A small group of Caelin knights were stationed across the river, gathered around four small stone forts. Two ballistae were set up, one near the forts and one with some other soldiers to the left of Lyndis's Legion. None of the foot soldiers were making an advance, standing at the ready with their weapons in hand as the two ballistae slowly reloaded and fired again and again. It was easy enough to dodge when you knew it was coming, but for now Mark's group was stalled simply by the fact that if they started ignoring the ballistae it would be disastrous. Mark casually kept an eye on them as he waited for Matthew to get around behind the closest one, the one to the left, and take out the archer controlling it. After that, the plan was for Wil to try and learn how to use it and take down the other ballista before the group by the forts was any the wiser. As he observed, he noticed a small village in the distance. He didn't think it was necessarily in range of the battle that was about to unfold, but it was better to be safe.

"Florina?" Mark called out. She ran up to him.

"Yes?"

"Go around the hillside here on foot and tell that village to be prepared in case the battle extends to them. The hill should block the view of the ballista, and I figure as long as you can't take to the sky anyway you're the best choice."

"A-Alright. What do I do after?"

"If we've taken out the ballistae, take to the sky and join the fight. If not, wait at the entrance of the village until we do."

"Got it! Good luck!" She smiled at him and ran to her pegasus. Soon she was guiding it by the reins and jogging into the distance. Mark continued to wait for Matthew to give the signal. Once he did, Mark and the others were to charge the first group to create a distraction so Matthew could take out the ballista un-noticed. He had guessed the ballista would be able to fire off about three shots before he managed, so everyone still had to be careful. Soon, Mark saw the distant figure of Matthew on top of the hill behind the ballista. He flashed his knife. Mark turned around.

"Formation!" Mark shouted, bringing everyone into the formation they were in before. "Ready?" He shouted again. This elicited a cheer from the group. Matthew started running down the hill at top speed. "Forward!" Mark shouted. Kent and Sain spurred their horses and charged in front of the group. Lyn, with her incredible speed, kept behind them at a moderate pace. Mark and Erk ran side by side, throwing fire to either side of the knights so that enemies in front of them couldn't get around them and would be forced to engage. Serra skipped behind them, humming and twirling her staff. Wil ran behind her, firing arrows towards the enemies backline. Lucius ran at Nils's speed just in case, keeping an eye on the sky and staying within four feet of the child, who huffed and puffed from the sprint. Soon, Kent and Sain were darting in and around the front line of the enemies, causing disarray and forcing the middle line to take them on. Anyone from the first line who got past them soon fought briefly with Lyn, and then soon regretted it. Once they were close enough, Erk nodded to Mark and Mark pulled out his sword, set it on fire, and sprinted ahead to Lyn's side. Mark heard a deep thud as a bolt landed next to Serra, who brushed the dirt off her dress and kept skipping like it didn't even happen. First shot.

Mark caught up to Lyn and joined her in her duels. First was a lanceman. The man yelled, charging at Mark and going to a thrust at his neck. Mark lowered his head underneath and tackled the man, quickly pulling out a knife and stabbing the man in the leg. As he started crawling away, a fighter swung his axe in a downward strike, trying to take advantage of Mark's position on the ground, but Mark quickly bought his sword up, braced it with his other arm, and blocked the strike at the handle. Mark grit his teeth and pushed back on one knee. Though the magical fires didn't burn Mark, they certainly burnt the axe. Mark silently willed the flames to burn brighter, causing the axe handle to start to bend around Mark's sword. The fighter quickly pulled his weapon away and jumped back, but the weapon already had a distinct new curve to it. The man quickly swung at Mark again, but failed to take into account the weapons new form and promptly missed. Mark swung deftly, creating a large gash into the man's chest, setting his shirt on fire and causing him to fall to the ground. He quickly looked at the sky and saw an impending bolt. Without time to dodge, Mark held up a hand directly towards the sky and quickly shot it sideways, causing a lightning bolt to travel likewise and smack the giant arrow into the river, where it briefly electrified the water before sizzling out. Two shots.

Lyn was dueling a myrmidon. As much as Mark wanted to view the beautiful swordwork the two speed-based styles portrayed, they didn't have time. Kent and Sain were already a bit ahead, and without anywhere to fall back to they would soon be in trouble. Mark and Lyn needed to keep advancing with them at at least a moderate pace. Mark briefly stuck his sword into the ground and clasped his hands. After saying a few words, he brought his arms back, dislodged his hands, and swept his arms slowly from one side to the other. Soon, a surprised myrmidon was riding a green breeze into the river. Wind magic was definitely Cecilia's forte, but that didn't mean Mark couldn't use it. Picking up his flaming sword again, Mark sprinted to catch up the knights. Lyn caught up to him.

"Thanks!" She said happily and sprinted ahead of Mark. She was leagues faster than him. Mark was glad she wasn't upset that he had cut her duel short. In fact, she seemed to be enjoying the fight. Mark recalled how sullen she had looked just moments ago, and compared it to how she looked now. He shuddered. In the wrong hands, Lyn could have become a truly terrifying warrior. He thought. She's already impressive, to be sure, but perhaps more specialised cultivation into fighting could have truly brought out her potential. Mark shook his head to focus back onto the battle and shot a simple fireball out to begin his next fight against an armored knight. The knight laughed behind his helmet as the fireball hit his armor. Runes Mark hadn't noticed glowed on his armor and Mark's fireball dispersed against the man's chest.

