Lightning rained down from two sides of the board, killing and maiming indiscriminately. Using the board she spun around her axis a few times making a clearing beneath her feet where Ghost jumped to, hacking and slashing.

The sight was enough to halt the charge, as Ghost had predicted. Now alone on her board, Ana knelt forming the shield beneath her while rising to a higher elevation to avoid any projectiles coming her way.

Using a bit of fancy on-the-spot imagination and what she already knew, a new spell was formed. An idea that was suggested by Ghost and aided by last night's rain and the moist ground. Magic made dispersion extremely useful, and with a few tweaks, Ana used the moisture in the ground and in the air to create a cloud. More correctly fog, but creating a cloud had such a fancy ring to it. But the new spell took her some time to manifest, the first time trying something like that was difficult and with a lot of kinks to iron out. In the meantime, members of Stone’s band reached the archers and were aiding them in feathering as many enemies as they could.

Ghost was slowly retreating as he fought, not allowing himself to get surrounded with help from the mounted fighters. Once Ana finished her spell she increased her momentum traveling over the large group depositing the generated fog like a plane pollinating a field. The spell wasn’t much energy-wise so she gave it her all, creating a fog over the entire backline of the enemy group.

This distraction gave Ghost and Razor’s band the needed break to turn and run under the cover of the archers. Ana completed pollinating the enemy and had dropped her spell, feeling a small bit of exhaustion hitting in already. Shrugging it off she focused on another spell as she made her way toward her allies, but fate had other plans.

The luckiest Targ to have ever lived was in the group that had migrated. A soon-to-be-born legend for his deed that even he himself didn’t know.

Not able to see or even aim at Ana, a lucky Targ had sent a rock flying with a sling, hitting Ana in the back of the head. Everything went white as she lost control of her flight, battling to stay awake as she got detached from her board and the two skidded in two separate piles.

She was still awake with a mouthful of dirt when someone grabbed and lifted her. Voices were talking in the distance as she saw the ground beneath her move, while she hung upside down. It was a strange sight and it went as it came.

She came to it in Angel's arms once again, thanking her deity for removing the headache as well. Learning what had happened made her shiver. She knew something had hit her in the head but after that nothing. Ice had ridden back and got Ana’s unconscious body before all of them raced back to the fort. The others still needed some time to get back as Ice had run back ahead to get her healed. And now she owed the woman a few drinks.

The short rest she took only made her feel even more tired, coupled with the exhaustion and lightheadedness she was feeling, magic had to take a back seat. It took the others almost three hours to arrive with enemies hot on their tail.

They go into the fort safely, Ana closing the door as she had prepared beforehand. Finally getting a good look at the Stone war band. They didn’t look much different than Ghost’s, with the exception of Stone. While the size of Ghost, Stone looked human except bulkier and with his skin covered in a hard texture resembling, well stone.

While Ghost and Stone got into the fort, Razor took his band further ahead, leaving their line of sight. The enemy didn’t have any mounted combatants and that had provided them with a big advantage. So instead of dismounting and helping in the siege, Razor’s band moved away and would later harass the settled enemy. A plan to coordinate with Razor was hatched while Ana was unconscious.

Stone’s band was running on fumes, having to ditch their supplies and gear when they got ambushed. Thankfully there was more than enough to go around as Ghost’s band had brought supplies for both Razor’s and Stone’s bands. Taking a break and debriefing the other Stone took some time, in which the enemy surrounded their fort and it was starting to look like a siege was inevitable.

With Ana out of the fight today, and unable to fly as her board was left behind, they had to go on the defensive. Which was a good idea, unless the enemy had more food and water and just waited until the defenders starved or got dehydrated enough to open the doors. Ghost shared the plan with Ana, having her design a spell she had never used before.

Time slowly passed in the fort, the enemy had surrounded them and all they could do was wait. The morale took a hit but not as much as to be expected, these were soldiers tasked with fighting monsters and they didn’t lose hope easily.

While her head injury was healed, the attack had still interrupted her in the middle of a spell, causing a lot of magic to go to waste. Not having anything better to do Ana ate and meditated, regaining as much of her strength as she could. While it wouldn’t bring her back to her prime, meditation and food acted as a second wind, giving her enough back in case the enemy tried a nighttime assault.

And of course, the enemy did. By not throwing more magic the enemy must have thought that the spellcaster was out for now, so they decided to use their numbers and the cover of the night to overwhelm the defenders. It was annoying how right they were and how big of a disadvantage the defenders were. What was worse, the wall was made from packed dirt and would not hold long against an assault.

