"Send them a volley," grumbled Erich to his Signal's Master. 

"Right you are Consul," the man replied. He turned to a waiting group of military musicians and nodded. "Archers, if you will gentlemen." 

At once the small band blew a brief tune of musically enhanced notes; a soft melody, lasting only a few seconds, sounding better suited to a ball room than a battleground. 

The archers of the 11th Auxiliary raised their bows as one. A few seconds passed, and then the air shook briefly as a thousand bows let forth their volley of death. The barbarians, running across the open ground and ill protected from such a strike, stumbled and lurched as their flesh was perforated. Before they could recover, another series of trumpets sounded their sweet song of doom. More arrows, blotting the sun, fell upon the savagemen once more. Hundreds dead or injured - grievous casualties taken so suddenly, was enough to frighten any army. Not these warriors though, they were only enraged by it. They stormed forwards. The archers of 11th Auxiliary released yet another curtain of steel-tipped slaughter.

A channel of emerald flame erupted from their masses. It reached around fifty feet in the air, and then with a deafening explosion, the sky became a beautiful tapestry of spurting fire and charred wood. The arrows fell to the ground, smouldering on the grass. The auxiliaries hesitated, before drawing another volley - the channel of flame came again, but this time, at [i]them[/i]. 

"I can stop that Consul, but it will drain me," warned Antonius, flexing his fingers in preparation to erect a barrier.

"Don't bother," replied Erich smugly. 

Raising an eyebrow at the Consul, Antonius felt the burning need to ask, "what?" 

"They're only auxiliaries, don't worry. We have reserves," said Erich bluntly. 

The Imperial Wizard grimaced as the column of flame struck the centre of the loosely organised archers, and then exploded. The earth trembled, and visible shock waves sent man and bow flying feet in the air. Such power! Antonius gulped; there was no way on the Emperor's good earth that he could defy such a man. 

The surviving auxiliaries, reeling from the attack, clambered to their feet under the vicious barks of their Centurions. Within moments, another volley went up, but this time concentrated on the source of the green fire. Erich squinted as he focused on the dark shadow of arrows falling down on a distant figure of billowing robes. He noted that the barbarians had given this fellow a wide birth; fearful of his power, more than of the missiles coming hurtling towards him.