"Foolish mage!" The man howled. "This armor is enchanted! Such weak spells won't work on me."

Mark continued the charge, but laughed at the irony that was about to ensue. "Oh, it won't?" He said, feigning shock. "Man… what will I even do?" He shouted, setting his arm on fire. The armored knight readied his spear.

"Try your hardest! You'll never-" The man was cut off as Mark's arm glowed brighter, into scorching blue flame. "Y-You'll…" The man took a step back. "How do you-" The man regained his footing and stuck out his spear again. "Doesn't matter! This armor is invincible! Lord Lundgren said so!" Mark sprinted up and grabbed the man's spear, setting the wooden handle on fire.

"Hey, if I were you I'd be careful there." Mark said. "I hear that Lundgren guy is a massive liar." Mark willed the flames along the spear. Soon the man was fully engulfed in flames. The runes on his armor glowed brighter and brighter until eventually the armor shattered to bits. A buff man, unscathed, stumbled out of the wreckage and stood up, readying his fists.

"Alright, sure!" He shouted,visibly trembling. "Who needs enchanted armor? Who needs a weapon? A real man fights with his fists!" Mark was so surprised that the man still wanted to fight he soon found himself with a first in his neck. Mark gagged and fell to the ground, puking and dropping his sword. The man laughed. "You magic types can't handle physical combat. I'm surprised you even have a sword!" The man picked Mark up and threw him back into the dirt. Mark struggled to rise, and in doing so, got kicked in the stomach. "This is what you get for being cocky anyway!" The man shouted, kicking Mark again. Mark was losing his ability to think from the pain. Soon, a clear, lively melody entered his mind. Time seemed to slow down. Mark looked over to see a slow running Nils looking right at him and playing his flute. Mark blinked a few times. He was still in pain, but his thoughts cleared, and body was able to move through the pain. Time unfroze. He rolled out of the way of the man's next strike and stood up.

"Alright, that's enough there." Mark calmly choked out of his pained throat. He quickly ran up to the man and began a quick assault, aiming for the man's gut. The man raised his arms to block, so after a few punched Mark landed a surprise uppercut to the man's face. The man took a step back but brought an arm towards Mark's side. Mark raised an arm and braced it with the other, quickly blocking before kicking the man's knee inward. The man dropped to the ground, and Mark wasted no time grabbing his face and bringing it into his knee. The man fell onto his back, unconscious. Mark panted and coughed up some blood. He looked a ways away. "S-Serra!" He choked out, throat still in immense pain. He wasn't sure how he was even able to move. Was it Nils's song? How did it even work? Serra quickly pointed her staff at him, and soon his injuries were healed. He picked up his sword and turned around to thank Serra. Nils was panting, hands on his knees, as Lucius held a hand to the boys back. Mark looked up, and as he thought, a bolt was heading right to them.

"LUCIUS!" Mark called out, cupping his hands to make it louder. Lucius quickly looked up, and seeing the bolt, raised his hand. Light shined from his hand in a giant, flat circle, which seemed to harden into tangible light. The bolt struck this light shield and bounced harmlessly onto the ground. Lucius lowered his hand, dispersed the shield, and bowed in thanks to Mark. Three shots. Matthew should be attacking the soldier at the ballista now. Mark continued sprinting to try and catch up to the knights. He neared Erk, who was fighting a swordsman.

"Thanks for the help with the guy who was beating the shit out of me Erk!" Mark said sarcastically, realizing Erk must have seen Mark struggling and ran past him.

"Way to get the shit beaten out of you in the first place. I knew you'd be fine." Erk smirked, still focusing on his fight, dodging sword swing after sword swing.

"Such language is unbecoming of a professional Etrurian escort Erk!" Mark said, passing him and faking shock.

"It's unbecoming of a general too!" Erk complained, sending hot flame at his opponents sword arm, causing him to drop it.

"I'm undercover though, so I get a pass! I'm gonna have to tell Serra about this though!" Mark snickered back.

"P-Please don't!" Erk said, clear worry in his voice. "She'll dock my already shi- uh, bad pay!" Mark waved a hand dismissively and focused back in on the fight. They were almost at the ballista, which should already have been taken over by Matthew at this point. Kent and Sain were fighting off several enemies acting as a last bastion before their war machine. Lyn had just caught up to them and was darting in and out of fights, easing the knight's burden. Soon, Mark was there as well, flaming sword in hand. Getting a quick jab into a swordsman who wasn't looking, Mark took on a mounted knight. The knight, rode to and from Mark, getting in a jab before backing off. This limited Mark's movement immensely, and he stood completely still, sword at the ready. As the knight passed again, Mark shot out a small amount of fire at the knight's face. This wasn't enough to hurt the rider, but it did surprise her enough to knock her off her horse. The knight scrambled to her feet and pointed her spear at Mark, lunging at his side. Mark sidestepped and deftly cut the lance at the shaft. Without a weapon, the soldier retreated. Soon Mark realised all the soldiers were retreating across the river, where the rest of their army was set up. Mark panted and walked towards the ballista. Matthew was leaning against the side of the war machine, juggling his knives in his hands and whistling. On the ground next to him was an archer, dead with a slit throat.

