“Shut up!” Una’s head whipped towards her, glaring daggers, “You think we like sucking up to that piece of filth!?”

“Oh yeah,” Shaya snarled back, “you seem to be having such a shitty time while you try to torment me!”

This isn’t good, the rational part of her brain whispered.

Una walked up and jabbed her finger in her chest, “Like you don’t deserve it! You come along and do nothing but judge us and our way of life!”

Stop! Shaya screamed in her mind, unable to stop her mouth from running.

“Maybe I expected more from the people admitted to the Empire’s most prestigious academy for magecraft!” Shaya glared down at the shorter woman and smacked her hand away. “Like, I don’t know, some minimum standards of skill and behaviour!”

“Most of us busted our asses off to get here!” They were shouting at each other now. “Don’t you dare think we didn’t work as hard as you to earn our positions!”

“’Most!?’Then why are you siding with him?!” Shaya asked, “Why not work with me so we can all grow together, instead of standing in his shadow while he heaps abuse on you!?”

You already know the answer to this! The rational part of her mind wailed. It’s bloody obvious!

“Because he’s a Solarix!” Una snapped, as if it should be self-evident, “All of our families owe them our allegiance and – as you can damn-well tell – the Solarix bloodline isn't exactly the rational, understanding sort!”

Shaya grit her teeth, knuckles popping as she flexed her fists, but Una kept on talking.

“I’d love to break his nose like you did,” she glared up at Shaya, “but then my family – and my people – will suffer for my actions! They can cut us out of trade deals to starve my people or crush our merchants, or worse! We don’t get to be too far away for retribution!”

Before Shaya could burn this bridge any harder, Samorn slipped her delicate frame between the two women and pushed them apart.

“We’re about to be attacked,” she said calmly, looking between them, “settle your argument later.”

"Fine,” Una said, still glaring at Shaya, “but this isn’t over.”

“Count on it,” Shaya said, walking away from them.

Shaya trembled with rage as she tried to regain control of herself, but she couldn’t slow her breathing. She tried to scan her surroundings for incoming threats, but her mind warred with itself too much to catch subtle changes that would reveal lurking monsters.

“Shaya,” Samorn said, laying a gentle hand on her arm, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she lied, pulling her arm away, “nothing destroying more monsters won’t solve.”

She handed Samorn the totem, “I’ll make sure reinforcements are on their way.”

“What are you going to do?” Samorn looked up at her, face etched with concern.

“Go be a barbarian,” she said, drawing her broad sword. Before Samorn could say anything else, she turned her attention to the rest of her lance, “get in formation everyone! Una, stay back and guard your people.”

“I can do more than that,” she glared.

“There’s nothing more important than keeping your comrades alive,” Shaya replied, “so see to their wounds and then their defense.”

‘Zaal,’ she transmitted, walking towards where the enemy was supposed to be coming, ‘Una’s lance is down, we have more incoming from the east, reinforcements would be appreciated.’

She tried drawing in Amber, but it rejected her furious state of mind. With the lack of Amber, she felt her ward flicker out of existence behind them.

“I’m forecasting three more alligators and... two dozen more human zombies coming from the water,” Oraeus said, the Sapphire light finally fading from his eyes, “the reports about this place were wrong.”

No spit.

She tried drawing in Jade, but the rage she felt was directed everywhere but the moment itself.

“Umbresnakes in the trees,” Cyren reported, pulling another arrow from his near-empty quiver, “I’m running low on ammo.”

She knew which of her three aethers she could still draw in, her rage encouraging her to do so.

You don’t even know any seeds for Ruby, the rational part of her brain argued, caged within her, you just want to wallow in your anger you idiot.

“Here,” Una said, bringing him another fistful from one of her wounded comrades, “they might not line up perfect, but they’re better than nothing.”

Cyren blinked at her, accepting the arrows without his usual charm, “Thank you.”

“What?” Una scowled at him, “I’m not worth flirting with like everyone else?”

“You’re...covered in blood and gore,” he replied.

“Oh,” she grinned up at him, white teeth flashing against the drying blood on her, “if that’s where you draw the line, then this was never going to work.”

Una patted him on the cheek, leaving behind a bit of dried blood, then cackled as he shuddered at the touch. She walked away, wiping the blood off her hands and face with a spare cloth, and went back to healing her companions. Shaya missed the name of her esper, but the spirit that appeared behind her was that of a man with twisted angelic features. His feathered wings had been hacked into stumps and he moved with a hunched, almost bestial gait, hands spread as if they were claws. Rather than the typical heavy armour worn by Astorian angels and espers, he wore decorative armour reminiscent of ancient gladiators Shaya had heard of, leaving much of his heavily scarred skin visible.

“Well,” Bri said, getting Shaya’s attention, “that was too much information, though seeing Cyren look uncomfortable makes it all worth it.”

“She’s scared,” Shaya replied, quiet enough for it to not carry to Una, “and frustrated, but she’s doing a good job covering it up.”

