arras's attempts at dominating them. It had become almost impossible to dismantle their spells from a distance, so he had to change his tactics.
He returned to a more conventional form of attack, launching fireballs from a distance and creating spikes from the earth. Small attacks that brought no meaningful drain upon himself, but did keep up a form of pressure on his enemies.
By now, he'd figured out which of the two sides had the upper hand in this battle, and if you weren't counting Arras himself... It was overwhelmingly in the attackers favor. One by one he could feel the magic of his people fading, dying out. One stray spell, an explosion or a whimper. They perished one by one.
His anger had long since boiled over, any further deaths only served to reinforce that frothing rage, and somehow that made the world feel even slower. Arras wanted to help more, to save lives where he could, but there were still a few parts of his brain dead-bolted to logic. He knew that if he made himself too apparent, too noticeable, that he'd likely be beaten out in a contest of firepower in moments.
Individually he was stronger than anybody else present, but to go against the entirety of this enemy force, which he counted to be around forty humans remaining in total... He wouldn't lie to himself, even as angry as he was. That was a fight in which he stood absolutely no chance, and if Arras died everybody else was up next. So he continued to play the long game, hit and run... Even as he felt their presences vanish one by one.
So far Arras estimated he'd gone through about a fifth of his total reserves, and his aura was now flagging somewhat. That was actually sort of good for him, as the part of his brain that wanted him to fight as methodically as possible had wanted to turn that off from the start, yet his broiling rage had made it impossible to repress his own magic. So using up some of it had actually helped on that front.
Arras weaved around the forest in partial cover, the occasional spell would still get close to him. But he almost always defended himself with minimal issues. The worst Arras had gotten so far was a bit of a burn when a fireball that he thought he'd clearly avoided exploded just a little bit too close for comfort. It was painful for a moment, but nothing that was able to tear him out of his focus. This continued for awhile, but soon enough Arras came to a realization.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
The only way to "win" this fight was to take out his enemies before they could kill his allies. He may very well be able to whittle them down, but if it wasn't done fast enough there was practically no point to him fighting this battle to begin with. Arras's aura faded once more, and he conjured an absurd amount of projectiles into existence. Under any other circumstance, Arras would've never tried something like this... But with how clear his perception of the world around him felt, how... Slow it all was... He knew he could do it.
The flames blended in amidst the crackling trees, if the world around Arras hadn't been burning, such a spell could even be considered... Beautiful. But alas, it wasn't for show. Arras loosed the attack, directing every single fireball in a unique direction, finely manipulating the entire spell throughout it's duration. Absentmindedly, while his attack had been building up Arras noted a few of his targets running away from the battle. That was fine with Arras as far as he was concerned, less to worry about.
The flames whistled through the air, each one of the projectiles soaring towards it's intended target with disturbing accuracy. Some erected walls, some dove for cover, some even tried to hide from the spell, Arras would've laughed if he was capable at the moment, of both the physical action and the emotion. Only those who sought to defend themselves ever had any chance. The absolute maelstrom Arras had conjured rained down upon his foes, each and every projectile finding a surface to bury itself into.
His enemies screamed out as they burned alive, some actually managed to put the fires out, but many others simply burned to a crisp. He had sacrificed explosive power for the sheer quantity of fire he had used, but it was quite lethal all the same. In the end, those who chose to defend instead of evading were the most well off after his attack... But after his earlier demonstrations of piercing defenses with ease, this wasn't a choice most of them had made.
A fair amount of them had been wounded, though he couldn't judge that as effectively as he could the death toll. Wounds had no impact on the amount of magic a person was wielding. Strangely he had found himself able to detect magic far more easily than he could before in this clear state of mind, which lended itself quite nicely to telling when somebody was dead.
Unfortunately though, it was far more difficult to tell who was merely wounded. Death was the only cause of somebody completely relinquishing a hold over their magic. Regardless though, Arras judged about half of them in total had died. Which was good, because if they hadn't Arras had no idea what he was going to do after that. That spell alone had drained over half of his reserves. He felt his body tremble for a moment, though it felt distant, as if it wasn't really happening to him.
He took a quick guess at how much of his magic he had left... And it was rather grim. A little more than a single fifth of it was all he was left with. His position was at least obscured though, and with the amount of magic he had left he was far more difficult to detect. Arras was confident he could take on a far smaller amount of enemies like this now. In a way, dealing with fifteen or so obvious attackers was far more simple then dealing with an ambush predator in the forest.
Arras knew what he was up against, there was no unknown in this battle, besides maybe what specific magics his opponents could use. There was no way to take him by surprise, and there was no escaping... Well, there was escaping him. But just because of how many of them there were. The last few would certainly be a pain with the meager amount of his own magic left available to him but... But... But they were... Running away?
Almost wordlessly, the humans began to disperse, retreating away from the fight. Leaving Arras to sit in confusion, which at last allowed a speck of other feelings to bleed through his anger. The first of those feelings being as aforementioned, confusion. The flow state he had been in... No, it was something more then a flow state... But regardless, the flow state he had been in slowly faded away as he came back to his own senses. And the first thing he felt-was that it was unbearably hot.
