The pain was excruciating. He didn't know what it was like to be whipped to the extent skin was peeled off, but he had a feeling it was a bit like this. He laid on the ground, waiting for the pain to go away.
"Peace, boy, peace..." A calm voice echoed over him. It sounded familiar and soothing. " You're magic has been taken, try to breath through the pain."
He took a slow, deep breath, focusing on the voice as he opened his eyes. The pain was fading, thank the gods, but he still felt winded. It was as though he had been conjuring fire non-stop for ten hours. As his vision focused, he grinned at the familiar face. Slowly, he stood up.
"Severyn, I'm glad you're okay," Kallias told his doppelganger. His eyes widened, however, as he found that he had not been successful in protecting Xiao. He staggered over to her with a sinking feeling. He had failed. Her sister had trusted him to protect her and she was still hurt and, judging from her unconscious state, even more than himself. He walked beside Severyn as he carried her.
"By the gods, I hoped to protect her. I wish I knew some medicine."
Moloch had been on enough battlefields to develop a certain sixth sense when it came to danger. Most veterans did so, whether they were mages, rangers, drakons, or knights. Thus, he had already conjured a flaming shield around himself and Aada when the shockwave hit. He was knocked off his feet, his breath knocked out of him as the pain hit. He felt as though he had been stabbed through the heart, but he fought to stand up. He was no whelp that he would lay on the ground, waiting for whoever was responsible to finish him off.
He looked around him, his vision swimming.
"Aada, are you alright?!"