Bri’s patina-green eyes looked at Shaya, but she didn’t ask the question on her face: What are you right now?

“What’s the plan?” Ralus asked on her other side, “we don’t have much time – conjure another wall? Throw another fireball?”

You have to give them hope, Shaya thought, wresting control over her emotions.

She shook her head, then looked to Bri.

“I don’t have much left in me,” the Ruby mage replied, “maybe a small burst of flame, but projecting that much energy that far took a lot out of me. I need time to recharge.”

Shaya nodded, then sighed. The gears in her mind turned again as the next swarm started to advance, so she went with the first things to come to mind, “Ren, entangle as many as you can then focus on sniping the spawn. Bri, change spots with Oraeus and focus on executing enemies that Ralus cripples. Oraeus and Ral, leverage your animancy to the max against the undead. Samorn, keep up your support – and good thinking using the sprites to distract enemies, keep that up too.”

It’ll have to do.

Moans rasped from ravaged, dead throats as the horde charged them.

Courage and strength filled Shaya’s limbs as Samorn’s music picked up yet again, the Azurite mage focusing on supporting her allies since so many of their enemies were immune or difficult to enchant.

Ren completed his spell next, a serrated dagger held in one hand as a focus.

Thorn-covered vines burst from the ground, wrapping around zombies as they ran or crawled up the slope towards them. The gators didn’t slow, but thorns tore hunks of rotting flesh from their hides as they forced their way through. Several human zombies managed as well, leaving behind crushed limbs to continue their advance.

The three gators rushed towards them, acting as the horde’s vanguard. With a wordless roar, Shaya charged the one coming towards her, adrenaline and rage coursing through her in equal parts.

Heedless of the danger, she and the gator closed on one another in an instant, the giant beast lunging upwards, maw open to crush her torso. A spark of wherewithal got through to her, allowing her to side step the flying gator and slash her sword through its open maw with all of her might. She felt meat and bone part before her and she exulted in the thrill as her blade burst out of the back of her enemy’s head.

Shaya wanted to howl as the inanimate body hit the ground and skidded across it, defeated by her raw strength.

Maybe she did, she couldn’t tell as her legs drove her towards the first zombies.

Her lancemates shouted behind her, but she couldn’t hear them.

What little control she had left over her own body, Shaya focused on injecting into her movements.

The first zombie charged her, arms reaching towards her. She met it head on with her shield, its spindly arms snapping from their collision; followed by its torso as she slammed her shield into it. It flew backwards, colliding with two zombies behind it and sending them all sprawling down the hill in a tangle of their own limbs.

Another swung at her with rot-encrusted fingernails from the side, which she sheared off with a backswing of her sword then crushed its skull with the pommel. Two more came at her, no one guarding her flank because of how quickly she overextended herself.

She didn’t need them anyway.

With a lunge, she twisted her hips and swung her sword with all of her giant-blooded weight behind it, decapitating the first zombie and embedding her sword into the throat of the second. It charged into her regardless of the blade wedged into its spine, wrapping its arms around her and trying to drag her down.

Shaya stood her ground.

Then another two zombies tackled her, dragging her into the mud.

Teeth gnashed at her as they clawed their way up her body, the weight of three zombies immobilizing her arms. As one of their jaws clacked at her face, she rolled atop it and slammed her forehead into its face, imploding it.

She heard two sets of feet rushing towards her, adrenaline spiking at the thrill of more violence.

“We can’t let the others see her like this,” Oraeus said, and she sensed Amethyst magic flare around him, “Zaal especially.”

You deceitful piece of-No! Shaya interrupted her thoughts before they continued their downward spiral, before they fed her rage further.

“We don’t know when he’ll arrive,” Ralus retorted, clearly worried about what they sensed coming from their friend.

“Get ready to drag her back,” Oraeus continued through gritted teeth, “watch out for the cloak’s barbs, they seem nasty.”

Through a tangle of flailing zombie limbs, Shaya saw him thrust his hand forward as he finished his incantation, blood vessels in his eyes bursting from the amount of aether required by the spell: “-disrupt the spirits of my foes!”

A wave of spectral energy burst from him, crashing over Shaya and the zombies all around her. She felt herself go numb, her connection to her own body distant as if watching it from above. Skulls cracked around her, sounding as if smashed by pillows to her dulled ears, then hands grabbed her arms and dragged her away.

She tried to struggle, but her limbs were weak.

No, my limbs are strong, the rational side of her thought, using her disembodied connection to regain control over her emotions, just unresponsive.

Shaya glared up at Oraeus and Ral as they dragged her away from the next wave of zombies, slowed down by her weight. She wanted to thank them, but wasn’t sure what would have come out of her own mouth if she could have even moved it.

What have I done? She despaired, watching the zombies close on them.

This is Azreon’s fault! She cried out in her mind. That stupid bastard should have cleared his flank rather than rush to glory!

No, she asserted against her rage, the enemies might be on him, but how we – no, how I – reacted to the situation... that was up to me to control.