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    The swarm of monsters parted against the walls of Fyrie like a brook breaking against a rock. In a matter of hours, the entirety of the capital was surrounded. Siege weapons bombarded the walls, shaking them on their foundation. Soldiers plummeted to their deaths. Large boulders arced overhead, crushing those within the city walls.


    One of the smaller entrances, a sally port near the southern gate, was torn apart and the defenses were breached.


    With forces gathered from all corners of the city, Goslin led a counter-assault that finally stymied the progress of those within the walls. Once under some semblance of control, firemagi burned the enemy forces inside the city until few remained. Some slipped through the cracks, but that could not be helped.


    During the mayhem, Lana and Thys appeared at his side, and Goslin urged them to find some way to deal with the siege equipment. Their machinery was just too far back for an all-out assault to be a reasonable solution, and not even the pyromancers could reach that far with their fire.


    A messenger boy ran up to Goslin as he grabbed a moment’s rest, just having found enough geomancers to mend the weak spot in the wall.


    “I’ve orders for you,” the boy said, his eyes shifting from Goslin’s face to the solid gray shield propped up against the wall beside him. “From the council.” The boy grinned in a way that made Goslin think of Kax. “Knew I would find you here. This is where the most dangerous fighting was happening.


    Goslin wiped grime off his face with his sleeve with a sigh. The filth no longer bothered him. “What does the esteemed council want of me, lad?”


    “It’s the pyromancers, sir.” The boy pointed eastward. “They’re burning everyone on the east wall.”


    Ice filled Goslin’s chest. “From inside?”


    “No. Outside.”


    The hand squeezing his heart loosened, but did not fully release. The pyromancers were back. And they’d returned in force.


    “I’ll go there right away.”


    A few soldiers attempted to follow, but he directed them into the city with orders to locate hydromancers. If anyone could quench the fiery assault, it was them.


    It was past midday, with hours still to go before sunset. They needed to repel the invaders before then, or the monsters would overwhelm them in the dark.


    Goslin harbored little hope their attackers would retreat and regroup. During the initial assault and the following grueling hours, thousands of beasts were slain. The remaining monsters cared not for their fallen brethren and clambered over their dead bodies in mindless pursuit of their prey.


    With a seemingly endless supply of beasts, Goslin realized when he reached his destination that the only viable strategy was to bring down their masters. Before, it meant the priests of Wyndemir. Now, he was uncertain.


    The ground quaked with each blow from Wyndemir’s fist, and the stench of charred flesh reached his nose as he approached.


    A crowd formed near the steps up to the wall. Goslin scanned the troops for what he needed. Eldian soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder with rhinn pikemen, Loftian aeromancers, and other defenders.


    “Get up on the wall or we will be overrun!” Goslin shouted, searching for the identifying uniforms of the leaders of the makeshift group.


    A man approached him, older, with a well-worn uniform hanging loose on his thin frame. The emblem on the man’s right shoulder indicated that he was a major.


    “Name, soldier?” Goslin asked.


    The major put an open palm to his chest in salute. “Henning, sir.”


    “Well met. Why are you not up on that wall?”


    “We were. Sixty-two men lost their lives in mere minutes against the pyromancers. Arrows mean nothing when they are burned to ash before striking their targets.”


    Goslin nodded sharply. The man was right, but the wall must not be abandoned.


    The ground shook violently again, though it felt fainter than before. He realized that the geomancers were still holding the wall.


    Flames gushed overhead and an explosion showered them with small bits of stone.


    Fireballs.


    Goslin spun to face the troops. “Geomancer! I need a geomancer right now!”


    An older man shuffled forward, dry washing his hands as he went. Goslin thought he recognized him. “I’m a geomancer.”


    “Name?”


    “Ferdinand.”


    “Well met, Ferdinand. Can you work with stone?”


    He’d learned from Emeryn that not every geomancer was proficient with all materials. Most could work with earth to a varying degree, but few could mold stone the way his wife managed.


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    “Ah, well. You see.”


    “Well?”


    “Yes, a little. My inner nurture is somewhat lacking in strength, I’m afraid.”


    Goslin pointed to the wall. “Can you create a temporary opening?”


    The man looked alarmed. “Oh, no. The entire thing would fall apart.”


    The wall shook again.


    “It will crumble to dust if we don’t do something! Just create the opening over there.” Goslin gestured to a nearby section of the wall.


    “Very well.”


    The hydromancers arrived, their blue robes covered in gray dust.


    After telling Ferdinand to prepare himself, Goslin waved for the hydromancers to follow him up the stone steps. He found the geomancers lying flat on their stomachs with a thin layer of clay covering them. A tiny hole near their mouths allowed them to breathe from within their clay cocoons.


    “Just hold on a moment longer!” Goslin called out.


    At first, the hydromancers, three men and two women, didn’t want to climb up the last part of the stairs, even with Goslin urging them on from above. He felt the heat, but at the same time, didn’t. It was like it washed over him, but he could ignore it. The hydromancers obviously could not. Why he differed from them, Goslin didn’t have a clue.


    “Use water against the flames!” he shouted down at them.


    One of the hydromancers stared at him as if he was an idiot of the highest degree. “You have to strike at the source of a fire to put it out. A pyromancer uses no external fuel.”


    “Then just strike whatever you can!”


    Goslin ran down the length of the parapet shouting warnings in case the whole wall did collapse as Ferdinand feared. If his plan failed, then they’d have more to reckon with than the enemy pyromancers.


