The battlefield was covered in blood, scorch marks and bodies. While most were from the invaders, far too many of the city's defenders were alongside them.

Thirty guards had joined them, but only seven would be walking back out.

Each of the survivors was wounded, though some were worse than others, and after ensuring Garveth’s demise, Verdan set about healing them.

Verdan had burnt through a good portion of his reserves animating the stone, so he was forced to limit himself to a single heal per person.

While it wouldn’t get them into fighting shape, it was enough to jumpstart their healing and fight off some lingering Essence in their wounds.

Cullan waved off Verdan when he went to do the same for the bare-chested Idrisyr. “No need. I’ll heal up well enough on my own.”

“Are you sure?” Verdan eyed the numerous cuts, gashes and festering wounds that covered Cullan.

“Don’t be a fool, Cullan. Let the man help you,” Silver said as he limped over to them with a pained expression.

The stoic Lieutenant had a new cut under one eye and a deep cut across his thigh that was blistered and marred by acid but was otherwise in good shape.

“Lukas,” Cullan looked to the Lieutenant with a relieved expression before shrugging and looking back to Verdan. “Fine, but don’t waste too much energy.”

“Iacha,” Verdan tapped Cullan on the shoulder and sent a weak pulse of healing Aether into him.

“Good,” Silver nodded before taking a seat on a piece of rubble that had fallen from Verdan’s construct. “There will be a reserve force heading here to help hold the gates, so we’ll wait for them. You need to get back to the wall.”

“I’ll stay here until the reinforcements come, then I’ll head over,” Cullan said, glancing over at Silver before giving Verdan a grin. “Just make sure you don’t kill everything before I get there.”

Verdan nodded and recast his haste spell, but just on himself this time. “Be safe, both of you.”

-**-

Verdan raced back through the city as fast as he could. He fed extra Aether into his haste spell as he went, overcharging it and letting him go faster than he had with the guards.

Despite his speed, it still took precious minutes to retrace their steps, and Verdan was keenly aware that all the time taken was adding up.

It was a welcome relief when Verdan arrived back at the eastern wall and even more so when he could see that the wall was intact and the defenders still held the battlements.

Visible flares of magic could be seen here and there, whether the bright flashes of Aether from the Witches or flame and poison from the Sects.

Verdan rushed towards the wall, dropping his spell as he did to maintain his Aether now that he was close enough.

Powering up the stairs as fast as he could, Verdan reached the top and immediately sent a wave of power down into the wards that he’d set up previously.

The offensive spell ward was gone, burnt and melted away by the ongoing barrage from the enemy, but the strengthening ward was still hanging on.

The Sect Sorcerers were sheltering beneath large shields of Essence and a few makeshift shelters formed from the rock around them.

The shelters were a surprise to Verdan, but he could see four or five brown-clad Sorcerers working to maintain them against the efforts of the Fwyn.

Fortunately, the diminutive Fwyn outnumbered the Sorcerers and were experts in earth magic, and Verdan watched as one of the shelters came crumbling down.

Lightning blasted down almost immediately onto the exposed troops, killing several and scattering the rest.

A flickering shield of Essence broke as a volley of enchanted bolts struck it, but what Verdan had taken to be a single shield turned out to be several overlapping ones.

The additional layers of shields mostly destroyed the few bolts that penetrated the first, though Verdan saw one or two get through to strike the enemy.

For every Sorcerer conjuring a shield, there was another launching projectiles of caustic Essence or burning flames up at the battlements.

The ramparts protected the defenders from a good portion of the attacks, but Verdan could see the injured and the dead being carried away.

Verdan began to lift a hand to cast a protective shield but hesitated before shaking his head. He just didn’t have the power to protect everyone from this many Sorcerers.

“Verdan!” Branwen called out as she came running over, hunched slightly to present less of a target. “Where is my fool brother?”

“With Silver at the other gate, he’s wounded, but they’ll be heading this way soon.”

“Good, good, they’re building to something, and we’ll need every blade,” Branwen said before focusing on her bow. “Lord of Giants, grant my arm the strength of my forebears.”

“Nercreth,” Verdan muttered, feeling the Exeon flowing into the bow and adding his own spell to the arrow, sheathing it in protective Aether.

