The chaos that erupted after the first body fell was unlike anything that Aurem had witnessed before. He drew in a sharp breath of air, and then turned, magic tingling at his fingertips as the scent of iron and blood flooded the night. The wind continued to howl, the snow falling even harder than before- it must have been what shielded the Undari from the perimeter guards.

Summoning his magic, hand lifting slightly, Aurem summoned a heat shield around his body. As the snow touched the magic, it melted instantly. The shield allowed for a few feet of vision around his body, and as he stretched his arm out, the field lengthened. And then the shield flickered for a brief moment, nausea ripping through him, regretting the shield immediately. Despite the battles he had been through, none of them prepared him to see the throats of dozens of soldiers, who had been lingering about moments before, torn open. The snow all around the mage was died a deep, terrifying red. He hadn’t even heard their dying sounds over the howl of the wind.

He took in a sharp breath, and then turned in the snow, steeling himself. The Undari had attacked first. They should have expected this. Briefly, Aurem regretted his words to the captain. Perhaps if he had listened, and dispelled the snow…he might have died himself, unable to defend from any attacks. But if it could have spared the lives of these people, it might have been worth it. The majority of soldiers might have feared Aurem, but it didn’t make their lives meaningless.

As sobering as the thoughts were, Aurem couldn’t afford to focus on them. They were still a thousand strong, and the Undari forces were never more than a couple hundred. For all their strength, their battle parties were small. But wolves more than made up for their lack of numbers.

A blur ran past Aurem, and he heard another scream from behind him, whirling, and expanding the distance of the shield to see the large form of a wolf nearby. Its fur was dark brown, not silver. So, this was not Siira. Gritting his teeth, as the man beneath it screamed, Aurem sent his magic out lightning arcing from his fingertips to the enemy wolf. The smell of burnt fur and flesh meet his nose, as the wolf let out a snarl of pain. Its frame went rigid, and then collapsed into the snow by the soldier’s body. Not all Undari wolves were impervious to magic, which made those like Siira all the more dangerous. Large as a horse, the wolves were near unstoppable without a mage.

Aurem crunched through the snow, expression grim as he stared down at the dying man. He gurgled, eyes staring upwards in fury. Not even his healing magic could tend to the wound. He was a skilled healer, but there were some things even he could not heal. The man’s innards steamed in the snow, and Aurem turned his gaze away, closing his eyes for a moment. The pain would have been severe for the man. The man cried out, delirious with pain, the sobs no doubt bringing more pain with each movement. He would die, and there was only one thing Aurem could do for the man. He felt his stomach turn, but then twitched his fingers, the sobbing quieting as his magic snuffed out the soldier’s life. He sent a prayer to the twin goddesses, and then turned his focus on the battle.

He saw flashes of magic across the field, knowing his fellow mages were doing their best to take the enemy out. He could feel the magic in the air, and the presence of the five others on the field. Aurem took in a sharp breath, as that number suddenly dropped to four. He let it out, and then turned, feeling the runes on his skin coming to life as figures moved in the snow all around. Arrows thwacked harmlessly into his shield, and Aurem barely felt their disturbance, simply sending bursts of magic at the attackers. Undari screams added to the chaos of noise.

He couldn’t push them all back alone, but by the goddesses, he wasn’t going to give up and run. The snow fell too thickly to see how the battle fared, but Aurem had a sinking feeling that this spelled nothing good for Delfin forces. They were idiots, to have pressed forward so close to winter, into Undari territory. But people like him weren’t allowed to criticize or judge the decisions of the military.

His throat burned at the thoughts, letting his magic loose on a group of Undari spearman just up ahead. Fire engulfed the small group, blazing bright in the dark night of the winter storm. He heard them shout something in their rough, sharp language, so different from his own. Aurem hissed low, seeing a few had escaped his flames, and threw spear of ice next- impaling one, as the other stumbled back into the snowy darkness. “Damn rats!” He growled low, clenching his fists tightly.

He felt his shield shatter like a blow to his stomach, nearly doubling over from the force. And then something slammed into his side, knocking the air out of him completely. He cried out in pain, feeling something like a vice clamping on his shoulder. Tears burned his eyes, but he lifted his free hand up, magic sparking at his fingertips. Dark fur engulfed his vision, a growl echoing in his ear, letting loose another magic pulse of lightning through the wolf’s frame. The pressure and pain disappeared, as the wolf released him, and fell to the snow.

It collapsed beside him, and Aurem lay stunned for a moment, feeling blood leaking with each rapid pulse of his heart. He cursed, and then rolled to the side, as an arrow lodged moments later where he was laying. Grabbing onto his wounded arm, Aurem threw his shield up, pressing his hand onto the wound hard. He glanced to the still shape at his side, and bit back a curse. The damned thing wasn’t even fully grown. If it had been, his arm might have been torn off. As it was, he needed to heal it before he passed out from blood loss.

His magic caused the wound to tingle with heat, as he knit the open wounds together. Amber eyes darting all around, feeling vulnerable even with the shield, Aurem drew himself to his feet. He turned, and then darted off to the side, back towards the tents. Above the howling of the wind, the sounds of battle rang out and echoed into the night.

Wound sufficiently healed, Aurem strengthened his shield so that another wolf could not shatter it so easily, and continued onward. He couldn’t see much, but he could tell the soldiers were being pushed back towards the camp. Any orders were lost on the winds, and carried far away. Aurem could only hope he could find the other mages, who all seemed to be inching slowly towards the tents as well. If they could band together, it was possible they would recover the fight. Aurem felt sick, with the very real threat of losing this battle. Finally, they had pushed too far, it seemed.

He grit his teeth, silently cursing the fact that he had been chosen to come so far out. He was damned if he wasn’t going to take out as many as he could, if it came down to dying. “Undari bastards,” he growled under his breath, stumbling over something covered in snow. He didn’t look down to see it, forcing his mind away from all possibilities. This was a battlefield. The snow was falling so thick, it was possible an earlier body was already covered. His stomach churned, but he refused to lose the last meal he’d eaten and be vulnerable.

Multiple arrows crashed into his shield, and Aurem stopped mid step, whirling back around as he added another layer. He felt them like rocks slamming into the window, hearing the sound in his mind, rather than with his ears. Unless one was a mage, his shield was invisible. He could make it visible, but he it was better to let them waste their ammunition on his shield, than have them hit an actual person.

He scowled out into the flurry of snow, squinting lightly. It was useless of course. He couldn’t make anything out other than darkness, white, and vague shapes moving beyond the flakes. Darting his gaze around, Aurem let his arms relax, and then knelt, pressing his palms into the snow beneath him. He had to do this quickly, but he had an idea to test. He sent a pulse of magic through the ground, pushing enough power into the surge to cut through the blanket of snow. He let another pulse flow out, and sensed the magic running into forms all around him. When his magic touched anything on the ground above, their presence appeared like a little light in his mind. With another pulse, Aurem had a good idea of where remaining soldiers were. He couldn’t tell Undari from Delfin like this, but he could at least see who was close. The wolves were easy to tell. Their energies were far more massive, and when his magic hit upon them, their light was larger, and burned vibrant. Thankfully, there were only a couple left. But one burned brighter than all the others. Grimacing, Aurem let out another wave, and saw that handfuls of lights had flickered out from the previous number. How many were allies, and how many foes?

He cursed, and then pushed himself up from the snow, hurrying his pace. There were a handful of lives near him- and he didn’t want to risk that they were enemies. He continued back towards the tents, seeing the burning lights of the torches a few yards ahead. A faint bit of relief flooded through him, despite knowing the tents themselves would hardly mean safety. It was something solid, in a world full of death and blank white.