"Hey Mark!" Matthew said happily. "Ya made it!"

"Yeah, we all did. No casualties." Mark reported. "Good work here. All we need is Wil to get here."

Matthew nodded. "Yup, seems like you've got it under control. Looks like you don't need me for the rest of the fight."

Mark blinked. "I'm sorry?" He said.

Matthew laughed, put away his knives and patted Mark on the back. "You don't need me for the rest of the battle right? I have some things to do in town. I was supposed to meet with someone back in Pharae, but I got sidetracked from attacking that fort. Sorry you couldn't be there for that by the way."

"Well… who do you have to meet? Will you be brief? We could still use you." Mark complained.

Matthew laughed and held up his hands defensively. "That's a bit too many questions there Mark. Spy stuff. You get the jist." Matthew turned and started walking towards the village Florina warned. "Don't worry about it. I'll be back before we set out again. Besides, I'm sure you've noticed, but these guys aren't that great, they've just got war machines and forts. This shouldn't be a problem for you right Mark? I hear you're some kinda big shot." Matthew said sarcastically.

Mark sighed, defeated. "Whatever, go sell us out I guess. One day I'll figure you out Matthew."

"But that day is not today! Besides, look at you! You're starting to truuuuust meeeeee." Matthew said in a teasing voice that made Mark want to set his cape on fire. "See ya!" He finished, and with that, he broke out into a run. He was possibly even faster than Lyn. Soon Wil was on the scene. He wasted no time examining the ballista and hopping behind the controls.

"Alright!" He said, in awe from his new found power boost. "Watch this…" He said, closing one eye and looking towards the sky. He plotted out the arrows course, adjusting the ballista ever so slightly every few seconds. Mark watched in silent observation. Wil opened his eye and broke out into a grin. He gripped the lever excitedly. "Alright, here we go!" He shouted. "Three! Two! One!" Wil pulled back on the lever and the loaded bolt soared through the sky. Mark observed as it slowly made it's way over the river and pierced the other ballista, snapping it in half and making it unusable. "WOOOOO!" Wil yelled, congratulating himself. "First try!"

"Great job Wil." Mark said, smiling. "Lets get over to the others. We'll take a small break before we tackle the other side of the river." With that, Mark and Wil jogged over to the others.

"Hey Mark! What's the plan?" Sain asked. Kent stood next to him with his arms folded. Mark ran a quick assessment of the group. Lyn had a bruise on her now bare shoulder, her sleeve torn, but other than that she was fine. Wil, Lucius, Nils, and Serra were unscathed. Erk had a small cut along his cheek. Kent had a cut on his leg, but it didn't look deep and he was on horseback anyway. Sain had a few new dents in his armor but overall he was alright. Florina flew in unscathed.

"Alright, we will thin out the formation and storm the bridge in a few minutes." Mark said, observing the enemies across the bank. They were all still, but at the ready. "I don't think they'll charge us. They want to stop us at the bridge where we have less footing and room to maneuver. Everybody drink up and take care of any wounds. We charge in a few minutes." Mark sat on the grass and stared down the enemy, thinking of what to do after crossing the bridge. Lyn and Florina walked up to him.

"Mark?" Lyn asked, while applying some wrappings to her shoulder. "Where is Matthew?"

Mark looked away for a moment before looking back with a fake answer. "I told him to investigate a nearby village. His job is pretty much finished anyway. Don't worry, he isn't hurt or anything."

Lyn nodded. "I see." She said.

Florina tilted her head to the side and looked at Mark confused. "But I-" Mark quickly shot her a glance. She stopped. "Nevermind." She said quietly. Mark thanked St. Elimine she didn't question further.

A/N: Part two of three of what was going to be one chapter. Like I said, these should be out within a short distance of each other. It was brought to my attention that Lyn's age could be confusing because I never really stated it, so thank you Ninni51 for that. For the purposes of this story I've bumped up everyones age a bit. Lyn is about Mark's age (22) Though she's a little bit younger. Less than a year though. Everyone else is: Florina (21) Wil (23) Kent (25) Sain (24) Erk (22) Serra (20) Nils (12) Lucius (27) Matthew (22) Dorcas (Died at 34) Rath (Died at 26). I think that's everyone, if I forgot anyone I'll add them later. That should clear things up. Much as I appreciate the protagonists actually being a bit younger, I find that being around this age is more realistic, and makes it easier to approach from a more serious view, which is more what I'm going for. I also updated the description to feature characters that are shown more prominently, and will continue to change it at each point in the story I find it needs to be updated. Also made the description a bit lengthier to get the point across more. Part three of this three part update should release within the next four days as well, just like this one. As always, thank you for your continued reading :D

-Matt