Will, Paratha, and Genduri stand at the center of the village.
"You understand that this is crazy, right?" One of the villagers says louder than he probably intended, "Our best asset in a fight is standing here with a couple of mages to do nothing?"
Will chuckled under his breath, the two mages somewhat uncomfortable, and the three Grenga stand silently. Across the village, on the walls they painstakingly constructed, Illicia and Agrana, along with the three shadow guards, are commanding the field.
"I hope this works," Agrana mutters, "I understand the logic, but it still seems like a mistake."
Ilicia knew why Will had suggested his plan. She knew his true heritage. Agrana knew as well, so her lack of faith in Will was surprising. Ilicia smiled at her bodyguard. "He has never once failed me, so let us do our best and let him do his."
Agrana nodded, and Ilicia sent a small prayer to the gods before raising her hand and using a small burst of magic to increase the volume of her voice. "My people! My friends, stand with me, stand and fight!"
A roar of approval washed over the crowd, and Will heard it even from where he stood. He turned to his two childhood friends and said, "It is time."
"Will, I still don't think this is a good idea..." Paratha, the support mage, stated once more, droning on about how there was no way that Will could provide the amount of mana that would be required.
Genduri, the defense mage, on the other hand, simply began chanting and grabbed Paratha's shoulder. Will smiled and then placed his hands, one on Genduri and the other on Paratha, and both of their eyes slammed open in shock. When growing up, Will's father and his grandparents, had gone to extreme lengths to hide his abilities from the children he called friends. Genduri began to falter in his chant. Will nudges him, "Keep chanting, and remember you both promised never to speak of this after this."
Without breaking his chant, Genduri nodded, and then Paratha nodded, closing her eyes and beginning to transfer mana from the vast ocean that was Will into the small pond that was Gendrui.
Red waves of power began to surge out from the circle that was Will, Genduri, and Paratha, and they stayed there for hours, not moving, simply providing magical assistance. With the red magic permeating the entire village and even a little beyond the walls, the effects were obvious. Those on the defending side were strengthened, their abilities brought to new heights, and their speed magnified; those on the attacking side were slowed and weakened.
It was not until a little after three hours when the Shary'In showed themselves that the other effect was revealed. When the Shary'In set foot into the area of effect for the magic, a red line was formed between themselves and the defense mage. The magic forced them to ignore commands and only focus on the defense mage, forgetting all the prey in front of them in favor of this one target.
Will sees the Shary'In, bound with red magic, begin to charge, "Genduri, Paratha, take as much magic as you can. It is time."
Paratha shoves as much magical energy into Gendrui as she can and then strains her own body to contain even a fraction of Will's power before the connection is broken by Will stepping away. Will smiles and then turns to the two married Grenga, who are builders. "Wall it up, don't come out until you have to."
The two Grenga nod and step up next to Genduri and Paratha, holding their hands out to the sides. A dome of dirt rises from the ground and then, before everyone's eyes, transforms into metal of some kind. Will turns to face the onrushing Shary'In, and Gix steps up beside him. Will smiles, "A good day to die, old man?"
"I have faced far worse than the Shary'In boy." Gix laughed coldly, taking up a practiced form with a spear he had acquired from somewhere. "Pray that the Shary'In is the worst you have to see."
Will chuckled coldly as well. "Let us fight well then, as we both know the gods will not concern themselves with the prayers of simple soldiers."
"For honor," Gix said, saluting no one in particular.
"For friends and family," Will said.
Together, the two men finished the simple soldier's prayer as they braced for the first strike of the Shary'In, "But most of all, for the death of the enemy."
