His lips burned, chilled despite the heat of his shield keeping most of the wind out. Without his magic, Aurem knew he might easily be frostbitten on his exposed skin. His body shivered hard, and he forced himself onward, clinging to the hope that the campsite might at least bring some safety. Or a place to hide, and regroup. The Undari had taken advantage of the snowstorm- without it, Aurem doubted they would be doing so well against their large amount of forces. No one but the gods could control the weather- but nearly anyone could take advantage of it.

“Blasted winter,” he growled. An orb of light might help him see- but then it would give away his position. Confident as he was in his magic, he had already spent so much of it that he wasn’t sure he could handle things on his own.

Aurem stumbled, falling to his knees with a cry of pain, as his shield was shattered yet again. Despite the extra layers, something seemed to crack it as easy as an egg. He clutched his head, reeling from the sudden shock to his magic, amber eyes dating up, head following. His mouth went dry, eyes widening as he saw a silver shape dart back into the snow. He heard a rumbling growl, and scrambled to his feet, jerking his head around wildly. He couldn’t see a damned thing!

He cursed low, magic pooling to his fingertips once again, finally giving in to the fear of darkness. A ball of light flickered to life in his palm, and Aurem cast it ahead, illuminating the snowy area around him. His own frame stood out stark against the white snow, and the dead bodies around him flickered into view as well. He forced his nausea down, and turned in a tight circle, catching movement just beyond the edge of his vision.

Aurem was unable to pull his shield up in time to prevent the massive bundle of silver and muscle from launching into his space. All he could do was yelp, and throw himself to the ground, to avoid being crushed under the beast’s weight. Far more massive than any wolf he had seen before, Aurem knew that this monster was Siira. Her silver gleamed in the light of his orb, casting shadows, illuminating a pair of furious golden eyes.

He rolled to his side, struggling to stand once more, and found himself face to face with the snarling beast. Her fangs were as long as his middle finger, muscles bunched under her thick coat of fur. Her hot breath steamed the air, and he was about five inches away from getting his entire head snapped off. Despite the cold, he felt a trickle of sweat run down his neck. “Oh gods…” he hissed, his voice seeming to set off the fury in the beast. She snarled, as if about to attack, and Aurem lifted his hands, letting flames shoot from his fingertips. Fueled far more by panic, than any plan of action, Aurem stumbled back as the wolf snarled, and darted away.

Despite rumors of being immune to magic, Aurem caught the satisfying scent of burnt flesh and fur, as the silver beast fled once more into the darkness. And then other shapes spilled into close distance, and Aurem felt his heart plummet. Undari warriors, dressed in thick furs and adorned with animal fangs and claws. At least five, though there were almost definitely more beyond the limits of his vision. Summoning his magic once more, Aurem forced his frame to relax, intent on taking out as many as he could.

A mere handful would be easy. But a handful, and the most terrifying force of nature he’d ever seen? Paired with the weather and exhaustion, Aurem wasn’t sure how long he would last. But he was damned for certain if he gave up here. Flicking his wrist forward, Aurem let out an arc of lightning that one man was too slow to dodge. The second couldn’t avoid the arc of lightning jumping to him, and he heard their snarls of pain as they collapsed. Whether dead or unconscious, Aurem didn’t care; only that they lay still in the snow.

The remaining started to circle him, and Aurem’s lip twitched in distaste. If they thought they could get behind him and take advantage of his blind spot, they were sorely mistaken. Elemental magic was his specialty, and gave him very few openings. He dropped to his knee again, and slammed his palms into the earth. Beneath the snow, it gave a rumble, and spikes jutted up from the ground, littering the snow with yet more blood as it pierced through the Undari bodies. This group was clearly not used to magic- or they feared it too much.

Two more collapsed, and the last Undari warrior was bleeding from a nasty wound to his side. Already, Aurem could make out red matting the brown furs the man wore. The warrior charged with a battle cry, dispelling whatever fear the man must have had. Or perhaps acting in desperation. Aurem scoffed, and then took a step back, lifting a hand to cast a ball of fire at the approaching warrior.

And promptly tripped over something beneath the snow. His world went white, as he felt gravity taking hold landing in the drift of snow beneath him. He saw flames licking the edges of his vision, letting out a low grunt as his head hit the ground hard. His vision swam for a moment, ears ringing. He almost wanted to laugh. Was this really how he was going to die? Tripping over something on the battlefield, and landing on his ass?

The warrior stood over him, then, his spear poised and then lifting. Aurem growled, cursing the fate and gods, and lifted his hand, flames spewing from his fingertips before the man could end his life. The flames engulfed him, and still the warrior seemed to try and attack, making no sound at all. Aurem’s heart lurched, and he rolled to the side, feeling a hot pain as the spear tore through his cloak, and into his back.

He barely managed to roll away, before the figure collapsed into the snow, his fire sizzling, but still burning strong. No snow or natural force could put his flames out easily. Aurem’s chest heaved, nostrils filled with the scent of burning flesh and hair, resisting the nagging urge to lose his last meal all over the battlefield. He would never get used to that smell. But fire was effective, and so he would keep using it. Especially with the Undari foes wrapped up tightly in such flammable fur.

Aurem groaned, and tried pushing himself up from the snow again. His head swam from the impact of the fall. Whatever he’d fallen on had not been as soft as just snow, and he knew come morning there would be a horrible knot. If he even made it that far. His back burned with pain, managing to push himself to his knees- before freezing.

The point of a spear rested against his neck, and Aurem felt a sting of pain as the sharp edge made a minut cut. His heart hammered in his chest, eyes widening as the spear pressed further against his neck, and up, forcing his chin to lift. His light illuminated the figure before him, and Aurem soon found himself staring into a set of blood-red eyes. A hood of fur hid most of his other features, but Aurem though he saw a flash of dark red hair beneath it. Copper skin glinted in the globe of light, and Aurem swallowed hard, trying not to wince as the movement caused another small cut to his neck.

He hadn’t even heard the man approach. No crunch of the snow. Like a cat, the man had appeared out of nowhere, and now Aurem’s fate was sealed. “Gods dammit,” he hissed to himself, bunching his fingers up, prepared to take this bastard with him. He saw the man’s muscles twitch, and just as he was about to let loose with his magic, he felt something heavy slam into the back of his head.

The pressure of the spear quickly faded, and Aurem found fell face first into the snow, with a whimper of pain. Hot breath, and sharp pain at his neck made Aurem all too aware of the beast which surely hovered over his back. He cursed softly, limbs wriggling slightly under the weight of the silver beast. He had landed on his hands, and as he tried to move his head, a rough paw shoved his face deeper into the snow. A violent growl shook all courage from his frame, and he lay still for a moment. Almost distantly, he heard the man speaking above him. The pressure loosened slightly, though he could have sworn the growl sounded almost disapproving at that.

Aurem drew in a sharp breath as he caught the edge of a boot near him. And then a knee, as the Undari warrior knelt beside him. Confusion flooded through his mind, as he heard something being shuffled around. He didn’t have enough energy to cast any severe magic- but if the man touched him, he could send a large bolt of lightning through him. The half plan began to form in his mind, when he heard a metallic snapping sound, his blood running cold.

“No,” he rasped out, his heart beginning to race, attempting to jerk his head up, and curse the bastard’s mother, and any other living relative, when he felt something close around his neck. He was distantly aware of a sudden roaring sound in his ears- the sound of his own screams- as the collar locked his magic away. A barrier between him, and the rest of his self. He cried out, weakly, as the roaring settled, feeling weak, hoarse, pain flooding through his body. How had this bastard gotten silencer?

And then darkness overtook, and Aurem received no answers.