There was an insistent pulling feeling in the trance, trying to drag him back to his body, he sent it to the back of his mind, concentrating on his casting, it was almost ready, a dull throbbing permeated the trance, surrounding him, leaving nowhere to push it. High above in the whirling clouds his influence spread, soon he would reach his limit, the throbbing sound intensified accompanied now by short spikes of pain.

On his forehead a bead of sweat formed, it grew until with a lurch of motion it overcame the friction holding it in place and began it's snaking journey down. It sped down his forehead, smooth with calm until it reached his brow, its path bent around the hollows of his eyes, dark with lack of sleep and fell on-wards down his cheek until it met another obstruction, it's journey slowed there for but a moment until it found a larger stream to join, a red stream. A ragged gash reached across his cheek bleeding freely, falling from his face and into the muddy street below.

...

He....almost.....he had it! His eyes opened and he grimaced as his senses returned. He stood, ignoring his discomfort for now and looked about, the other mages had not fared well, dozens lay in the dirt, taken by arrow and thrown spear, the dead seemed to be clustered mostly around him, he was lucky to have survived.

The line had been pushed back but thankfully his position had not yet been overrun, now came the hard part.

The air seemed to chill and grow still as he gathered his power, his eyes glowing a pure blue stared out at the abominations that had destroyed everything he held dear and a wicked grin began to spread across his face as in the air above his influence, finely spread across the clouds, finally acted. 

The clouds vanished as ice particles grouped up and joined together, the battlefield lightened as the moon and stars were revealed above. In place of the clouds huge boulders of ice formed and began falling. With gentle nudges and pulls Illian guided the boulders courses, most he sent out over the walls to where the endless horde would be waiting but for perhaps a dozen of them he kept careful control, these he would bring down into the streets before him.

An arrow clattered off the street infront of him and he backed away warily, trying to find some cover in the clear street, it would be a few minutes before the boulders reached the ground even with him pulling on them with all his magic and for those few minutes he would be vulnerable, though the boulders could not be stopped now.