    Behind him, he felt a cool wet spray. The hydromancers had begun their bombardment.


    As it turned out, the water-based magic attacks worked, despite the hydromancer’s earlier protests. Goslin peered over the parapet and saw a large group of stunned and disgruntled fire mages, their red robes drenched with water.


    The ballista bolts and boulders still harassed the wall and city, but their other attacks were subdued now that the pyromancers were disabled.


    Goslin hurried and gathered soldiers to rush out and attack the enemy pyromancers. Ferdinand and one of his fellow geomancers stayed near the entrance to create barriers between the monsters and Goslin and his men. Goslin reasoned that if they attacked swiftly and immediately retreated, the monsters may not notice their presence. Wyndemir was attacking the monsters as much as the wall, killing indiscriminately. Goslin didn’t stop to wonder why, he was just grateful for the diversion.


    Ferdinand pressed both of his hands against the wall, forcing the hard stone to shift and part. Goslin watched as it melted and flowed, creating an arched tunnel.


    As Goslin sped through, crackling and rumblings sounded from above. A thin crack splintered along the tunnel, but it held.


    Goslin and his fellow soldiers emerged out of the tunnel and into chaos. Growls, shrieks, and harrowing wails filled the air as the monsters desperately tried to claw their way into Fyrie. The enormous, corpse-like hand of Wyndemir bashed many of those who attempted to climb the earthen mound created by the geomancers to reinforce the wall.


    Goslin searched the area until he located the pyromancers. They moved in a frenzy, attempting to cast their flame but was disrupted by the unceasing torrent of water. Like the hydromancer said, it did little to quench the actual fire, but it broke the fire mages’ concentration enough to prevent them from casting new spells.


    Goslin rushed forward, his sword and shield raised. A bull-like and scaled creature charged him with its head held low and horns trained at Goslin’s chest. He met the charge with the shield held high before him. The impact barely registered against the gray metal and the sound of bones cracking and sinews snapping followed.


    Goslin thrust his sword into the beast’s head, putting it out of its misery. A group of impish creatures followed, short like children, their ears long and their grins vicious. Goslin split one into two without stopping. One of the others poked at his side with a sharpened stick. A glancing blow, but it burned nonetheless. He ignored it, all of his focus on the pyromancers.


    Sounds of fighting surrounded him, but he pushed forward. If they stopped, they’d get swarmed in an instant.


    Brutish creatures blocked his path. They formed a wall before him.


    Before he could react, they dropped dead. Many more fell around him. Goslin blinked, the light hurting his eyes.


    A club swung at Goslin’s face and he spun to block it. The monster stopped suddenly and gazed at its own shadow, dumbfounded.


    The shadow moved. It slithered and formed the shape of a man just before it drove something sharp into the monster’s neck. It immediately fell dead.


    Goslin recalled Emiril, Sarien’s friend. This was his power. Goslin scanned the area and looked up onto the wall where he shielded his eyes against a bright light. Myn. The two worked together, lending him aid from afar.


    Behind Goslin, many more monsters fell to the shadowy attacks. The soldiers who’d followed did their utmost to remain beside him, but they were slow. Even with Emiril’s and Myn’s assistance, they were being overwhelmed as more of their enemies noticed their presence.


    Large contingents of monsters turned in their direction as one, and Goslin realized that his plan had failed.


    “Retreat!” Goslin bellowed, waving for the soldiers to return to the tunnel.


    Mounds of earth rose from the ground to provide safe passage back to the wall, but many soldiers fell as they retreated in earnest.


    “Close the wall!” Goslin shouted. Though he told the others to retreat, he did not.


    Flames suddenly erupted all around. Surprised, Goslin almost dropped his sword when the monsters he was fighting were incinerated.


    The fire touched Goslin, but he felt nothing but a mild warmth. Though, his clothes burned away into ash and his metal vambraces grew hot. This did hurt him, and he frantically discarded them.


    Goslin turned to find himself facing the pyromancers. He didn’t know how or why, but their fire did not touch him. Infuriated, the pyromancers released another blast, but Goslin remained uninjured.


    He glared at them and rushed over the charred remains and scorched ground. Both his sword and shield, blessed with Sarien’s power, remained unscathed. He whispered another silent thanks to Sarien for these invaluable gifts as he rammed his sword into the chest of the first defenseless pyromancer. A priest of Wyndemir hid among them and Goslin didn’t hesitate.


    His gray sword sang as he wielded it, swinging in wide arcs to shear off limbs and heads of the hated traitors.


    Nine men and women lay dead at his feet when he stopped. Two of the men were priests.


    Goslin’s blood-spattered chest heaved with exhaustion and his tired arms fell to his sides as he peered up into the sky to see the eyes of Wyndemir regarding him.


    Unable to meet the god’s eye for more than a moment, Goslin turned his attention to the siege equipment in the distance. A huge boulder slammed into the wall, knocking a chunk out of the defenses.


    Chilly wind whipped around him and he shivered. The opening in the wall created by the geomancers was closing quickly, leaving Goslin stranded and naked on the outside. The situation was not ideal. Thankfully, killing the priests ended the monsters’ assault on the wall. They milled around him aimlessly. None of them reverted back to human or rhinn form.


    Goslin suppressed a shiver and began to move. He felt Wyndemir’s gaze rest heavily on his back. He knew if he attempted to reach the wall, the god’s large hand would stop him. There was little he could do except head in the opposite direction. Away from Fyrie.