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    Before they reached the rhinn army, Kax appeared by Goslin’s side. "I’ll ferret out their mages and make sure they don’t see another dawn."


    "Good luck," Goslin said, and watched as his friend leapt high in the air, soaring over the heads of the first line of rhinn soldiers. Kax disappeared on the other side as Goslin and those around him crashed into a wall of enemies. These were the first rhinn soldiers Goslin had seen use shields. The rhinn held their shields before them with spears pointing outward, skewering Eldsprak soldiers by the dozens.


    Goslin slid in between two spearheads. His sword wouldn’t do much to break such a well-formed formation, so he held out his shield and charged into the enemy ranks. The unfortunate rhinn soldier who stood against him was pushed back with enough force to crumple his tall metal shield and reduce the man to a spray of blood and gore. Goslin spun and struck out to the side, obliterating another enemy soldier before they realized what has happening.


    The rhinn line crumbled as they broke away, screaming.


    Eldsprak soldiers poured into the gap and pressed forward, forging their way through the enemy to reach their allies on the other side. The din of voices and weapons was deafening, but Goslin kept screaming encouragement to the men around him.


    "Keep going!"


    He thrust and sliced with his sword, killing indiscriminately. Above their heads, the pyromancers battled. Fireballs exploded into beautiful displays of glowing sparks, but they were running out of time. More of the firemagi had joined the rhinn, and streams of fire burned through the waning light. The pyromancer who fought on their side could only focus on defense, and even that would be impossible to keep up for long.


    One of the streams of fire from deep behind rhinn lines was suddenly cut off. Goslin smiled as he stepped aside to avoid an enemy spear thrust. Kax had found his target.


    A shout rose from behind Goslin, and he turned to see that the gap they forced in the rhinn''s line of defense was slowly closing. He swore. A few Eldsprak soldiers stayed close to him, protecting Goslin''s rear as he barreled through their enemies with his shield. He parried attacks with the blade before striking with either the flat of the shield or its rim.


    Goslin gritted his teeth, focusing on reaching the other side of the battlefield. Behind him, a mess of dead rhinn reduced to unrecognizable piles of dismembered limbs and mounds of gore left a trail of Goslin''s path across the field.


    A gap opened. Eldsprak soldiers shoved their way through. This time, they held formation. Goslin turned to face their allies on the other side. It was time to rally and join forces with their brethren.


    A gateway snapped open in front of Goslin and his advancing troops. Through it, he saw two opponents. One was a middle-aged rhinn man. His head was shaved completely bald, and he stared through the opening with an intense gaze while holding out his palm, fingers splayed. Goslin deduced that it was one of the rhinn''s priests.


    A pyromancer stood next to him, wearing the telltale red robes with intricate patterns stitched in red, orange, and gold. She was a young woman. No, not a woman. A girl. Much too young for a place like this, too large robes hanging off her small frame. She couldn’t be more than sixteen.


    He watched as fire bloomed in front of her chest. The girl’s eyes widened in terror, but her apprehension and fear did not lessen the destructive power gathering in front of her. If he didn''t stop her, her spark would reach out and obliterate everyone on Goslin’s side of the gate.


    Goslin ran up to the opening and crouched down, his shield raised before him.


    A dark blur of movement materialized on the rhinn side of the gate, and before Goslin could comprehend what was happening, the priest''s head slid off his neck and thumped onto the ground. Fire streamed from the girl, toward Goslin, who yelled, desperate for his words to carry over the roar of the fire.


    "Kax! Don’t hurt the girl!"


    The gate snapped shut, cutting off the flames. Goslin stood and peered through the mass of allies and enemies. There! A thin bar of fire, spreading out like the branching of a tree, could be seen through the press of bodies.


    "This way!" Goslin shouted.


    In the middle of the melee, Goslin struggled for every step toward the young pyromancer. Eldian soldiers and rhinn clashed all around him. It was impossible to get a sense of the battle from Goslin’s position. He couldn’t even see their allies on the other side of what was supposed to be a swift pincer attack. For all he knew, Gunnar and his soldiers were dead.


    There was no end to the rhinn, but that didn’t stop him from bashing his way through. The stink of death filled his nose and his throat burned. Still, he kept pushing forward. His own advance spurred the other soldiers, and they showed admirable courage in the dim light. It would be dark soon. Would that help or hinder their advance?


