Shakur’s horse shot through the hole at top speed. He pulled back on the reins bringing her to a halt as he took in the scene. Bodies from both sides littered the ground, those of man much more common. A group of soldiers were doing battle with two Beast-Warriors off to his left. He drew back his bow and sent the now ignited arrow on its way, straight into one creature's back. It howled out in pain as the flame slowly spread, giving one of the men an opening to pierce its chest with his spear as another swung his axe into its stomach. Shakur drew back another arrow and sent it towards the remaining Beast-Warrior, though it missed just slightly, as the creature sent one of the soldiers flying with a powerful strike of the backside of its axe.

“Damnit.” He cursed his own inability with the weapon.

William came riding in through the gate as well now, nearly falling off his saddle as a burst of magic fired off loudly from across the camp.

“William fire!” Shakur shouted, pointing in the direction of the Beast-Warrior as he nocked another arrow.

William had seen Beast-Warrior’s before, but from a distance. This one stood not even thirty yards away, by far the closest he’d ever been to one. Towering over the men it was fighting, as tall standing as William was on horseback if not more so. Black fur covered its entire body. He made out its muzzle as it turned to attack one of the men. Its large, muscular arm raising high into the air, grasping its war axe with a clawed hand.

William froze, terrified, all sound muffled.

An arrow lodged itself into the beast's back, but that didn’t stop it from bringing its weapon down on the soldier in front of it. The scream was blood chilling.

William felt himself being shaken violently.

“William!” someone was calling out to him, his hearing still muffled.

There was a sharp pain across his face as Shakur smacked him with all his strength, nearly sending him off the saddle.

“Get your head out of your ass, we have a job to do.” Shakur shouted.

William shook his head, regaining sense, “You-you’re right.”

“Dismount and lay down supporting fire to help out those already fighting. I don’t think there’s quite as many of them as Major Ahmed was worried about, with Mages on our side we can win this. But it will take all of us understand?”

William nodded.

“Save your oil soaked arrow for now, once you run out of arrows or they get too close switch to your spear or sword.”

Shakur nocked another arrow and fired it into the same Beast-Warriors lower back, giving the men fighting it an opening again.

“See! We can change the tide of this fight now let’s go.” he finished before heading into the direction of the nearest fighting.

William swallowed but his mouth was dry. He shook his head again and drew an arrow.

“You can do this.” He thought to himself.

He ran to catch up with Shakur.

“We’re driving them back.” Commander Margrat said to the men he was holding the front of the command tent with.

A blast of frost magic blasted from one of the men’s hand, incapacitating a group of four beasts.

“There seems to be no end to them.” said Belthorn, exhausted. His mana reserves hadn’t been this expended in awhile. Frost covered the entire area around them.

“We need to draw everyone back to here Sir.” said Major Nelson.

“Blow the horn.” said Commander Margrat

While that was happening a cloaked figure stood atop one of the remaining towers, watching the scene unfold. He nodded to his companion, concealed by a tent from the group of men. The one atop the tower held his hand out to the side. A dozen arrows from the dead guardsmen’s quiver began to move. Removing themselves from their housing and floating up to eye level with the man, their razor sharp tips aimed down at the group. He nodded to his companion once more, who moved out from behind the cover of the tent, taking off his hood. Belthorn suddenly collapsed to the ground on a knee, clutching his head.

The Arrows flew towards the men.

Major Nelson removed the horn from his belt and began blowing. Another group of Beast-Warriors came around the corner, charging him. He continued to blow despite the danger, the signal had to be put out. A blast of frost magic was the last thing felt by yet another group of beasts.

Major Nelson nodded his thanks in Belthorn’s direction.

“Where are the rest of your Mages Belthorn? I haven’t seen any magic other than yours for sometime” asked Commander Margrat.

As Belthorn went to answer he suddenly collapsed onto a knee, grabbing the sides of his head, wincing in agony.

“Damnit,” he thought, “A Psychic.”

“Yes that’s right, Grand Frost Mage Belthorn. A Psychic indeed.” said an unfamiliar voice in Belthorn’s head.

Belthorn tried to fight the invader off, but it was too late.

“Say goodbye.” the voice said.

A volley of arrows rained down upon the men, striking Belthorn in his chest, stomach, and right leg. One such arrow aimed directly for Commander Margrat’s heart, but just before it struck he was shoved out of the way. Instead the arrow seared its way through Major Nelson’s torso. The two men hit the ground, followed shortly by Major Nelson coughing up blood. Three more men were struck down by the volley as well.