The entire forest around him was ablaze, a mixture of his own repeated attacks and the spells that other casters here had woven bringing enough heat to light the old oaks aflame. Before he cared about any of that though, it felt as if he was melting in his own skin. Now that he didn't feel invigorated, clear of any pain or exhaustion, the cries of his own body slammed into him as if he had come crashing down from a hundred meters in the air.
Panting in exhaustion, he managed to crawl out from between a blazing stump and a burnt branch. Avoiding any major burns and merely singing a few spots in his fur. Remarkably, Arras had come out from this fight almost completely uninjured. All he had suffered were a few minor burns and a hefty dose of exhaustion. His fur was marred and a few patches burnt out, but that was all.
He crumpled to the ground panting, just trying to get his breathing back in line. The forest crackled and burned around him, yet any flames stayed comfortably away from him. He settled on burnt grass, away from the raging flames that licked up and down the great trees of the forest. He could no longer feel the magical presences of anybody nearby, which was odd because he knew his own people were still in the area... Though, amidst the popping of wood he could hear some shouting...
Ah, whatever... I need to just... Lie down for a moment.
He closed his eyes, breathing in and out. Rapidly at first, though slowing down over time. His body was aching, and his magic had almost run dry, but a profound sense of success found it's perch within Arras's mind. Distantly, he heard trees falling, but he didn't really care. It wasn't like a tree would fall over from burning... The least that would happen is a branch falling... Actually, now that he thought about it, Arras did care a little bit.
His eyes opened tiredly, and he glanced around his surroundings. Flames still rose against the trunks of the forest, wood bursting off from the burnt trees every so often. Then, he looked up, and saw a familiar form.
Illia was flying around, looking through the smoke for any signs of life. She was definitely trying, but it looked as if she was about to move on after not finding whatever she was looking for. Arras didn't want that, so he made an attempt at getting her attention.
Magic is running low... Smoke won't work, obviously... It's too far to make a proper illusion... Can I mold earth that high up?
So, after that thought, Arras made an attempt at it. Before Illia could move on, Arras began to cast another spell. It was rather difficult to do, especially with such a small amount of his magic left remaining to him, but Arras was no quitter. Slowly, a pillar of earth began to form... No, it was more like a spike. Much more narrow than a pillar. He began to manipulate it upwards, rising higher and higher over time.
The further it went away from him, the more magic it took to control the spell, and the more of it he lost in the process. He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw Illia's head snap in his direction once the spike had gotten near her. Sure enough, a moment later the figure started to descend. A small smile broke into Arras's muzzle, and he let his magic collapse at last. The huge spike gradually melding back into the land it had came from.
"I'm... Not even sure what to say."
Arras began, "I'm-"
"I'm sorry." But this time it wasn't he who spoke first.
"...What for? You didn't do anything. All of this was my choice, there's not much excuse for what I did, even if I wasn't thinking clearly." Arras certainly didn't regret his actions per say, but coming down from that high he figured he most certainly could've made better choices.
"No, I did. I'm sorry. I should've just listened to you when you said we should leave. I was just... Sentimental, we never really knew these people, and I ended up making you risk your life over them."
"...What? That's ridiculous Illia. You tried to get me to stop before I even did anything. I'm entirely responsible for my own actions. You didn't make me do anything, none of it was your own fault. Besides, what are we... Moping around for? It's not like I failed."
"But... But I just... I just watched! I didn't even do anything, I couldn't do anything! You would've died and I'd have just been... Frozen! Because I was scared! I-"
"It's not your fault."
She paused mid sentence, looking at Arras on what seemed to be the brink of tears.
"Illia, it's not your fault. I made my own choices, even if they were stupid. Like I told you, you didn't need to help me. Although... I don't think I can walk right now. If you really want to make it up to me... Can you just be with me? For a few minutes, that's all I need."
She froze for a moment, but hesitantly nodded. Lying down at Arras's side. The flames began to die down somewhat, at least the flames near the two of them. The fire spread outwards, but Arras couldn't find it in himself to care. Besides, the forest would hold strong.
...
Eventually, the flames calmed. Or at least, spread far enough away to no longer be noticeable. Arras felt tired, very tired. That was also compounded by having Illia right next to him. Speaking of her, Illia hadn't spoken since she had folded her wings in. Arras didn't really get why she was so upset, if anything he thought she should be angry at him for blatantly ignoring her, but Arras was still content to simply rest after exerting himself like he did.
As far as Arras was aware, he hadn't actually taken any major hits, so his exhaustion somewhat confused him. He'd used a lot of magic, sure, ran around a lot and it was fairly hot... But to be this tired? He thought back, looking through the actions he'd taken in his fight. Everything was crystal clear, fresh in his mind and tinted by his focus. Yet... Nothing, he couldn't find it. Arras couldn't find whatever it was. He exhaled slowly, and let his body go limp.
I can think about it later.
So he closed his eyes. Trusting in Illia to wake him up... Within a reasonable amount of time.
Then he felt her move somewhat, jerking a little bit to the side.