The moon slowly replaced the sun, and the howl from the enemy side increased and shook Ana from her meditation. The attack was coming. Everyone with a bow was up on the battlements, others either pacing or getting ready. There were no fires, only the light of the moon, hindering anyone with a bow or a sling while providing the rest with an eerie battleground. The fire pits were stacked with wood, in case of a breach Ana was to light them, if there was gonna be a melee, a light would be a very handy tool to have.

She had made this fort a little different than usual. Instead of stairs and tall walls on the inside, there were ramps. They supported the walls so no collapse would happen during an assault. It made their encampment look like a crater from above, but it aided in the defense.

Once the howl had ended, a creepy silence fell on all of them. She could hear the breaths of every ally and pack animals in the fort and without wind even the footsteps of the enemy. They were advancing. She got up and wasn’t the only one to have heard it, everyone sprang into action. The non-combatants were in the carts in the middle of the fort, armed and out of the way. While they could fight, they were the last line, out of the way until it was necessary for them to fight.

Impacts resounded at various points on the walls. With the way the fort was constructed, only one part of the wall could be turned into a gate, and the original gate used was now a seamless part of the wall but without a ramp. More impacts sounded as the enemy was roaming outside the walls. Arrows and rocks flew ahead and over their position, the archers were firing back and she brought her spell into bear, sensing what part of the wall was in danger of collapsing.

With Ghost's recommendation, she left the closed gate without a ramp, creating a funnel that they decided to use. The plan was not to wait for the enemies to scale the walls but to let them in, and with Ana there they could close the gap if it proved to be too much. The archers got on the ramp looking in on the funnel while the main fighters got into a shield wall, forming a semi-circle around the opening.

On a cue she broke that part of the wall, sending it flying back and hopefully taking out a few enemies with it. Without a care for their own lives, the Targs rushed in, the first three of them got shot with arrows and went down, the opening only so wide. The next trio got over the corpses and rushed in, but Ana ignored the rushing enemies and focused on lighting the fires, giving her allies some much needed light. Soon there was a stream of short Targs rushing in, arrows flew back and forth, but the shield wall held. Then seconds turned into minutes as screams and battle cries filled the area.

Ana kept an eye out for any other breach, concentrating on the spell was taxing but if they got attacked from multiple angles the battle was over. No breaks were being made but the crafty buggers had figured a way to reach the top of the battlements. They had felled trees to make battering rams, most likely noticing that the fort was made from the earth itself.

And once their plan didn’t work, they propped up the trees on the edges of the walls and were now climbing over. Looking back, the funnel was slowly filling with bodies, and there were only a few members of Stone’s band, Frost, Wind, and Pups that were on reserve. She ran over to Frost, telling him what was happening when an arrow lodged itself in the wheel next to them. The firelight and the shadows it created were playing tricks on their foes and had just saved one of their lives.

Ana pulled one of the spare shields that was leaning against the cart to levitate in front of her, thinking that she needed to design a helmet for herself. Their ragtag band charged up the ramp, Ana drawing her two swords as she sent the shield flying towards a Targ who just got over the edge. While it was made mostly from wood it had parts made from steel, which made it even easier to spin and send flying sideways.

The Targ got hit and was sent flying, and Ana returned the shield back, keeping it behind her in case more arrows came flying her way. The trees were the issue, and she needed a way to deal with them. Fire would be the best option, but the heat would need to be intense, too intense for what she could manage quickly.

That left only one option, and it was better done in the dark where no one could see her. While she drew the wild energy from within her, she cursed and spat at the monster who was responsible for poisoning her with blood magic.

She formed the green-red orb of disintegration, going for the tree just as another Targ poked its head through. Without thinking her other hand leaped forward, stabbing the creature in the throat as it went down screaming and gurgling. Ignoring what she just did without thinking, she floated the shield in front of her, blocking anyone from targeting her as she sent the orb of magic flying, cutting the tree in half.

She repeated that two more times with success, Frost and Wind helping clear the way as she worked. Pups was on the other side with the free members of Stone’s party, fighting Targs that had jumped over. After clearing one side and destroying three makeshift ramps they went to repeat that same action on the other side.

Pups and the others were holding off the Targs but more kept coming. Frost and Wind got in time to prevent them from getting surrounded. Another tree felled, three more left. She was getting winded. Using this magic was making her lightheaded ever since it got mixed with the corrupted one.

Still, she pushed on, protected by her allies she brought down another tree. Two left. She could see the others in the shield wall fighting as Targs climbed over their own fallen and charged. They might be needing her to close the gap, she had to hurry. Another tree went down, there was just one spot where the Targs were now climbing over.