The horn could be heard throughout the battlefield.

“Fall back to the command tent and regroup!” shouted men from every corner of the post.

Shakur fired his last arrow into a beast’s stomach. Tossing his bow to the side, he found a spear on the ground. He’d left his axe with his horse and hadn’t realized it until it was too late. It was impossible to tell with which side the advantage lay. Men and Beast-Warriors were falling left and right. So long as they kept a numbers advantage in engagements they stood a chance. More importantly, they had Mages on their side. As much as Shakur hated Belthorn, he knew with him they could win. Even in the most dire of circumstances.

Shakur lost sight of William shortly after the battle started, but he couldn’t afford to worry about him now. He charged a Beast-Warrior with his spear. He thrust it into the beast's abdomen and rolled to the side, barely managing to avoid a swing from its sword capable of chopping him in half. A group of archers fired arrows into its back. Another man came charging in with a spear of his own but the beast avoided his thrust, grabbing the spear shaft and snapping it in its strong grip, before thrusting its own sword through the man's chest. It roared out in anger, charging the archers, who were ready to fire again. Two arrows slammed into its upper chest while the third grazed its arm. It kicked the middle archer in a sprint, sending him flying. Swinging its sword into another, chopping him in two. The third managed to roll away. Two more soldiers came up behind it, swinging their battle axe’s viciously until the beast was no longer standing.

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“To the command tent.”one of them yelled, waving Shakur towards them.

He regained his spear and took off in that direction.

“Arrows!” a man yelled and everyone hit the floor. Shakur turned his head just in time to see the cloaked figure on the tower slip out of view. He shot up and ran, rounding the last tent before the command tent and the scene came into view.

Belthorn had been struck with three arrows and it looked like Major Nelson had as well. More soldiers had been hit.. Everyone formed a defensive perimeter around Margrat and those injured. Margrat began issuing orders and gaining control over the situation. More and more soldiers began flowing into the perimeter, and with them the Beast-Warriors.

“Archer’s fire!” an officer yelled, followed rapidly by the sound of bow strings snapping. Arrows crashed into the enemy, managing to take down one or two of those struck, stuttering or angering the ones that they didn’t. Spearmen held their weapons out in a wall as the onslaught of Beast-Warriors collided against it. It was much harder to maintain the numbers advantage in this formation with a constant wave of the enemy flowing into the spear wall. Archers continued firing as fast as they could, but soon they’d be out of arrows.

“I hope William’s alright.” Shakur thought as thrust out with his spear.

It pierced a Beast-Warrior’s side, the shaft snapping as the creature turned away. Shakur fell onto the ground and was quickly dragged back by a soldier behind him, another filling his spot.

“Go grab a new one from the weapon cache in the center and get back here.” the soldier said to him.

He nodded and made way for the weapon cache.

The cloaked figure in the tower once again watched as the scene before him unfolded. Soon the Beast’s would break through the defensive perimeter and then everything would be over. With this post gone it would be much easier to slip behind the rest of the enemy’s front and attack from the rear. He held out his hand once more just like the last time. Another arrow freed itself from the quiver on the ground and aimed towards the center of the encirclement.

Right at Commander Margrat.

Shakur reached the weapon cache and grabbed a new spear. Just as he was about to turn back and return to his position a glare from up in the guard tower caught his eye. He shielded his eyes from the setting sun and managed to make out the cloaked figure he’d seen before.

“Arrows” he remembered being said the last time he’d seen that person.

“Another volley.” he said softly to himself.

“But who could be the target?”

Belthorn was already incapacitated so that left only one unless they planned to rain down arrows on the entire formation, but there was only one arrow this time, which meant it was a specific target. Shakur took off in the direction of Commander Margrat.

“Get out of the way!” he yelled at the two guards posted by him.

Confused by the yelling so close behind him, Margrat turned to face Shakur, only to feel the air leave his lungs and his feet the ground. The arrow flew where the Commander had just been moments prior and embedded into the lower leg of one of the men. Shakur and Margrat hit the floor, just barely avoiding getting pierced.

Shakur scrambled to his feet and looked in the direction of the tower again. The cloaked man was making his way down the tower’s ladder. Shakur shifted his vision to the perimeter now, searching for a way to break through and chase after him before he got too far away.

“Thank you.” said Commander Margrat, “I owe you my life.”

“Don’t worry about it Sir. If we don’t make it out of this it won’t matter anyway.”