"Illia?"
"Did you-did you hear that?"
"Hear wh-"
He didn't get to finish the thought.
"ARRAS!"
His eyes snapped open as she cried out, his head twisted in the short moments that she spent clambering over him. What he saw made his heart skip a beat, a ball of flame the size of Arras himself flying towards him at a speed he wouldn't be able to avoid. His first reaction, was to try and scramble away. But when Illia's weight held him down as he tried to move, weak in the legs as he was, all he managed to accomplish was to go face first back into the dirt.
Everything happened so fast, that he barely registered what came next. Feeling the lack of strength in his legs, Arras immediately attempted to construct a barrier from the earth. But his magic practically lagged behind his thoughts, having completely relaxed, his ability to cast on demand had greatly dropped for that short moment. Regardless though, the barrier began to rise. However, it certainly would not have been fast enough to block the attack. It was after that initial attempt at casting a spell, that Illia jumped.
Arras's eyes widened even further as she took off, at first in shock, then immediately after in realization. His mouth barely opened before the most world shattering noise rung out from the collision. Illia blocked the projectile with her own body, sending her tumbling to the ground scorched and unconscious, bleeding out from the force of which she had been slammed into the ground. Almost immediately, Arras felt the mental connection between the two of them snap.
The world became a blur to Arras, the sun itself was blotted out as the earth erupted out from beneath him. A mixture of rage and absolute terror permeated his being as he stared down at Illia's barely breathing body. He couldn't think, couldn't breathe. Strength returned to his legs as he stood in thoughtless horror.
No. No. No no no no NO! NO!
Magic flooded forth like a dam had shattered completely. All his prior wear and fatigue instantly evaporating as if it had never been there to begin with. He tried to channel that new found bottomless magic into anything, something reminiscent of Illia's own healing magic, but he failed utterly and completely at doing such. Though he refused to stop attempting to cast something. What he got in return for it was the destruction of the landscape around him, entirely unknowing of that fact, he continued to try. To try and push magic into some sort of spell that could help her.
PLEASE! DON'T LEAVE ME! "SOMEBODY! HELP ME!"
In those short few moments, Arras had tried almost everything within his repertoire of magical knowledge. From flame to earth to any of his mental aligned magics, transformation, even concepts he had only a loose grasp of. None of it worked. The earth around him shuddered in protest against the massive amounts of magic rocking through it, but he continued with no issue regardless of such resistance. Arras had never felt so much magical power in his life, yet he was still powerless all the same. Or at least, so he thought. In his attempt to figure out healing on the spot, he had figured something else out.
Unknowingly, Arras casted a mental spell akin to a scream. A-psychic shout if you will. And it was by pure chance, that something responded.
"We'll help you with whatever-just stop attacking us!"
Arras's head snapped in the direction that the mental voice had come from, eyes meeting with a thick wall of dirt. He blinked, and dismantled the spell with such speed and ferocity that it was as if the wall had never been there to begin with. Not thinking to question the source of the voice, or whatever it might want, he simply shouted back. "SHE NEEDS HEALING, NOW!"
Arras tried his absolute hardest to steady his heart, to calm the fluctuations of his magic, and by extension the rupturing earth. While it was true that simply keeping ones aura active wouldn't create any magical effects besides the obvious, that wasn't what Arras had been doing. Within that short moment he'd attempted as many spells as possible in hopes of making a breakthrough, even if he hadn't entirely understood that it had been what he was doing. Amazingly, Arras had sort of succeeded with that, just not in the way he'd hoped.
A man walked out into the open, onto the path that Arras had mentally carved out from where this group of assailants had been, all the way to himself. Walking with his hands raised the entire time. "FASTER!"
He began to move slightly faster than a walk. And by slightly, that means he almost began to sprint. Pausing for a short moment before walking into the dome of earth that Arras had created, the man slipped inside and looked down at the fox. "HEAL HER!"
"I-"
"NOW!"
"I'll heal her on one condition!" The man pitched even as he stood face to face with Arras, whom currently held at the very least ten times more magic than he did. A bold man in the face of certain doom.
"I'LL DO ANYTHING! JUST DO IT!"
The man seemingly carried on with absolutely zero hesitation. "This is a magical contract, you understand that by agreeing to this you are eternally bound until both parties agree otherwise. I will heal the Ashwing, in exchange you will swear fealty to the kingdom of Arbre."
"I AGREE! JUST! DO IT!" Arras's tails flailed dangerously as magic coursed around his body once again. Almost absentmindedly, he noted a twisting feeling in his own body. Something more than physical, but he didn't care. The man immediately knelt down to Illia's scorched body, blood pooling on the ground around her. He placed his hands on her, and a lime green glow emanated out from the contact
Arras practically dove towards her, placing his forehead against her unconscious form, panting heavily as he felt a familiar magical affinity pass through Illia's body, That of healing.
Slowly, his exorbitant magic spells came undone as he lost control over them, redirecting his focus entirely towards Illia. Distantly, he registered more of the same group he'd been fighting only moments ago run by him, but he didn't care.
As long as she's alive. As long as Illia is alive.