Branwen gave Verdan a surprised look before nodding her thanks. Nocking the arrow, Branwen took a breath before rising smoothly to her feet as she drew and loosed the arrow in one smooth motion before swiftly ducking down.

Verdan edged away and peered down in time to see the arrow crash through a cluster of shields and strike with the power of a ballista bolt, sending up an explosion of dirt and blood.

A huge fireball was sent flying up to them in response, but it was simple enough for Verdan to take control of it and send it back in a more compressed form at a group of Weeping Death fighters.

“Huh, nice move,” Branwen gave Verdan a respectful nod before frowning and glancing down at the Sects. “They’re doing something.”

Verdan glanced down, following Branwen’s gaze to see a ripple of motion passing through the assembled force as two men in more elaborate clothes moved to the front.

Sharpening his Aether senses, Verdan watched as what he could only assume was the leader of the Defiant Flame force stepped forward and lifted a hand.

A blistering shield of roiling flames roared into being, intercepting a volley of bolts from the defenders on the wall. A few of the bolts must have been enchanted as the shield flared brightly in places, but it didn’t fail.

Verdan was already moving down the wall to get closer to the pair, Branwen hurrying behind him as she whispered out another blessing and shot down at the pair.

As with the bolts from the guards, Branwen’s arrow was burnt away, the Exeon infusing her bow not extending to the arrow itself.

Verdan considered casting the same spell as before, but if Garveth had been a step above the average Sorcerer, Verdan had a feeling that these two were a step above again.

Verdan was still closing the distance when the fire shield dropped, and a barrage of javelins made of concentrated dark brown and black Essence slammed into the wall.

With his senses already focused, Verdan could feel the sheer intensity of the Essence within the projectiles.

The ward protecting the wall was already heavily weakened, and what was left was consumed by the first projectile to strike the wall.

A dozen or more javelins had been thrown by the man Verdan assumed was Elder Budaev. With the wards protecting the wall gone, each javelin struck the unprotected stone and ate deep into the wall.

Dust and crumbling stone plumed out into the city as Budaev’s Essence decayed and destroyed the stone, leaving behind four holes in the wall.

The Defiant Flame leader quickly recast their shield, protecting the two of them before Verdan or the others could target them.

“Griffon!” Verdan shouted, spotting the guard commander up ahead with a crossbow in hand. “Get everyone off the wall!”

“You heard the man, back to the Line!” Griffon roared, his voice cutting through the sounds of battle with practiced ease.

“Branwen, get ready,” Verdan said as the defenders around them moved towards the nearest stairs and pulled back from the wall.

“I can’t see either of them,” Branwen shook her head in frustration.

“Doesn’t matter. They’ll drop the shield eventually. That’s when we strike.”

“Understood,” Branwen nodded, a determined expression settling on her face as Verdan cast a strengthening spell on her next arrow.

As Verdan expected, the shield dropped again soon enough, and a new onslaught of attacks flew out towards the damaged section of the wall.

Branwen took her shot as the damaged section of the wall crumbled under the attack, her empowered bow thrumming as it sent an arrow cutting through the air towards the two Sorcerers.

The arrow impacted with a tremendous crack and an explosion of dust and earth that had Verdan casting a shield to protect them as he cursed and ran for the stairs.

Branwen was barely a step behind Verdan, but even so, she was almost too slow as that wall section was immolated by fire.

Branwen looked mostly unbothered by the intense heat and instead looked to Verdan in confusion. “How did you know?”

“That crack was stone breaking, which meant that one of the earth Sorcerers protected them, and you don’t get that powerful without developing an instinctual reflex to being shot at.”

“You’ve seen this sort of fighting before,” Branwen said, her tone making it into a statement.

“Yes, but now’s not the time for that,” Verdan said as they reached the base of the stairs. “They’ll be through that hole in moments. We need to get back to the Line.”

A cloud of dust had been kicked up by a portion of the wall collapsing, and Verdan knew that even now, the Sect forces would be pushing their way in.

The Line was formed of makeshift barricades, partially demolished houses and walls of stone that had been erected by the Fwyn.

Every defender that could walk and fire a bow was present at what would be their last chance to drive off the Sects.