    Goslin grazed a rhinn soldier’s chin with his shield and heard the cracks and pops of his enemy’s face as it blew apart. Bile rose in his throat, but Goslin swallowed, pushing it back down and stepping over the corpse. Once, when fighting bandits, he’d counted those he was forced to kill. He had lost count long ago.


    He kept up his push forward until he stumbled over something. Goslin fell to the grass, caught himself, and got to his feet. The rhinn priest lay dead and headless before him. By his side was the pyromancer. He stared down at the dead girl.


    Goslin forced himself to stand, his legs threatening to buckle under him. Exhaustion washed over him in waves. He turned and began walking away. Both mages had been his enemy, he reminded himself. Still, he knew that the image of the dead girl would stay with him.


    Fury boiled inside his chest. The pyromancers had sent a child into battle. He swore that he’d make them pay. Eldsprak had accepted their surrender last time. This time, he would exterminate all who’d plotted against his kingdom.


    Goslin screamed and threw himself into the fight.


    After the final pyromancer was vanquished, thanks to Kax, it didn''t take long for the rhinn army to break. The pyromancer who huddled somewhere among Gunnar’s soldiers was losing their strength, yet small and shuddering bouts of flames tore through the rhinn soldiers unhindered. Goslin could see the tide shift in their favor. Rhinn turned from the fight and ran.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Legions of dead littered the ground. Goslin forced himself to remain standing. His sword and shield felt leaden in his arms and his entire body was on the brink of collapse. The cluster of soldiers who’d kept close to him were all dead.


    "We won," Fredrik said, walking up behind Goslin. "They’re in full retreat."


    Goslin watched the backs of the rhinn soldiers running for their lives across the wide expanse of grass. They were fleeing in the direction of Fyrie.


    "So many of them still live."


    "About half, I’d say."


    "What about our losses?" Goslin asked. The older man removed his helm. A thin trickle of blood ran down his temple.


    "We don’t know yet. A third, by my estimate."


    "A third," Goslin mumbled. More than fifty men lost, and that was just on their side. "What about Gunnar’s men?"


    Fredrik shrugged, then pointed over Goslin''s shoulder. "You''ll need to ask them yourself."


    Goslin swayed as he turned to find Gunnar. Eldian soldiers crossed the battlefield, still moving in close formation despite having routed the enemy. A mountain of a man broke free from the others and strode up to Goslin and Fredrik. He wore a Fyrie city guard’s tabard in red and blue over a chainmail armor that covered all of him, even his head. Only his face was visible, and Goslin’s eyes were drawn to a prominent black mustache, oiled and combed to perfection.


    "You the commander of this spectacle?" the man asked.


    Goslin spoke first. "I am. You’re Gunnar?"


    "I am," he said, reaching out with a gauntleted hand. "Never thought this mad plan would lead us to victory. How did you eliminate the pyromancers? With those still on the field of battle, we would all have been burned to ash."


    "A friend of mine dealt with them. I can’t deny my surprise at you having a pyromancer in your ranks. They performed admirably."


    Gunnar boomed a laugh. "I’d like to meet this friend of yours!" He turned and yelled to his own troops. "Bring the fireslinger over!"


    A young man emerged from within the tight huddle of Eldian troops, staggering with every step.


    "Tvalfager!"


    "You know him?" Gunnar asked, putting an arm around the young pyromancer''s shoulders when he finally made it to their small group. "He stumbled into our camp just a few days ago, wearing pyromancer’s red and going on and on about demons. Would you believe it?"


    Tvalfager was no longer wearing his bright red robes. Instead, he now wore the same brown and gray tunic and trousers that could have belonged to any soldier on the field. The young man gave Goslin a thin smile. "They almost killed me before I had a chance to explain. When they told me what was happening here, I decided to stay with them."


    "Why?" Fredrik asked. "Why would you side against your fellow pyromancers, not to speak of the burning tower itself?"


    "I’ve seen what comes out of those holes in the air," Tvalfager said, shuddering. "I’m not going to fight alongside anything that comes through a gate. There will be more pyromancers who are of like mind. You can be sure of that."


    "We’re happy to have you and whatever fellow pyromancers you can bring over to our side," Goslin said. "Those who fight under the banner of Rhinerien will not live to see the end of this war."


    Tvalfager stiffened a little, then sighed, nodding. "I think I’ll go find a spot somewhere and lie down for a bit. If you can capture pyromancers rather than kill them, I’m sure I can convince them to join us." Tvalfager stumbled off.


