That the acts performed on themselves were more catastrophic than a stranger who considered herself a monster, was in some way, slightly ironic. But when hundreds of dead are the source of the irony, it is.. Less humorous. 

"What sorcery is..." The champion's eyes were wide with shock, seeing the sun and storm, and the devastation Ifrit, Shaige, and the Pain elements were inflicting on his people, before he hardened. "No time left. Time to play our final card."

The Champion fell to the ground, eyes closed and sunk his heavy gauntlets into the mud with a dull thud. When his eyes opened again, they were the eyes of a beast. The eyes, of a Loa. The Klug once had many Loa, as the Mutig. But in a time of great peril, they had combined their powers into one Great Loa. But the spell that sustained them as one being required power, and so a deal was struck. The Klug would have always champion, a great mage, who would sustain, and eventually join into the Great Loa. In return he would wield their power as one of them.

"Mourn the noon, break the dew." His voice intoned, and all through the battlefield, every Klug mage stopped, and intoned with their champion. A mighty spell, and even if some of the casters were slain, there were simply so many to cast it. Even the spell shielding the temple faltered, to draw upon those mages too.

The soldiers atop the terrace, recognizing the signal, lit and send the rocks piled up tumbling down towards the village. The wet ground and thatch suddenly became dry, much of the thatch suddenly leaping up from wild jets of gas. The water that had been formed from the Klug spell, joining together hydrogen and oxygen, was undone. And then, lit on fire by the rolling stones and watchfires set, the entire village went up in somewhat explosive flames. Not a grand explosion all at once, but rather as if it had been set on fire unanimously with a few small pockets of explosion here and there. Regardless, the entire reserve force in the village proper was dead or about to be, and the Pain Elementals, if vulnerable to fire, would have likely suffered similar casualties.

The Shadow Beasts, at the edge of the terrace, would have either had to move up to the terrace in now full broad daylight, from all the fire and light spells going off, and quickly be annihilated, or be in the fire. The Pain Elementals, Ifrit, and Shaige would have to contend with surviving it.

However the shield was down, the village forces were annihilated and the Champions outside army was outgunned with nowhere to run.

Now the mages who had previously maintained the shield came out, spears in hand, and joined the volley of blessed and aflame spears at the village in the general vicinity of where the feared the enemy was. This dire strategy had only been called out once in the history of the Klug, and given the losses already sustained and the unearthly , their morale was low. Only the will of their Champion, felt through the same connection that had allowed the communal spell, kept them fighting as a unit.

"Fire cleanses everything." The champion rose, and with two silent arm motions, caused his forces assembled outside to split in two and run around the burning village towards the temple paths. With the shield down, more conventional protection was required. He followed one of these groups. The Mutig and Zealots, due to the mud, could not move in time to prevent them, though the Zealot's surprising speed would allow them to give close enough chase that the Klug would not have much time to ready themselves once they arrived.

Remaining Forces:
350 Soldiers on the outside with the champion (they had staggered formations to reduce the effectiveness of arrow volleys and fireballs, coincidentally.)
0 Soldiers in the village.
140 Soldiers on the Terrace, 50 mages on the terrace.
180 Soldiers on the Terrace, 145 mages on the terrace (the shield is broken)
5000 civilians

330 Tier 1s dead, 5 mages dead.
And that's the last special trick they've got up their sleeve. They are pretty much reduced to "hold the temple grounds, throw spears, and hope the champion can best Shaige."

~~

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[b]2nd Minion:[/b] 5/5
[b]Upgrading 1st Unit:[/b] 0/3

[b]Location:[/b] Slightly north of the town of Hallowsdown 13S,5W
[b]Dungeon:[/b] A village, a chapel that belches smoke and fire.
[b]Minions:[/b] A few hundred villagers, but most are civilians, and the Vinter Tribe similarly most are civilians, 60 Followers and 50 Faithful, 5 Sons of the Mountain
[b]Resources:[/b] The village's harvest was undamaged and its reserves of steel have just begun to be tapped, sources of wood are low.

[b]Compendium:[/b] 

[i]Sons of the Mountain[/i] - Second Minion. The champions of the Vinter tribe, each of these warriors bears the skin of a bear he slew with his bare hands. That was BEFORE the Emperor blessed them. Possess of absurd strength and excellent fighting prowess, these warriors now bear a mix of buckler, axe, two handed axe, and throwing axes, depending on each warrior's preferences. They are hardy against cold, and excel at fighting in rough terrain that resembles their mountainous home. In personal, non-formation combat in rough terrain, they are one of the Eylsium's greatest melee forces. They are likewise experienced at monster hunting knowing both how to hunt stealthy Ice Cats that strike from ambush. They can also deal with beasts of massive strength, knowing how to defeat the Frost Wurms of their homeland by working as a team to surround and harry from the front while striking from the rear. However, they are not trained to fight in tight formations, and against even normal soldiers fighting in tight formation on open ground, the Sons of the Mountain are just as likely to die from a lucky hit as any other unarmored (though very enduring) man. Against a phalanx of similarly strong forces bearing armament and armor meant for infantry formation clashes, the Sons of the Mountain would be at a significant disadvantage. And, the whole no armor thing makes them really vulnerable to ranged attacks, though they are fast enough to close as quick as cavalry. The Emperor's blessing, other than general strength buffs, grants their axes an unusual power to harm ghosts, elementals, and other magical beings, sealing their spells and magic as the blades strike them, making them an excellent force for engaging unearthly eldritch beings in hand to hand combat.
[/hider]