Frost and Wind dispatched the few that were there easily. Finally, the last makeshift ladder was down, and Ana sat down taking in deep breaths. The battle was nowhere near over but they were holding for now. The number of corpses in the funnel had made any charge in bulk impossible, those brave enough to climb over only dying in the process. While they weren’t the smartest bunch, they weren’t stupid enough to die needlessly in a massacre so the battle at the funnel was winding down.

She got up from sitting behind a crenellation, thinking it wasn’t the best place to sit when a shaft of wood appeared in her gut. It took her a second to register what had happened, the hit taking the breath from her lungs as she stumbled, her back hitting the crenellation. She saw Frost reach for her and Wind run towards the crafty Targ who had somehow climbed over the wall and was holding a crossbow. A crossbow that it got from Stone’s war band.

Pain flared up. Looking down the bolt had gotten between plates and had pierced her skin. Thanks to Lia’s help she knew it didn’t penetrate deep so she pulled it out. Frost reached her, checking the wound and pulling her down the ramp towards himself.

The fighting had grounded to a halt, no more enemies on the walls and no more coming to the funnel. Angel was going around healing the injured, of which there weren’t that many. They had survived the first wave without casualties and with little damage.

For the next ten minutes, screams and howls filled the air around them, making the fort feel like a really bad nightclub with bad lighting and even worse music. Using her magic she confirmed her suspicions that the enemy was digging. The bad news was that they weren't digging holes to go through, but dug with intent to bring the walls down.

She reported her findings to Ghost who spat a curse. They were running out of time and there wasn’t a damn thing they could do in the dark. Their best bet was to focus on survival until daytime when Razor’s band would strike. He inquired about Ana building them a tunnel to which she shook her head.

While the idea was solid, she would have to support the weight of the tunnel with her magic, and that was just too much. If they had time to take apart the carts and use the lumber, maybe, but that plan got scrapped as they didn’t have time to manually make supports for a tunnel, and any such support was going to be flimsy at the best of times.

But Ana had another idea. She could build a cave of sorts and everyone could hide there while she and two others led a distraction to reach her board. If they could get there safely on mounts, she could fly them out of danger. Ghost shook his head. While it could work, if it didn’t those hiding would get slaughtered. Not to mention if the distraction got killed or captured. For now, their best chances were still to hold ground and survive.

The diggers made good time, collapsing walls into heaps and transforming the walls into large mounds with ramps on both sides. That created a bad position for them as the enemy could use the height advantage from the mounds to fire arrows at them. If they could take out the leader it might be enough to cause a rout, but that would have been a difficult task during the day, and now it was impossible.

She could try conjuration but the last thing she needed was some abomination to join the fight and she didn’t have the experience to safely do it. Every plan she could think of was flawed. Even if they escaped there was nowhere to run to on the fields around them, and they didn’t know when exactly their backup was arriving. While the plan to leave the mounted band outside so they could strike the Targs from the back while the other two bands held the fort seemed good at the time, the tenacity of the Targs was proving to be too much.

Everything boiled down to fighting, and they needed an advantage. If she had time to prepare there were plenty of things she could have done, but both time and resources were a limiting factor. While Ana was trying to figure out a way out of this clusterfuck, the howl and wails had stopped, and everyone got ready once again. Soon after that, the battle cries echoed as Targs swarmed all sides.

Projectiles flew, hitting shields and the improvised barricades from turned overs carts. The line of defenders held their ground around their makeshift circle. Ana was behind Coal and Pup as the men held their shields up waiting for their foes to enter their range, but she was under no such restriction, so she sent her swords forward, piercing and killing two Targs instantly.

That didn’t even put a dent in the charge, and the two forces met. In one swift moment, blood, screams, and body parts were everywhere. She looked around trying to find if any Targs got through the line and when she spotted one, her swords flew once again, finding the target with eerie precision.

One after another their foes bled, but so did they. The fire in the middle gave Ana just enough light to see a line buckle and several enemies break through. Her swords were stuck in two other foes, too far to use in this situation. So instead she jumped while drawing the wild magic which she still had plenty in reserve, landing and dusting the foes that had broken through. Using everything that was left she dusted, zapped, and pierced several dozen Targs that tried swarming the opening. With the line reforming again she fell on her hands and knees, coming face to face with a dead Targ that had a large hole in its chest.

Blood on its mouth and its dead face. She shook her head, battling the exhaustion. Looking up she saw Pup and the others come together and reform the line with the time Ana had given them. The magic alone was tough, but she had to keep in mind friendly fire which wasn’t easy in the dim light of the battleground.

She tried getting up but that proved to be too much, so instead, she listened and focused on her breathing. There were too many sounds for her to notice anything specific, so she was surprised when someone reached their hand around her stomach, pulling her back.