MIRA

I sit on my disobedient horse that has too much energy at the back with the other mages as the soldiers charge. It is intimidating watching these giant men and women take the field shouting their challenge. The air crackles like a whip from a spell that knocks down the Barbarian line, to the humour of their fellows around then.

"Fools all of them," Magus Zrina says in distaste. "They will laugh to their graves once Magister Markus is done with them."

The woman is a petty bitch but I couldn't agree with her more. My focus goes back to the disorganised packs of savages facing a full calvary charge of armoured soldiers.

The savages are painted in different colours and hardly have any armour. They'll be slaughtered in large numbers without armour for sure.

And Blondie said these where the inexperienced ones? I've never been in a battle, I'm no soldier. All this has been new to me. The nervous energy in the camp in preparation for battle. The excited terrified ambience. People puking their guts out, others fucking the slaves and servants like it’s their last time having sex.

I'm ashamed by the fact that I thought of finding Justin for sex even suspecting that families ambitions. Justin has always been wrapped around my finger, he would never hurt me. I hurt him behind closed doors in ways that would horrify his siblings if they ever found out. I grin thinking about a roust with sweet Justin when this is over.

Yea, I should find him after the battle. Not for sex though, I will never fuck a Barathian again. No matter how willing and malleable Justin is, or how compassionate and passionate Mayner is. I shake my head and look out into the field.

The Barbarians seem are spreading out. Thinning their lines. If the Barbarians had horses it would have been the mages' job to obliterate their charge. But since we are charging and they don't seem to have the long anti-cavalry spears we were told to look out for, we stay at the back. Slowly moving forward to gain effective distance.

All of a sudden every Barbarian bends down, picks something up and suddenly the air is thick with javelins. I prepare my mana and unleash a shape the windpushing a few of the projectiles off course as the other magicians that have the range also unleash defensive magic.

More than half of what I assume were 10 000 javelins are deflected or obliterated. We move our horses closer for better rang as the rest of the javelins fall within our soldiers downing several hundred horses which lead to those behind them stumbling.

Our archers release two consecutive volleys of arrows that reach Barbarian shields just before the cavalry does. The move is timed to perfection as the tribesmen now either prepare to dodge the charging horse or raise their shields to catching the raining arrows, but they can't do both.

[Tlaaa], the sound of flesh belong ripped into echoes obscenely through the air.

The sound the arrows make as they thump into the shields is familiar buy am surprised by the crunching sound produced by the two forces meeting. A mist of blood spreads out, I hear screams and other shouts indecipherable from those made by animals.

The scent of rust and mud whiff with a passing breeze. It's all so surreal.

The horses make the worst sounds. High pitched and long as they buck and kick everything within their paths to oblivion. Some even in their dying they injure and kill all around them, friend or foe.

The second and third lines of soldiers fall upon the Barbarians like a maelstrom. Hacking and cutting into the disorganized lines with long swords. There is a chaos of blood, bodies and screams that make it difficult to properly gauge what is going on but death is being dished without a doubt.

Our line gets to the soldiers first to fall from the confusion caused by the javelins and help stop the bleeding. Most magicians can at least stop bleeding.

It wasn't noticeable to me because of the vast numbers involved but hundreds are downed here. And close by, looking at them, I start to realise what that number truly means. It seemed like less from the back. I look up at the far hill behind us where our senior soldiers, magisters and generals are watching the battle.

At another hill somewhere I know the Barbarians are watching. This is not what I expected war to be. I know I'm inexperienced but these Barbarians take battle and death too casually, even making it into a game. This can't be normal.

Magicians aren't too useful in a battle like this until we can choose individual targets. So we wait for the confusion to clear while also pulling the injured back.

Eventually the mass of bodies starts being something I can vaguely interpret, which confuses me even more.

War is horrifying; there is no question about it. I have seen dead bodies before, slaves die all the time and the strong kill the weak in Sydney daily. To not know how fleeting life can be I would either have to be a completely oblivious idiot who would probably be dead by now anyways.

War is a step above the everyday horrifying I've come to know. The screams, the guts, the blood, the puke, the shit. The adrenaline in the air, the chaos of sounds and scents.

It's on a par of its own and I thought I was doing well in handling it. I watched Maud's shallow eyed blank stare and the other puking noble mages and sneered at their weakness. They had the audacity to look down on me as a mage yet never having had seen a violent death.

How many times would I have been raped had I not had a shiv when out on an errand? How many homeless have I seen gutted in street corners? These sheltered sops were in my world now I thought.

That is until I saw what I thought was our sure victory turn to ash in my mouth. War is horrifying yes, but I think war with Barbarians is on a par of its own.

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Like ghaols rising to feast on the living the Barbarians rise and pounce with reckless abandon.

These creatures in human skin don't stop fighting from being trampled by horses or loosing limbs. No, they fighter harder, faster, better and more vicious as you injure them.

Their naked skin and paint making open wounds almost indistinguishable.

I send a few airballs to the few I can see ready to cleave our soldiers like wheat. The airballs I was so proud of just a little over a month ago only get me a hate fill glare from one of my targets that has me reflexively pulling on the reigns of my horse trying to kick her away. Even knowing he is too far to hurt me my throat closes in fear. I think he's too far to get me.

The armour our soldiers rely on that is so good at deflecting cuts and stabs seems to have been made to be countered by their huge axes and hammers. They roar and ravage like animals and suddenly the fear in our lines is palpable.

Only ten minutes into the battle and already it seems to be going south. The archers move forward and get close enough to pick individual targets.

Some of the mages as well which forces me forward not to be outdone. I move with Maud and use a handkerchief to wipe some of the puke still on her cheek.

