Idem saw as the Tije muscled Tuli from the frontlines. The man's face was beaded with sweat and his armor was so torn and battered, it could not regenerate. Fatigue was on his face even as he roared orders. He sat on a rock as another armor was placed on him. It molded onto his body and fitted perfectly. His face was mopped of sweat and blood and he was given sugary water to drink. Idem saw his brother's eyes lock onto him and the man grinned carelessly, madness in his eyes.

"Exciting, no? Now that you're done with your pampering, I need you at the left flank. That part is the weakest and it will soon break. I will not have the enemy outflank us and I have lost one of my Shaders. I need you there. On the double!" He roared and Idem noticed that his mouth had not moved and a smile was on his face. How in eruption could he slip into a man's mind? Idem nodded and raced off toward the left flank, followed by the Tije that guarded him and Iken. He found himself genuinely pleased that the man was still alive. His fatigue had receded but it was still there, threatening to overwhelm him. He shoved it down and ran, limiting his use of vines as much he could.

He saw the fighting was going on in earnest on the left flank and many other his soldiers were being cut down like corn. He roared and drew vines from the ground and shot them upwards, picking a hundred targets in his mind then he broke off the vines into spears and launched them at those targets. Some of them were quick enough to raise their shields but most of the time them took the spears into their bodies and fell, spurting blood. He jumped on a vine and raised it in order to see more of the battlefield and an arrow thumped at his chest but his Sand metal armor deflected it without a scratch. He drew vines from beneath the enemy's third line, splitting the army at it's width with a thick, tall wall of vines and he launched vinespears at the few who were on his side of the field, felling men by the dozens. His men's morale increased and they roared, fighting madly, crushing the enemy against the vine wall.

Idem saw a bright flash of light and his nose perceived the smell of fire. He jumped clear by reflex and landed on a vine. A bright, furious string of lightening struck where he stood before, charring the vines and blinding most of the men that were close. Idem's heart plunged into his belly and seemed to fall into the hard ground beneath him. He turned to see it: A tall, lean creature with eyes that had no pupils, skin as hard as rock and black as wet charcoal with glowing red markings that were from the time of the ancients. It sat on a grey horse and its hand which was outstretched, vomited thick black smoke. It turned to look at Idem with dead eyes and leaped from his horse, pouring flames from his legs and propelling himself towards Idem, burning through the vine wall with another blast of lightening. Idem swallowed spittle that had thickened to globs of cream. He was about to face a formless priest.

It seemed the enemy took courage from the presence of a priest and they attacked fiercely. Idem grit his teeth and pushed himself forward on a vine. He wrapped vines together and created a few heavy, immensely thick vine chains and shot at the priest who burned through them with a fire so hot and so bright, it hurt Idem's eyes. Lightening crackled around the priest and it shot it at Idem who threw himself up only to leap into a sea of flames the priest was now shooting at him.

He screamed in a pain that shattered things inside him, melting his Sand metal armor. He felt a blast hit his chest and another shattering pain and heat burned through his very soul, sending him smashing into the stony earth. He tried to move but his body had taken too much damage. The priest hovered above him, flame burning its hands and feet, lightening crackling around it's body as it opened its mouth which was filled with lightening that it wanted to breath on Idem.

A few Spears were launched at the priest and they sank into it's flesh but were melted on impact. It turned it's attention from Idem to the Tije that stood around him, shooting arrows and hurling spears. Lightening shot out from it's body in different directions, blasting some of the Tije into dust.

Some were quick enough to move out of the way but they were hurt terribly nonetheless. It turned back to Idem who was still unable to move and struck at him, flames rolling out in a massive, powerful wave and Idem closed his eyes, waiting to be scorched but he wasn't. He heard a roar instead and he opened his eyes to see Tuli in the shape of a large bear with the shell of a turtle, shielding him with it and he saw another Shader in the shape of an obscenely large scorpion strike the priest with his sting, distracting it. The priest flew at the shader, transforming into a whirlwind of fire and lightening and fell on the shader, burning with such fierce intensity that the shader was turned to scorched flesh in a few moments. Tuli leaped for the priest, turning into a large crocodile in the air and his jaw clamped on the priest's head in with one swift tug, he tore it off.

The head reformed and the priest transformed again into a whirlwind of fire but Tuli turned into an eagle and flew away as it chased him, throwing lightening into the sky. The enemy was pushing forward and the lines of Idem's men were breaking. He  groaned, attempting to move but couldn't.

The Tije that were left were standing before him, fighting desperately against the enemies that had thrown themselves madly at him, hoping to kill a cursed. He saw that Tuli had turned into a falcon with porcupine wings and was shooting a rain of thorns into the whirlwind but his armor had melted off and it was obvious that he was tiring fast.

Lightening struck him three consecutive times and sent him crashing to the ground and the whirlwind moved to devour him when, suddenly, Idem saw a mighty cloud of sand overwhelm the priest. The sand wove around the creature, hardening and weaving around again and repeating the same process. Idem looked to see that soldiers were pouring from the mountains and Elek was charging towards the priest, his arms moving quickly, weaving the sand from a distance as his men smashed like a spearhead into the left flank of the enemy.

Elek crashed into the sand structure, tearing it to pieces and he shot out the other side. The priest shrieked and screamed then dissolved into smoke and dust. Elek stood on the other side, armor battered, skin torn, beard burnt and his sand covered left hand was holding a flaming orb; the priest's heart. He roared, raising the heart up and the men roared with him, crashing against the enemy, cutting them down with brutal efficiency and Elek continued to battle, bringing down men in their hundreds. A feeling of awe and relief overcame Idem and he finally let go of consciousness, his mind slowing down and his ears shutting up as he drifted away into comfortable blackness.