All for Haluth'Maug

Luther looks over the empty battlefield with some remorse. Despite his warnings not a single person has turned away. He wants to get Elysia to plant another flower so he can remind them, but he knows there isn't much use. Even though every one of these soldiers has the freedom to choose, each of them still follows the orders of the lord. What bothers Luther is that their reasons are perfectly reasonable. Some fear the punishment of rebellion, some seek the benefits of obedience; all are thinking first of themselves and their families. So, even though they technically have every choice available to them, the one that would save them here is the hardest one to make.

Now, for the mages at least, it's too late. They've seen the sign of Haluth'Maug, and now they know a large portion of the truth. Their minds, already small on the relative scale, are shrunken and atrophied from years of ignorance, stagnation, and reinforcement. They were uninitiated and they were unready, and so most couldn't handle what they've seen. Some will recover of course, given time. Many will not. That comes down to their own choices as much as it lies on Luther.

"Can we look yet Brother Luther?" Elysia says, voice quivering.

Elysia and Maria keep their eyes trained to the ground, shading themselves from any view of the air above the newly converted. As magic users, they could suffer a similar fate if they are to see the sigil that the saved have formed in the sky. Seeing this, Luther turns to the empty battlefield once more. The mages are now being pulled bodily from the battlefield by their comrades, and the cavalry are beginning to ride towards the Garden.

"Almost." Luther says.

With a thought, he signals the others of his faith that it's time to dispel the golden sign. Though the odds are much closer to even now that the division of spellcasters has been disabled, they still have an intense battle waiting for them. Those who have just converted in the last three days, still unused to the changes in their bodies, must conserve as much of their energy as they can. They will, after all, be performing the most crucial role of all alongside Luther.

Each of the robed villagers, all of whom share the same gray complexion and a strange far away look, lower their hands and begin to walk, spreading out through the rest of the townsfolk.

"It's safe now." Luther announces.

Maria and Elysia both let their eyes up from the ground, though neither of them looks  comfortable doing so. No doubt their instincts are still screaming at them to keep their eyes away from the sky. If the mages of the Gindsor army had gotten a bit closer to the garden perhaps they would have felt that as well. Perhaps that would have saved them.

The village chief joins Luther in looking out to the battlefield, her eyes still reflexively fluttering down on occassion. The enemy is starting to move, much swifter and more fluidly then they know their own forces to be capable of. Despite taking out the spellcasters, they still don't have the numbers at their advantage. Nor do they have horses.

With a growing thunder the entirety of the enemy's cavalry division offers an initial charge.

"It's just as you thought Maria." Luther says, seriously.

"The Caldera family has fought many battles. It only makes sense to use the advantages your enemy lacks." Maria says.

"It's lucky they think the same way, I wasn't sure what we'd do if they'd held the cavalry back for later." Elysia says, stepping forward.

Maria and Luther watch the druid spread her arms out toward the open field. Behind them Gavyn and Taryn shout their orders to the others, taking this as the signal to move on to the next stage of the plan. As the largely unarmored villagers get into formation, unfolding their slings and other weapons, Elysia's eyes begin to glow white and then green.