[@bloonewb]

(Going to be busy for a couple more days, but I will have some more time by the weekend. Thanks for your patience.)

The dracon armies advanced on the dark forces as the kobolds began to pull back. At first, they made some headway when the main body of cavalry managed to flank the dark armies, but as surely as the kobolds had discovered, the enemy began to adapt to their weapons. The abominations closest to the horsemen began to thicken, shifting their anatomy to resist the impact of lances and spears. Switching to swords, the cavalry began to make some headway, however slow. 

It didn't escape the mages' notice that the black, almost ink-like magic they faced resembled nothing so much as the Dememoras' post-mortal physical form, a clear indication of a connection between himself, the lost city, and the ancient tyrant. It was a reminder of the high stakes: while Dememoras himself was safely sealed in a vault rather far from Traeton, forces loyal to or connected to him were still active and still a very real danger. 

When the fire-beings attacked the dracon lines, Ophion responded with a water spell, creating a cool mist to dampen the flames and soften the effects of any dracons set alight. It was a good move, but only a stalling tactic. Even an archmage such as himself couldn't possibly change the battle single-handedly. Seeing the danger posed by fiery creatures, Adykon led a group of infantry to cut a path behind them and attack from the rear, forcing them to fight on two sides. It helped turn the tide on that one front, but it was obvious that the battle was not going as well as it could be. Although some of the aberrations were falling, many more were still standing, and the rate of attrition was growing for the dracons and kobolds. Worse, the dark forces seemed to be adapting to the magics and tactics employed by both armies. 

Mazdak saw that the enemies were employing bombardment tactics against the kobold forces, even as the last of the fire-beings fell. He could see a hole was being cut into the kobold line. All of the generals could see it. He could also see that many of them were obviously eager to exploit the breach the dark ones had created. 

"General. General Mazdak, sir!" 

"Huh? Oh, adjunct. Report."

"We've got 5,000 reservists ready to go. Shall I order the attack on Rughoi's army?"

"... no. Keep the reservists in the rear for now. Order the mages to concentrate on the largest abominations and order the front lines forward. If they encounter undue resistance, use the reservists to flank them. We do have more than just 5,000 in reserve, yes?"

"Yes, sir, but those are still not in position to help."

"Alright. Give the order!" 

The adjunct did so, and the infantry surged forward. The expected magical volley barely materialized. In fact, only the most powerful mages managed to get out a shot. It seemed that something the enemy was doing was interfering with their spells. 

"By the gods... I guess we have to do this the hard way." Mazdak mounted up on his riding lizard. "Adjunct, bring the reservists. Have them follow my guard and I. We attack now, and tell them to not let up, no matter what. Adykon is still fighting on, and I'll be damned if I let him fall on my watch!" With that, he moved out to his mounted guards and companions, commanding them to assume a wedge formation to spearhead an attack.