Because I Can, Because I Must

[valenator]

Galin raced down the uneven path, his armor groaning furiously with each rapid step, and a stream of flame trailed behind him, dancing off of his sword as he sprinted to the southern front. He and his allies at the eastern gate and just won a reprieve, and Kathryn directed him to learn the status of the other battles.

He rounded the final bend to the southern approach and skidded to a halt. As the southern battle came into his view, he watched the Thayan knight fall, and columns of the enemy moved up forward from just beyond her. Galin turned and ran back up the path, gritting his teeth against his wounds. He had to inform Kathryn and bring their forces down to the southern gate. They needed the help, and it would be a brilliant pincer attack, if only...

Galin's eyes widened as the eastern battle met his sight. An empty road had filled with shadows, and Kathryn herself was prone, unmoving. Galin pounded up the hill and dove into the fray, driving himself as a wedge between the corrupted elves that stood over her still form. He quickstepped from foe to foe, striking vicious blows that felled the already injured enemies in single, flamebursting strokes. He fought beyond his own ability, and almost immediately, he cleared room enough for him to tend Kathryn's wounds, despite the onslaught. He knelt over her, expertly bandaging her even as the battle raged on, and her eyes fluttered open. She coughed up blood, spattering Galin's own ichor covered armor, but she gained her feet.

Galin looked over his shoulder and saw a wall wrought of shadows approaching, and he sprung to his feet and ran to meet it. Those behind him were in no condition to melee; if he could just hold them off...

The sky illuminated as the signal flare rocketed into the heavens. Galin turned his head to view the luminescence, and he cursed, knowing the other battles went as poorly as his own. He turned back to the enemy in time for a shadowed claw to rip through his body; dark, smoky tendrils effortlessly hissed through him, leaving no sign of the injury other than wracking pain in his innards. Galin dropped to his knees and lifted his head in time to see an elf sprinting toward him, leveling a thunderous kick into the side of his head. The sickening, metallic thud told the tale, and Galin careened to the side, his world darkening.

[valenator]

Galin's eyes snapped open. All around him, the sound of battle raged; fireballs exploded and men cried out in anger and anguish. He pushed himself to his knees, and his memory rushed over him. Thousands of rapid instances of the last two hours flooded his consciousness. He saw himself, bracing alongside Dord, the dwarf, and absorbing the charge of the nether. He saw Kathryn, beautiful and terrible, raining fiery destruction upon their enemies. He saw the elf, polymorphed and defiant, daring the nether creatures to come at him...

He shook his head vigorously, his helmet shifting a bit with the effort, and he pushed himself to his feet. They were pressed sorely from the east and south and had retreated to the keep. Still more of the shadows and elves poured forth, and the voices of the commanders were lost amid the deafening cacophony of the melee. Galin spied his sword nearby and collected it, resetting his helmet and running out to join the lines.

He skidded to a stop as he reached the front, finding several of his allies wounded. Stowing his weaponry, he deftly went about tending their wounds even as they fought, applying magical balms with a practiced hand. The dwarf had a special penchant for injury, and when the line would falter, Kathryn would be in a dire situation. Behind him, Tamryn and Hano would cry out for the lines to fall back and regroup at the keep, but the warriors, unhearing or unheeding, would refuse.

A terrific burst of flame engulfed the front line, and Galin's allies broke under the press. Those still conscious ran back to Tamryn and Hano, who formed an impressive barrier with their collective might. Tamryn was imperceivable behind her myriad enchantments and wards, but all knew her presence by her voice. Galin pulled a number of the fallen back to safety as arrows and sorcery whizzed past him, and those that could use their legs rallied around the Triumvirate, digging in their heels in the vain hope that they could break the wave of darkness that threatened to crash down upon them.