    "He’s a good lad," Gunnar said. "The enemy feared his retaliation. We barely lost any soldiers and now we’re over two hundred and fifty men strong, even counting the losses this day."


    Fredrik surveyed the battlefield. "Then this makes us the largest single force of Eldians in the kingdom at this moment."


    Goslin looked around for Kax. "Well done today. Make sure our troops get some rest after burying those we lost. Tomorrow, we strike out for Fyrie."


    "Apologies," Fredrik said. "But we don’t have nearly enough numbers for an assault on the capital."


    "You saw what we did today," Goslin said, still scanning the field of battle. "We’ll find more allies along the way, I promise." He turned to the two commanders. "I need to find my friend. Let us convene in a few hours and see your doubts settled. Gunnar, good to have you with us."


    With that, he left.


    Men rushed back and forth. The deserted rhinn camp stretched out nearby in endless rows of tents and wagons, and the Eldians plundered them for much-needed supplies. Goslin’s entire body burned in pain as he made his way among the dead. He found that he could ignore the dead rhinn at first, but the more of them he saw, he began to notice small differences. Some wore simple jewelry, metal rings and necklaces. Others wore clothes that set them apart. One such rhinn wore a leather apron covered in small burns. A blacksmith, perhaps. He walked past two men who’d curled up in each other’s arms as they died and yet another who clutched a piece of paper to his chest. Goslin did not attempt to take it from the dead man’s clutch. Instead, he continued, doing his utmost to repress the growing unease inside him. These little details told stories about individuals with their own fears and goals, of camaraderie, and a past that Goslin did not wish to brush up against.


    Killing was much easier when he could imagine himself up against a wall of faceless enemies. Humanizing the invaders was dangerous. If he hesitated for a mere moment on the field of battle, it could be his life that he forfeited rather than that of his opponent.


    A sound pulled Goslin’s attention to a wagon. It carried hay, probably feed for horses. Something shifted in the straw.


    "I know you’re in there," Goslin said. "Why don’t you come out?"


    Kax walked up, and a weight lifted from Goslin’s shoulders. "You’re unhurt?"


    Kax kept his eyes on the wagon. "I’m not sure."


    "What do you mean?" Goslin asked, turning to his friend.


    "Look," Kax said, gesturing to his arm.


    Above the elbow, his tunic sleeve had been cut. Beneath it, Goslin saw only darkness. "What am I looking at?" he asked.


    Kax tore the sleeve off, still not taking his eyes off the wagon. "Look closer at the cut."


    The darkness creeping up Kax’s skin had progressed to his shoulder. It’d been at his elbow only the day before. A long wound ran from Kax''s shoulder down to his elbow. The wound would have killed a normal person. With Kax, it didn’t even bleed. Goslin looked closer and saw that the flesh beneath was just as dark as the skin, and it was slowly knitting itself back together.


    "Does it hurt?"


    The shorter man shook his head. "No pain."


    Goslin didn’t know what to say.


    "It spreads and digs deeper into me when I kill. I can feel it," Kax continued a moment later as both men watched, transfixed, at Kax''s closing wound. "Six pyromancers and four of those rhinn travelers."


    One of those, a young girl, Goslin thought.


    "Then perhaps it would be best if you stopped killing," he said. "You could relinquish those swords."


    Kax shook his head and grinned, though it looked a little forced. "It’s all I’m good for, Gos. You needed me out there."


    "I did," Goslin admitted. "Doesn’t mean I have to like what''s happening to you."


    "Says the princeling with the world on his shoulders," Kax teased. He nodded to the wagon. "Want me to slice through that?"


    "Please don’t," a voice squeaked from within the straw.


    Goslin gave his friend a long look before turning back to the wagon. "Come out. I give you my word that you won’t be harmed."


    The silence hung in the air for a long breath, then a head popped out of the straw. "You promise?" It was a young rhinn boy. He looked down at the old man on the ground. Tears formed in his eyes and then his jaw set in determination. Without warning, he leapt from the wagon, right for Goslin and Kax, a short knife in his hand.


    Reflexively, Goslin reach for his shield, but he managed to stop himself. "Don’t hurt him, Kax!"


    Goslin looked on in horror as Kax reached his arms out to both sides, as if expecting a hug, and the boy landed on him, dagger first. They both fell to the ground, the weapon lodged deep in Kax’s chest.


    Kax pushed the lad off and pulled the dagger out. Not a single drop of blood followed.


    The boy took a step back, his large eyes fixed on Kax. "What are you?"


    Kax smiled. "To you, a monster."