Cydner dove into the melee as the small rabble of undead collided with the outer ring of mages. Like lightning bound in humanoid form he wove a pattern of destruction through the necrotic flesh and rallied the swordsmen who ploughed in behind him to arms.

"Defend Manira!"

---

The Ice Mage saw her love through the circle of spell casters that had surrounded her as their battle lines were pressed. She felt exasperated and waylaid by her condition, and even the power that coursed through her veins could not sedate her anxiety. With a heartfelt connection to her kin, she looked skywards and started to cry.

---

Beneath the marshes, the awaiting ambush floated through the dark waters in silence. Each of the nimble and water bound assassins dwelt on the coming confrontation as shadows moved over head, murky portents of the evil fiends that came to steal their world away. They had to wait for the signal.

---

It did not take long for the cadre of ghouls to be cloven from the world, and Cydnar stood amidst a swarm of bodies, bloodied and bruised and chest pounding with fire. He looked about frantically for Manira and caught sight of her at the centre of the mage's circle. It did not take long for him to work out what she was doing, and fear took over.

"Manira!" He roared, running to her side. The silent guardians stepped from his path, hoods pulled low over their faces to hide their shame. "Do not do this!"

The blue mage cast the man she had loved and would have no chance to show that love to with a tearful visage. A single tear rolled from her nose and fell to the ground, freezing as it descended. The power within was unleashed by the revelation, and she flung her head back and dissipated in a vast blue column of power that surged upwards into the night sky like a radiant beacon.

It solidified and formed an ice pillar almost three hundred feet tall and immeasurably strong.

Cydnar took several steps back, tripping over a limb and falling to his backside. He cried, but saw that her sacrifice had called the wrath of the Salthias to his command.

---

The sound of several hundred hooves thundered out across the plains as the cavalry battallion swept out from their position and ploughed onto the road. As the undead horde veered off into the swamp, they marched straight into the rear of the army with it's back turned and it's momentum stalled.

Lances, swords and shields levelled down and keen eyes shot spells of lightning and malice through the night sky.

---

The rush of magic through the dark brought the hidden seekers in the marsh to life, and all at once several hundred spheres of crystal rose up ominously and silently from the cold and murky waters - the earth itself turning aside for it's masters. Hell broke lose in the midst of the Death Lord's forces, and swordsmen quicker than wind and more skilled than legacies carves swathes through the harrowing corpses.

---

In the shrill silence of the magic filled glade, Cydnar wiped the last tear from his eyes and stood with a bleak expression on his face. His twin swords were held loosely at his side and his purple garb was wet with blood foul and tainted. He looked to the mages and his personal guard and nodded.

"What is done cannot be dwelt upon here, now, or tomorrow."

A gust of wind swept through the clearing, and silence purveyed a sense of regret for a moment. On the road behind them the sound of swords and screams brought the battle back to the Salthias's attention. He turned to watch the battle-line reform in the distance.

The pillar would have unleashed the marsh trap, and the cavalry could be heard rumbling along the road even from the woods.

"Gather your spells, shields and swords. Our plan has worked perfectly." He smiled with a wry satisfaction, and felt sacrifice pang regret through his words. He stepped forwards and skipped into a run, hopping over corpse and log without a thought.

Out from the trees the last gasp of the Hummel charged, swordsman and knights rumbling towards the exposed flank of the turning horde. The magic of the mages in Marina's court blasted the tree debris to one side in a flurry of sparks, fire and arcane radix, and the battle was rejoined on all three fronts.

The crystal tower loomed overhead, watching the shadows, waiting for the daemon to dare step into it's world. At it's heart, Manira's corpse was frozen into eternity, a single tear on her cheek as hard as diamond, and a fire burning in her heart for passion lost.

Summary:

1. Cavalry approach the rear end of the army along the road.

2. Remnants of the mages and Cydnar's unit charge the flank at the part where it is turning to walk into the marshes.

3. The head of the army, swarming all around it's command and the summoners is surprised by 200 expediently trained blade dancers, assassins and geomancers, whose aim is to assassinate the summoners at all cost.