Their horses sailed onward over an ocean of dust, so thick that the ground may not have existed for all they could see. The wind swept the grey-brown clouds to their rear, through their hair and eyes, and their armour lost its gleam to the sandy dark soil that was atomised around them.

Eighty horse riders travelled to the aid of Fort Tumblestone, expected to be holding against Amaratese siege forces led by Princess Ashara, the powerful and famed Commander from the east. Fayyim rode at the front, as she ever did, ready to lead her charge into the rear of the enemy as they were occupied with their attack on the fort. Hawthorn commanded the Red Front's Knights on heavy horse, a splinter group that would flank the enemy and run them through with war lances.

The forests of Shoulderside were at their backs, Mount Rest was to the south and in the distance ahead The Tumbles had crowned over the horizon. A black and grey speck in the distance, sitting below the growing mountain was Fort Tumblestone on the northern side of Rest. Black smoke rose into the sky from its location.

Are we too late, is the fort burning? Fayyim dug her spurs into her mount and commanded it forward with greater speed. 'Onward!' She shouted, her men answered with a loud cry. The animals beneath them pushed harder and harder, the pace increased and the mass of armoured men on horseback approached what should have been the rear guard of Amaratsu's forces.

What she saw was far from what she had expected. The mingled red and blue of Amaratsu and Hurdland were outside the open gates of fort Tumblestone, swords crossed. The sound of steel on steel was in the air, the cries of battle and the cries of pain too, and fire was crackling and popping within it all. Flames danced amongst the masses and the blue was fading from sight.

Shanks came up on Fayyim's side, the concern was evident on his face. 'Commander?'

She already knew his woes. The charge could not happen if allies were in the field as well as the enemy. Fayyim scanned the battlefield ahead of her, but as she gained ground she struggled to see through the wind blown smoke. There was nothing else to it, the situation was too dire to change the plan in any meaningful time, they had to break the enemy on the outside before they could relieve the fort of invaders, and that could only be done by breaking them under hoof and sword. 'A calculated loss, we do what we must. Intercept Hawthorn and inform him that we are charging as one.'

'Yes Commander!' Shanks pulled away and back, skilfully manoeuvring through the storm of horses.

I hope they understand. She squinted at the fading blue in the crowds ahead, took a breath and held it. No use worrying now. 'Charge!' She shouted. The Red Front let loose a loud battle-cry in return. 'Charge!' She cried again, and her men cried in response. 'Charge!'

They reached the mingled mass of combatants with great speed, few blue and many red, who saw the wave of Fayyim's horses far too late. Eighty cavalrymen crashed into enemy and ally alike, their charge was indiscriminate, Soldier's of both sides fell under foot and were churned up by horse hoof and sword, battleaxe and spear, mace and lance. Fayyim cut with her slender rapier side to side, catching what she could with the blade. She found flesh and bone, sometimes armour and shield too, but those she did not kill were broken by those who followed her lead.

The open gates of the fort came closer and closer as the charge carried through, but the battle around them was also thicker and thicker as they pushed, the horses struggling to force through. Eventually the charge was halted and a hard fight to break through ensued.

The Red Front found themselves surrounded by spears and swords, horses began to fall and Red and White clad warriors were brought to the ground. Fayyim cut a path through the enemy ahead of her, but her men could not follow as the Amaratese closed in around them.

Damn it! Fayyim whirled her mount around, knocking Soldiers to the ground as she did. She wanted to support her men, but instead fell face first into the horse's mane when a spear tip took her through her mailed arm. Her cry was muffled, as was the profanity she shouted.

She came back up swinging wildly, knocking away blades and shafts as they made to kill her. She protected herself successfully, but her horse had no such joy. The great beast rose up on its back legs, wounds glowing on its neck. Its legs feebly held its own weight and buckled underneath it. Fayyim was thrown from its back and the two crashed to the ground. The crowd backed away momentarily, enough time for Fayyim to recover, to climb to her feet, but then the swell came again. My sword! Her hands were empty. She would die. The enemy closed around her. Soldiers, Spear-men and Fire Dancers.

