Nearby, a Hazaran warrior slashed down with his scimitar at a huge man wielding a silver broadsword with both hands. The desert warrior's sabre bounced off the grey warrior's armour, and the Hazaran quickly raised his sword to block his enemy's two-handed stroke. The clang of steel rang through the air and the Hazaran grimaced at the numbing strength of the grey warrior's blow. Then the broadsword came swinging down again, not at the rider, instead at his horse. With a single blow the horse's head came off at the neck, blood spurting in a fountain as the animal collapsed and rolled, trapping its rider underneath. Ella turned her horse in the stricken man's direction to help, but the swordsman in grey thrust down at the Hazaran, opening up his throat.

"Ella, look out!" she heard Shani's scream.

A warrior held Ella's leg by the stirrup as he copied the swordsman's manoeuvre, swinging his axe at Afiri's neck. Ella couldn't believe how utterly fearless these men were; the Petryans had found confronting skilled warriors on horseback terrifying, yet these soldiers simply attacked horses and men alike.

Ella kicked out with her leg and reared Afiri out of the way, one hand clinging to the reins, the other hand reaching for her pocket. She spoke a rapid series of activations, calling forth the blinding light and protective power of her enchantress's dress.

The warrior holding Ella's stirrup looked up and snarled silently, the man's lips curled to bare his teeth. His skin was white as snow, his long hair loose and as grey as the withered-tree tabard he wore on his chest. A chill ran up Ella's spine as she saw that his eyes were entirely white, and the flesh was rotting away from the edges of his eyes, his nostrils, and his mouth.

He was dead.

Ella had heard of revenants, sometimes referred to in the stories as draugar. Now that she was confronting one in the flesh, on the field of battle; she was stricken by terror at the realisation that they weren't just the creations of stories. Revenants existed.

One was trying to kill her.

Ella now realised what she was seeing. A Hazaran sliced at the neck of a warrior, creating a deep gash, yet no blood came out, and the warrior simply kept fighting. One revenant crawled on the ground, an arm and a leg had been removed, yet he kept moving. Underneath their armour Ella could see the eerie blue glow of runes seeping through the cracks.

Raj Hazara's lore relied on illusions to strike terror into their enemies. Ella now wondered whether the tough desert men would be able to keep their own terror at bay, as they fought an enemy that wouldn't be killed, didn't bleed, felt no fear, and fought with incredible savagery and discipline.

Ella's fingers found what she was looking for. She took the wand out of her pocket, hoping it would work against the revenants.