The morning came quickly in the Amalian camp. The sky was clear and sun bright by the time every soldier found themselves dressed and ready. Still crippled from over drinking the warriors were assembled in block formations as though in a game of chess. When all had assembled together and hushed their groaning one man saw fit to speak to them. He was tall with a strong look in his eyes. Though he wore bulking armour it was no secret that the man was a great and fearsome warrior. Even his voice told of a battle hardened veteran standing ahead the assembly. Vanis. "We stand at the cusp of breaking through Castian's walls. Do not think failure is acceptable. We must take this fort by the end of the day or we will not be able to retreat. Reinforcements come from the North and our only hope is to fortify ourselves in those very walls." The crowd became silent, even mutterings halted as the man spoke. Then as he finished hard whispers passed from mouth to ear, most contemplating turning tail now and not being slaughtered, though a few wondering how exactly they intended to break through the defenses of a fort in a day while a single wall had taken two months. Fierre was among both groups as he groaned in frustration cocking his head back then drooping it forward. Muttering that he'd told them so and he knew he was right to the three musketeers the mage adopted silence for a brief moment. Alven nudged him in the arm encouraging with a wide smile that they'd be fine. The others gave a halfhearted laugh. It wasn't as though the four of them had much choice. Because of regulations stipulated on mages designating them to mandatory military service of at least seven years if Fierre ran he would be designated as an outlaw and danger. Subsequently in the past two decades groups of people particularly potent at capturing outlaw mages had grown in numbers making evasion impossible. To top it off even within service he wasn't trusted and so that brought to him the three musketeers. All of them veterans from one battle or another they had been assigned to act as bodyguards to Fierre to allow him to concentrate on spell weaving. After four years the three of them admitted the ulterior motive entrusted to them should he desert. [hr][/hr] The sun had waned in the sky and long had Amalian forces fought against the defenders of the fort. With heavy losses on both side prior this last surge neither was well prepared to assault or defend. Despite this the Amalian army had fought their way into the inner wall and now stood affront the main fortifications. Fierre found himself near the East edge of the fort ducking through passageways and under towers with his bodyguards. Rather than openly engaging everyone they met the group simply ran past them and in their hurry were believed to be mercenaries moving as they were told. It helped that a man with non distinguishable colours with bodyguards of similar attire were common in most mercenary troops. Only once had a guard halted Fierre and it ended in a short conflict before Alven slew the guard with his blade. Slumping the body in a corner the group pushed forward. Their aim was through a gateway to reach what would hopefully be the last hold of the forts commander. [hr][/hr] As the Amalian army clashed sword against sword with the enemy they began to fight them back from the walls and into the inner courtyard. Blood littered the ground and bodies lay limp and groaning all over. Vanis and his men urged the injured and weak forward and bolstered the mens morale as more and more ground fell beneath their unending onslaught. Soon they reached the center of the fort itself and needed only to dethrone the commander and defeat any straggling forces. "Clear out the halls! Not a single man left to fight against us!" Vanis' words were met with a gallant cheer as the battered men and women rallied under his cry followed his bidding. They pushed through the hallways meeting with great resistance in some cases and needing to circumnavigate the prepared defenses. It seemed, at least to the observant soldier, that the forts walls were only stepping stones as inside the building was a maze filled with deathtraps and roundabouts to slowly pick away at enemy forces. This was efficient to say the least as once inside the Amalian forces were cut down to a third of their size. Nevertheless they were determined and soon Vanis stood at the door to the Commander's chambers. The hinges squealed under the weight of the great wooden doors swinging inwards. Metal clamored and soon twelve men clad from head to toe in armour with swords ready to strike made their way into the room. Vanis followed closely behind and in turn two men dressed in darkly coloured robes; mages. Across the room stood four men and the commander. Three of them carried blades and the fourth a simple book hung at his waist. As Vanis entered his eyes fell on the unarmed man and a scowl writ itself on his face. "Fierre you damned rat! Step away from him!" The four threw puzzled looks back to their general. They hadn't expected him to want to muddy his hands with the final blow. Yielding to his authority they did as he said while Fierre bit back his tongue from lashing out. Stepping slowly forward Vanis stood himself directly ahead of the enemy commander and slammed his hands on the great desk. The two starred at each other in silence for a long while, then Vanis turned and waved a hand towards Fierre and his men. The armour clad men rushed towards them and instinctively the four drew back placing their weapons between them and the knights. "What in the lords name are you doing Vanis?" "Damnit Fierre read the situation. I'm tying up loose threads. If you and your men hadn't been here we never would have needed to kill you, but you're so damned determined to prove that your the best man out there." Vanis turned to face Fierre and took a single step towards him in his anger. Halted by soft words the fort commander stood and addressed the group. "Boy, what sense is there in winning a castle already ruined? Reinforcements will arrive within the hours and all of your friends and fellows will be dead before the morning. Your general here understands this and has seen fit to... change sides so to speak." Grinding his teeth Fierre prodded further at Vanis. "What do you think this will accomplish? Do you really believe King Adravis won't simply send another army to crush your treasonous ass?" "Not when I've conquered the fort and repelled the reinforcements and asserted myself as new commander. Isn't that right sir." "You're too stupid to grasp the situation child, stop poking your nose where it's only going to be bitten off." Realizing that Vanis likely meant to raise in secret a force to assault the king and usurp the throne Fierre looked around the room quickly. Even his friends of years seemed to understand the situation and reluctantly turned inwards towards him. "Huh, the lot of you want me dead then?" Voice filled with denial Fierre laughed lightly. As he stared Vanis down his denial turned to rage. Clutching the book tied to his waist Fierre touched the spine and let it fly open. His right hand extended upwards and with it flames grew from the floor beneath his feet casting him in an inferno. Growing in size it pushed against the knights and two faced friends he'd known forcing them to step back. The sound of rushing flames made him have to shout to be heard. "There's a goddamn reason I was always on a short leash Vanis and it wasn't because of you!" Lowering his right hand the raging inferno expanded outwards in a great explosion. The two mages stepped into the blast deflecting the bulk of the force away from Vanis, though failing to shield the others. Cries of pain and the scent of searing flesh filled the room. Smoldering bodies fell to the ground nearest Fierre and he took his opportunity. Dashing through the great wooden doors and past Vanis he escaped the stroke of his sword and retaliated with a blast of fire aimed for his face. Concentrating on the barrier they had enacted around him the mages could do little for their general other than shave away the flames. In the blinding light Fierre saw his only chance, tucked tail and ran.