Fire Dancers. Fayyim read their powers, absorbed their abilities. Her elite Job Class, the psychic Accessor, allowed it. With fists swinging, Fayyim struck out against those surrounding her. Flames ignited from her hands. Despite her lack of unarmed fighting experience, the fire gave her an edge over the others. Her hand swept against the broad side of a curved sword, its heat quickly bringing the metal to a red glow. Its user pulled it away protectively, but Fayyim saw his flinch and darted to him, striking with the other hand and burning the man's body with orange fire. He went down rolling and clutching at himself.

The Red Front leader continued to find oncoming targets and attack them with fire. The crowd receded at her attempts, and she soon found no takers to her fiery swipes. Eventually another spear found its way into the back of her thigh and brought her to the ground. She screamed in pain, a pain giving rise to a spray of angry flames from her mouth that threatened to burn those around her

Her stamina was sapped and her hope was lost. A sword blade struck her from behind, but failed to break her chain mail armour. She rolled to her back and kicked up with her legs, hitting something soft with her boots, but otherwise helping herself very little. Shadows stood over her, contrasted with the light from above. Then, before she could die, the shapes were lost to blackness as the sky turned dark.

Suddenly black feathers and shrieks surrounded her. The Amaratese had retreated and given way to the scratching, scraping, slashing and biting of Tengu. The black crow like men were making short work of the Soldiers. The Druids? Fayyim struggled to her feet until a hand from above took her by the shoulder and pulled her up. It was Lupin.

The bald man lifted her strongly on to his horse. 'What's your order, Commander?'

You got the Druid's help. Thank you. Fayyim scanned around her. The battle outside the gates was no longer so one sided, as the Amaratese were bowled over by Wolfmen, Tengu and Ursucan, the large were-bears from the Druid job progression. Amongst the shape shifting Druids were packs of wolves, giant sized birds that kicked and scratched with talons, deadly animals from deep within the forests. And there were beastly creatures too, terrifying and wild, from places that were foreign to Fayyim. All were controlled by the Druid clan.

'Commander?' Lupin asked again.

She looked at her wounds. 'I can't fight with my injuries, I'm relying on you.'

Lupin smiled. 'Always, Commander.'

'Red Front!' Fayyim shouted, hoping they would hear her. 'Break through!' She doubted her voice's ability to carry. 'Break through!' She shouted louder.

Then a voluminous cry broke out around her. 'Red Front! Break through!' It was the Tengu. Their uncanny interpretation of Fayyim's voice ringing loud and clear in the air. 'Break through!'

Lupin put his spurs to his horse and urged it on through the battle towards Fort Tumblestone's huge wooden gates. 'Hyah!' He shouted. 'Hyah, hyah!'

Fayyim sat at his rear, holding tightly to his Red and White tunic. The crows' mimicking cries continued around her. 'Red Front! Break through!' The cavalry of her Red Front cut a swath through the enemy, their morale invigorated. Their spurs were pressed and their charge was renewed.

Lupin found an easy path through the enemy, now in disarray. He rounded a group of Soldiers being hounded by a Tengu from above, its wings keeping it aloft while grasping talons picked away at their faces. The horse shied away when a fireball set the Tengu alight from afar, but Lupin maintained control. They dashed past advancing warriors, not yet perturbed by the Druid forces, and forced their way through a group of Flame Pitchers who were focused on the gates. The horsemen that followed ensured that those particular Pitchers were taken down as swiftly as possible.

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Between the open gates were Hurdland Knights fighting with Amaratsu's Fire Dancers. The Knights' defence had failed, their numbers too few to block the gateway. Enemy Soldier's and Flame Pitchers were bypassing them and entering the fort uncontested. Cries of battle echoed from inside, bouncing off the many large boulders that made up the fort's walls.