Another ten minutes of battle and the scene has devolved into a nightmare. I cast chase the wind, on some of our soldiers increasing their speed for second before the cast fades, saving a few lives. I didn't even know I could cast it on another person besides myself before today.

It takes a decapitation to permanently take a Barbarian out of the fight. They are ferocious foes that fight even when down. Somehow they're bleeding less than they should and never seeming to tire. 30 minutes into the battle and not a single soldier is left mounted.

A Barbarian savage painted red, blue and white suddenly decapitates a mage a few yards away. The first mage casualty of the battle and panic reigns amongst the magicians that have so far been slinging magic from a distance.

How she got so close is a mystery for another day as lightning, fire, frost, rocks, exploding gas clouds are cast at her from every direction. She rolls and dives, carrying a huge poleaxe as long as she is tall as though it is welded to her hand.

I hear a crunching thumb and look to me left just as the lightning mage falls off his horse with an axe in his skull.

A javelin takes the fire mage in the chest. Vaulting her clean off her horse and all hell breaks loose as Barbarians fall out of a knee high mist I didn't even notice developing. Mana shields bloom purple, red, blue and other colours as projectiles bounce off.

I redirect a spear that was heading toward me with air and scream as Maud's horse is taken out from under her.

I caste chase the wind and step on clouds as I jump off my horse and run on air towards her. I land by her horse which seems to have trapped her leg under her. I cast airballs desperately, pushing the savages back even as some of the mages retreat.

Cut stone cuts a deep furrow from shoulder to hip of one that gets to close and destroys the shield of another, but none go down.

Suddenly, our reinforcements are among us. They were to hang back in case a retreat was needed and my relief is great as warrior meets warrior again. I doubt I killed even one Barbarian through the whole battle so far.

"Are you alright?" The voice of my saviour sounds artificial through the helm and I nod my thanks. Pulling Maud out under her horse as she limps, terror stark on her face as she leans on as we retreat.

I look back and see the savage woman still swing her poleaxe all around her creating space even in this melee. On her left is the axe thrower with a broken shield hacking into anyone that gets too close. On her other side is another woman carrying a two handed bastard sword like it weighs nothing.

As my saviour moves to meet them with his other comrades I am filled with dread as I watch him walk and actually pay attention to his amour.

"It can't be..." I whisper as I'm suddenly filled with dread. I would know that walk anywhere, and that amour?

"Take her," I say to a soldier limping to the back as I rush back into the fight with what little mana I have.

"Where are you going?" Maud shouts through her tears, trying to pull me back. I ignore her and make a beeline into the melee casting, chase the wind for speed and catch the wind to move with agility through the fighting.

*

SACHIHIRO

Ava is a maniac. I think again as I deflect another sword strike aimed at her which breaks the remainder of my shield and leaves my right arm numb.

It is the second time in my life I have been in the Rage this long, the first being when they regrew my arm. That was excruciating. I deflect a strike to my left and ignore an arrow that thumbs into my chest piercing my lung.

I kick out at the bottom of a shield, giving myself room above the shield to strike at the head. I hear a dull sound as metal strikes metal. My single handed axe blade strikes helm. I use the hammer side on the reverse-swing to cave in a big dent into the helm and kick into the now expose chest of my opponent.

Ava's axe finds the neck of my down opponent separating head from shoulders. She also has a few arrows lodge into her. More than a few.

We move forward to press the enemy again. The battle behind us all but won without the interference of the mages. It surprised me how quickly they broke though.

Ava's axe is deflected and a counter rushes forward. Without a shield I can't block it but Teá's sword deflects the strike instead.

Giving Ava the opening she needed to go low and cut into the leg of her opponent. I deflect a strike with my axe, losing a finger and punch out with my right hand. Pushing my opponent back. As Ava's opponent goes down on one knee I throw my axe at an opponent who has a clean opening to cleave her in half while Teá fights two others.

My axe dents the chest amour of my intended victim. Making him stumble back as his helm flies off from the butt of Ava's axe.

Weaponless I dive into the waste of another, tackling him to the ground and using my dagger to find a space between his armour plates.

I'm knocked back by a cutting wind that leaves me bleeding profusely. I look around for my new foe, clamping my dagger tightly. A mage running on air is buffeting us away. Pushing not just Teá, Ava and I away but our entire ambush force. Her red hair makes her easy to spot I think even as a javelin flies towards her and somehow misses by an inch.

Two more follow and both miss by small margins, even as the other Sandersonians use this opportunity to organise their lines and pull back.

Dustin pushes through the pressure and cuts into a soldiers shield.

A dam brakes as we all cut into the pressure as the mage collapses to her knees. The soldier who lost his helm, with my axe still sticking from his chest plate intercepts Tori as he rushes for the mage.

They exchange a few blows and Tori loses a hand, bellowing in rage he pummels his bloody stump into his unsuspecting foe.

I rush in as well to finish him off and a loud shriek of 'Mayner...!' bursts my eardrums. A gale of wind suddenly blows every barbarian off their feet and deposits us more than 15 feet back and cutting Tori to pieces.

* * *

MIRA

The moment I unleashed all my mana I knew I had fucked up. I felt something tear inside of me as I used more mana than I had access to, as I burnt out.

The pain followed, the exact same pain I had when I had fully Awakened not even two months back. But now only deeper, deep into my bones. Deep to my very soul.

I screamed as my mana channels inverted, collapsing on themselves. A soul wrenching pain that left me insane. I screamed as I burned.

I screamed till my throat was shredded and my mouth bled. It was all a moment and a very long time.

I screamed as I felt the medics trying to find out what was wrong with me.

I screamed as I was place before Master Magician Alia and felt her mana sink into the mana black whole I had turned into.

I screamed in my head when my body could scream no more and I hallucinated Master Zhen and Crysta taking care of me.

I screamed till I could scream no more and sweet darkness took me