"CHARGE!" Commander Lestul shouted, his voice barely echoing through the massive underground temple.

War cries rose up to the skies, originating from our small army. Both sides began charging, the enemies held back by only one person, Altair, who already seemed to be struggling against the masses of people he was facing. I could hear the chain that was attached to the drake move as the giant beast slowly climbed back down into the underground temple. I felt the heat emanating from its tail.

The two armies crashed into each other, a wave against the cliffside, doing barely any damage at first. Right now I was without any enhancement and I slowly felt my stamina run out as I punched and kicked my way through the enemies. No matter how many times I called out his name, Gier never appeared. Exhaustion began creeping up on me while the number of enemies we were facing didn't decrease at all.

I was suddenly grabbed by a large red and black hand and thrown against the closest pillar. All I could do was gasp for air as I hit the pillar. My head was hammering and I began falling towards the ground. A sudden pain in my back told me I had been hit by something. Shortly after I hit the ground. Instinctively I rolled to the side, just barely avoiding the black and red fist as it crushed the ground where my entire body had just been. I jumped up, using my arms to push myself from the dusty temple floor and retreated as far as I could, never breaking eye contact with my attacker.

It was a mountain of a man, bald with a bushy beard, muscular beyond belief and with two large hands hovering beside him, mimicking the movement of his actual hands. The hands were coloured red and black, and those colours were constantly moving around, making the hands look swirly and almost hypnotizing.

"Let's dance little lady!" the man roared as I charged at me.

He was fast, far too fast for his size. I ducked and watched as one of his large hands crushed the wall right where my head had been seconds ago. When I tried sweeping his legs it felt like I was trying to sweep over metal rods that were stuck in the ground. Gasping for air I once again jumped back, as far away from the man as possible.

"Oh, now come on, just hold still for a second!"

He mocked me, but I stayed composed, taking deep breaths as I thought about possible courses of action. I was alone, but so was he. He had the upper hand in physical strength by a lot and I had the upper hand in speed, not by a lot. Without Gier, I didn't see any option out of this... except for one, but I couldn't use that, not now, not here. And even if I wanted to use that I would first have to find Evergreen.

"What's going on little lady? Finally ready to hold still?" the man said as he began charging right at me.

I ducked underneath his large fist and tried to bury mine in his stomach. But I was caught off guard by his actual fist, which hit my left shoulder. I stumbled to the ground, immediately rolling out of the way. Again, just in time, to dodge one of his large fists. The man's thunderous laugh drew more attention towards both of us. An arrow, which he easily blocked, whistled through the air. The strange thing: it had been aimed at me.

"Hey, hey, hey! This is between me and the little lady, got that?!" the man yelled.

"Yes, sir!" the archer yelled as he immediately turned away from us, grabbing the swordsman beside him.

The man laughed again.

"Good thing this rabble is so obedient," he said. "Now, where were we? ... Ah, right, I was trying to kill you!"

He burst forward, propelling himself with the two large hands. I just barely dodged him. At this rate, I could do nothing but dodge him over and over and over again. At this moment I first noticed how heavy my breathing really was. All the noises around me came crashing down on me. I heard screams, shouts, crying, yelling, the sound of weapons colliding with weapons or armour, the sound of arrows whistling through the air, the sound of magic users shouting spell names either to focus or to bring fear into their enemies. I heard flames, footsteps and the roar of the beasts. I could hear the breathing of the drake in the back and I could hear the sound of his chain moving as he moved. I heard the brown mammoth trampling on the ground and I could even hear the walls as dust fell from them every time the ground shook.

While I dodged yet another blow from my enemy I saw the error of my thinking. I knew what I had to do. I slid my hand into one of my pockets and pulled out a small piece of bread, no larger than the tip of my pinky finger. As I dodged another blow I ate the piece of bread, feeling my throat clear up to a point where it felt unnatural.

"Evergreen! Show me the moon!" I yelled as loudly as I could, my voice as strong as that of Commander Lestul when he used his enhancement magic.

I saw confusion in the eyes of my enemy as small lights quickly approached the both of us, just as Evergreen appeared from behind one of the braziers.

"I got you Ivory!" she shouted as she closed her fist.

It appeared right above me, the image of the full moon that I usually dreaded so much.

"I'm sorry, mom... dad," I said as a singly tear ran down my face.

My eyes widened as the pain overcame me like a tsunami.

"What the!" the man I had been fighting yelled.

It was too late for him I thought as my vision turned red and I started smelling the blood that had been splattered all across the battlefield. A loud scream escaped my lungs.