'Follow the flow of the enemy.' Fayyim shouted into Lupin's ear over the sound of battle. 'We need to get inside to help those Knights plug up the hole!'

'Aye!' Lupin shouted in return, directing his horse up the rear of the quick moving queue of the enemy and through the gap. As they passed the Knights pinned to a great fort gate, fending off the spiralling kicks and punches of Fire Dancers, Fayyim used her abilities and found a nearby fire user to read and reproduce the powers of.

As she cloaked her hands in flame, ready to jump from the horse into action, Lupin called out. 'Commander!'

A sickening crunch could be heard as the horse and its riders were lifted from the ground and thrown far into the fort. Lupin crashed to the ground but found his feet quickly, drawing his spear and buckler from over his back, ready to defend or attack. Fayyim was already injured and her body was not as reactive. She barely managed to get to her knees. What was that?

Around them was a fight so brutal that she could hardly believe her eyes. Men were dying under the blades of Amaratsu, or burning, or freezing, as a number of Diamond Dancers were present on the Amaratese side. Lupin was set upon immediately, but his spear was sharp and his buckler strong. He deflected sword strikes with his off-hand while stabbing with his weapon, bringing his foes down one after the other, but when an arrow was loosed and pierced his shoulder blade, he crumpled down. All he could do was raise his shield and protect himself against the flurry of blows from the enemy.

Fayyim was hardly a target worth taking note of, it seemed, as she could not even stand. And the combatants around her had more pressing matters to deal with as her cavalry stormed the gates. Hawthorn and Shanks had teamed up to lead the Red Front into the fort, and they did so with great timing.

Captain Hawthorn, the silver clad Knight with a heavy lance, charged past Lupin and took one of his assailants with the point, lifting the Soldier off his feet and launching him across the embattled yard. This gave the defender a chance to lift himself to his feet while swinging his buckler, cracking the helmet of an enemy and crushing the arm of another. His spear came up next and was deeply lodged in the leg of a third.

Fayyim screeched as she fought to her feet. 'Captain!' Her voice rang out in high tones. Hawthorn heard, but could not react to her from under the pressure of a fight. 'Captain! Close those gates! Close the damn gates!'

Her Captain heard, dropped his lance, swung his mace and killed an opponent. He whirled his horse around and fought his way to the gates while shouting orders. 'Close the gates!'

Finally taking notice of her, an enemy struck Fayyim in between the shoulders. She hit the ground hard, bounced and rolled. She did not see what had attacked her, only Lupin coming to her aid, standing over her with his spear at hand, his shield was gone and his off-hand was wounded. Coming for him were three Soldiers with long spears pointed. Lupin, you can do this. Fayyim thought to herself. She dug deep and read the enemy, this time not to take their powers. She read their status, health, stamina and their capabilities. They're all low on health, mostly the one on the... 'Deal with the one on the left!' Fayyim ordered. Lupin followed.

Knocking away the enemy's long spear he charged forward, getting inside the affective range of the weapon. His own short spear took the man in the neck and he then moved on to the closest opponent. 'This ones left leg is hurt, take out his right, drop him and move on!' Lupin reacted to the commands without hesitation, trusting his Commander completely. He kicked up a discarded enemy spear into the face of the second target. While distracted, the red clad Soldier was felled with a thrust to the leg. Lupin moved on again, but the third man had made the choice to retreat, turning tail and running. The splash of a fireball killed him, and Lupin was thrown back with the explosive heat.

A Flame Pitcher had taken aim, fortunately missing, but was correcting herself. Lupin was the target. Fayyim was too far away to read the Pitcher's abilities, otherwise she would have tossed a flaming ball in return.

Lupin was up, finding his would be killer. The short spear was primed and then out of his hands in a matter of seconds. It soared through the air and narrowly missed the Flame Pitcher as she jumped for cover.

