Samuel jumped back to avoid the first enemy, who swung a heavy club down at his head. Then he was forced to spin on the spot and conjure a barrier, as someone behind him thrust out with a long pike. The enemy crowded around him, giving him no space to evade or chance to counter with their hail of blows. Frustrated, he let out a wide burst of air, shoving about ten of them back.

Tobi was facing similar conditions, but he was better equipped and skilled for such a circumstance. He had spun the naginata around at once, and presented the enemy with a rapid flourish of cuts and thrusts, taking many down at once. One enemy, a little more experienced than the others, dove in at the right time to stop the spear’s movement with his shield, but Tobi had drawn him in on purpose and took him down with a quick blunt strike to the man’s head.

Samuel continued to struggle against his own opponents, too slow and inexperienced to deal with so many at once. He was forced to expel mana at an alarming rate, either to knock the waves of warriors back or unleash more lethal magic. He quickly did the calculations in his mind and knew that as it stood, he’d run dry in less than a minute. Time to fall back, he thought, and reach the relative safety of the city wall.

Another blast of air, this time aimed downward, and he was airborne, sailing over the enemies and safely out of their reach. Almost immediately, several arrows were sent streaking towards him but were knocked aside by the powerful winds that kept him afloat. The real danger came after them, as he saw a streak of light flashing out of the corner of his eye.

He conjured a barrier just in time, and the ball of fire that had been launched at him shattered harmlessly against it. But he couldn’t figure out where it had come from, and the enemy mage was playing it smart, staying hidden amongst their peers. Another spell, a sizzling bolt of lightning, came from his left, and he swatted it away. This was just as bad a situation as before, he thought. Caught in the open, the mages in the rebel army could freely attack him from range. And since he couldn’t identify their positions, he was unable to counter.

“Archmage!” A voice shouted. He whirled around, hands raised to attack, but hesitated as he saw a figure in College robes. “Come here! We’ll cover your retreat!”

Samuel did not move at once, his eyes roving over the field. He spotted Tobi at once, overwhelmed by the sheer numbers that surrounded him. Just as Samuel had found him, a sword slipped through his guard, scoring a long cut on his ribs. He let out a shout of pain that couldn’t be heard from this far away as the swordsman stepped back, exultant in his small victory. Tobi didn’t give the man long to cherish the moment, jumping forward and running him through.

Samuel paid for his lapse in attention as a bolt of lightning struck his left arm, the energy slamming into him hard enough to spin him in place. Raw electricity coursed through his body, stunning it, and he dropped a few feet in the air. This fact probably saved his life, as three more spells flew overhead, missing him by inches. But this time he’d seen the mage who had hit him.

Mana flooded through his body at his thought, coursing up his chest and into his arms, collecting at the tip of the first finger on his right arm. The air before him crackled with an intense light, and, before anyone could react, he released the spell, actually blown back a few feet by the recoil. The bolt of lightning, large as a man, slammed into the earth right at the mage’s feet. A cacophonous boom shook the battlefield, and a massive cloud of dirt and dust was flung into the air.

Samuel swooped down at his apprentice as the enemies around him flinched, turning to see what had caused such a loud noise. He reached out and snagged Tobi’s collar, extending his flying spell into his apprentice. Then they were both in the air before any of the rebels could think to strike them, dashing for the safety of the walls. Two more spells came at them from hidden mages, and Samuel was forced to swerve to avoid them. He was holding Tobi with both hands, and so was unable to use magic himself.

They zoomed over the heads of the college mages where they were perched on the wall. The college mages, Adepts by the color of their robes, conjured a huge thick barrier to block more spells launched at them. The magic was reflected in random directions, and then Samuel was gliding towards the ground, unable to see the battlefield. The sound of the fighting was still there, but on this side of the wall, the only action was that of men running back and forth, either changing position or carrying supplies.

They hit the cobbled King’s Road with more force than he’d intended, and they rolled along the hard surface for a foot or two before coming to a stop. Coughing and groaning, they hauled themselves to their feet. Samuel was uninjured with the exception of the one spell he’d taken, and only had some sore ribs from their rough landing. But the wound Tobi had taken was sending sheets of blood down his torso, and he looked unsteady on his feet.

“Healer!” Samuel shouted, turning to a group of men standing nearby, stunned by his sudden appearance. “Get a healer now!”

Two figures in red robes ran over to them. One of them got an arm around Tobi’s shoulder just as he fell back, and the other was immediately unslinging a leather satchel and digging inside. The first healer lowered Tobi to the ground, and the other pulled out a long thin wooden rod. He passed this over Tobi’s body with a smooth flick, and the runes inscribed along the object pulsed brightly. He looked up at Samuel, an encouraging smile on his face.

“He will be fine, Archmage,” the healer assured him. “It is a minor wound. It merely struck a large vessel, and combined with the shock, it has made him weak. We will set him right at once.”

Samuel nodded his understanding. “Please do. Thank you.”

The man didn’t respond to him, turning back to the still apprentice and putting his hands together. He held some object between his hands. It resembled a miniature sword, suspended around the man’s neck by a silver chain. It was the holy symbol of Abbadon, Samuel realized the God of Law and Good. He now spotted the same symbol stitched into the back of the healers’ robes and felt a little wave of relief go through him. It seemed Tobi was in good hands.

He ran lightly over to the wall, pushing his way through the crowd of men gathered at the base. They made no complaints at his rude movement, merely stepping to the side, their faces pale under their helmets. Samuel grabbed the ladder that had been propped there and quickly scaled up to the top of the wall. It only stood four meters above the plains, but it was an effective defense point.

The battle still raged below, but with a new change. The rebel army had brought ladders as well, and all along the wall at six different points, the implements were being propped against the wall, and men were starting to climb up. Judging by the shouted orders of lieutenants nearby, this had not come as a surprise. Men bunched at the top of each ladder at once, ready to repel any who came too close.

Spells began to rain down upon the defenders blocking the ladders at once, as the rebels paused halfway up. Men were struck down everywhere Samuel looked, knocked either to the wooden floor of the defensive position or worse, sent flying back over the wall, to land, unmoving, on the cobbles below. To his left, another few men were struck down by the distant mages.

Samuel spread his mana out as far as he could, conjuring thick magical barriers for four groups of men. Enemy spells slammed into the barrier with ruthless force, but none could penetrate. Though he couldn’t cover all of the points, Samuel was satisfied that he at least had drawn the attention of most of the enemy mages, and given his own allies some cover.

Just as he had this comforting thought, there was a flash of light to his right, and he turned just in time to see a small group of men, perhaps ten or twelve, appear out of nowhere on the wall. They had clearly been teleported in by the enemy mages, and immediately charged forward, attempting to kill or distract the defenders. Samuel blasted most of them off the wall with a strong gust of air, but one ducked under the spell.

He charged Samuel directly, roughly knocking aside the only other soldier near them. Samuel stood his ground as the man rushed in, making no attempt to run or evade. He was nearly out of mana anyway, so he had to face the man in melee combat. The soldier let out a cry of victory as he lunged, clearly assuming that, as a mage, Samuel’s combat skill would be severely lacking. He thought he had enough time to cut down the powerful mage before deciding on his next course of action.

The crystalline blade was in Samuel’s hand and he parried the man’s own sword. The attacker’s face showed blank shock at the lightning-fast reaction. But he was highly skilled, and quickly recovered, blocking Samuel’s own attack with his kite-shaped shield. Then he bashed the shield into Samuel, forcing him back and giving the man space. He hefted his shield back into position, cut down a soldier who tried to rush him, and charged for Samuel again.