“Did you see where the shot came from?”

“Yes, that guard tower there.” Shakur started, “I believe a Psychic is the one who shot it Sir.”

“That’s just our luck.” said Margrat. “Did you see where he went?”

Shakur nodded, “There.”

The opening he’d been looking for opened up as a group of three Beast-Warriors were just slain. He took off running in its direction.

“Wait!” yelled Commander Margrat.

A gap opened as they began pulling out the casualties. One of them saw him running towards them.

“Replacements are here.” they said.

Only Shakur didn’t stop running when he got to them. He kept going straight in the direction of the guard tower. Hoping that all the Beast-Warriors were busy attacking the line.

“Not that a Psychic is any better.” he thought.

The cloaked man made his way down the ladder, he’d need to switch his positioning now that he’d both been spotted and run out of arrows. If they decided to fix archers on his position and fire at him it would be a nuisance. He only had one tower left to choose from since one had burned down and the other collapsed. He just had to hope Belthorn’s frost magic hadn’t weakened its integrity too much. This time he would rain every arrow he could find down at once on their weakest part. This whole battle was becoming tiresome. He turned the corner around a tent and within a split second saw a spear hurtling towards him.

“Only one place makes sense for him to go.” Shakur thought.

The Psychic would need a vantage point and ammunition to continue his assault and there was only one place left that supplied both. The guard tower hit by Belthorn’s magic. They had a head start on Shakur but he knew the layout better than they did.

“I can cut them off over here.” he thought as he ran to the point.

“If they aren’t already ahead of me then they’ll come around this corner any second.”

He flipped the spear around in his grip.

Within moments the figure came around the corner. Shakur brought his arm back and threw the spear with every ounce of his strength at them.

With a wave of their hand the spear veered off course and pierced the canvas wall of a tent. Shakur drew his sword and charged the Psychic. Swinging downwards at their head when he got in range. They waved their hand once more and the direction of his swing shifted, passing harmlessly by his foe. Who in turn brought their fist into his jaw, sending him tumbling backwards.

“I really don’t have time to waste toying with a regular like yourself.” they said.

“I was just thinking something similar about you.” Shakur said, groaning.

He shot up from the ground, throwing a handful of sand in the Psychic’s face. They shielded their eyes but not before sand slipped its way in. They held their arm out towards Shakur, taking a telekinetic hold of him. With an upward wave, he was sent spinning up into the air, before gravity took hold of him once more. He crashed into the ground, losing grip of his sword, wind getting knocked from his lungs, and snapping his head against the sand. He gasped desperately for air, coughing up blood along the way. Air slowly filled his lungs once more as he was on the brink of blacking out. He looked around for his sword and began crawling in its direction.

With another flick of his hand, Shakur was sent flying again, this time into the wooden post of a tent. His spine cracked against it.

His foe stuck their arm out once more and Shakur’s spear began floating, turning so that the point aimed at him. He tried to get up but a sharp pain seared along his spine where he collided with the post and was rendered on a knee.

“What’s your name soldier?” the man asked.

“Shakur Hassan.” he replied.

“Oh an orphan? No one will mourn you then.”

He pointed his finger towards Shakur and the spear was on its way flying towards him. Shakur tried to evade once more but only collapsed onto the ground, completely this time. The spears course altered to still hit him. He lay there helpless, his only course of action to watch death fly towards him.

He closed his eyes, making peace with his fate, only it never came.

A loud clash broke the seemingly eternal silence.

Shakur opened his eyes, a shadow now cast over him.

In front of him stood a man. Clad in a set of dragon bone armor, armed with a shield of the same material in his left hand, and a longsword in his right. His back covered from shoulder to foot by a long flowing cape.

“Hmph, damn Dragon Knight.” said the Psychic, turning and running.

It was not a fight he felt like having, fatigued, slight as it may be, it would be a task not worth the effort. Especially since he was one, and they never are.

No sooner than he rounded the corner was there a cutoff scream.

The knight turned to him, “Are you all right?” they asked.

Shakur nodded, “I am now, thanks to you.”

“It was nothing. That was a very brave thing you did, or foolish.”

“I can’t argue with you about that Sir.”

“The rest of my companions should have this battle wrapped up by now. We’ll get you to the medic’s.”

They grabbed Shakur by his under arm and pulled him upright. “Can you walk?”

Shakur nodded.

The Dragon Knight let him go. Shakur took a step forward, as soon as he shifted his weight the world started spinning and he collapsed unconscious.