Fayyim was too far damaged to be of much use, so after retrieving an enemy long spear, Lupin hurried his Commander to the cover of a grouping of rocks and laid her against them.

'Lupin, make sure those gates are closed and then clear the fort of this scum.' She ordered through laboured breathe. 'I'll recover here. Go.'

Lupin ran off and Fayyim was left alone, though many people fought around her. She watched as the battle raged, as people fell to death and later evaporated into white glitter, off to respawn at some other place. She felt useless in her injured state, but content to take her break.

The fort's command centre was in her view. A large log building in the middle of the compound, many yards away. The situation outside of it was quite dire. A being of golden fire was battling a large number of men at arms, led by the ageing Knight, Griff. The body of flame was so hot that it melted their armour to their skin, and destroyed them completely on physical contact.

Princess Ashara. Fayyim wanted so much to be close to her, fighting fit. I'd sure like to try out your power. She was so focused on the leader of the enemy forces that she hardly noticed the fighting around her dying down. The enemy was all but obliterated, only Princess Ashara and her band of guards remained, fighting at the centre of the fort.

'Fayyim!' The voice stirred her. The image of Hawthorn still on horseback brought a smile to her face.

Can no one knock you down? 'How goes it?' Fayyim pushed herself up to her feet, using the large stone she was resting against for support.

'The Druids have routed the enemy outside the gates, they're being chased down as we speak.' He climbed down from his horse and helped Fayyim. 'Can you walk?'

My loyal friend, always there for me. 'I can walk.' I can limp. Fayyim took his hand and allowed him to support her.

'Let's go watch how this ends.' Hawthorn helped her to the horse and supported her climb up. He guided it by the reigns to where Griff was fighting. By the time they arrived, the old Knight had already perished.

A circle of other Knights with shields and heavy blunt weapons were around Princess Ashara and her remaining three Flame Pitchers. They kept a safe distance, as the Overheater, the Princess, could increase her temperature to the point that all things would turn molten around her. The Flame Pitchers were throwing small fiery missiles in defiance.

Fayyim pulled up on the outside of the circle and watched. 'They're low on mana.' She observed. 'Now would be a good time to run them through.'

A Soldier in the rear of the large circle replied. 'You try, see if you survive.' He then realised who he was speaking to and turned away with an apology.

Fayyim gave the Soldier a contemptuous glare. 'I don't have much left in me, Hawthorn, but get me a spear.'

'Commander?' Hawthorn questioned. 'Are you sure?'

'I gave you an order.' She directed her horse at the centre of the circle.

'A spear!' He called. 'You, give me your spear!' He took the long weapon from a Spear-man who had little choice in the matter.

Fayyim took the weapon from Hawthorn and shouted to the circle. 'Get out of the way!' She put her spurs to the horse and charged. The circle spread and gave way to her. The horse was quick and did most of the work. It rode over one Pitcher while Fayyim impaled another, losing her spear to the fallen body. Princess Ashara had not expected the attack and could not counter, but as Fayyim turned for another pass, the Overheater's flames exploded out, golden and deadly hot.

You're mine. Fayyim charged again, heading into the unbearable heat. The circle of Hurdland forces dispersed quickly, but the remaining Flame Pitcher was not so quick. She was instantly burnt due to her close proximity to her leader.

Fayyim did not flinch. She gained on Ashara and absorbed the other woman's abilities. With a burst of light, the silver haired Commander was ignited in red hot flame. She did not know how to use these powers to great affect, but this was not her strategy. All she needed was the protection of the fiery armour, so Ashara could not hurt her.

The horse galloped with a mane of fire, its body combusted under the heat of Fayyim's blazing armour. The beast fell head first to the ground, but the Accessor was already jumping from the saddle, aiming herself at Ashara. Fayyim crashed down on top of her. Their bodies crumpled to the ground, their flames died out, and then Fayyim became unconscious.