While the column of soldiers trudged across the desert with grim determination, the sight of their mages was far worse.
The men in robes looked more like corpses than living men, their hollow eyes sunken, skin pale and sweat-soaked.
They staggered forward with trembling hands, yet continued chanting, some are weaving spells of endurance,some for heat protection while others are responsible for movement acceleration. It was these people that pushed the army far beyond its natural limit and cut their travelling time by almost half.
Normally, the march from that barren wasteland back to Austerra would take three weeks.
Yet, thanks to the tireless support of those skeletal-faced mages, and a few precious long-range teleportation gates, they had crossed the distance in only three days.
At their current pace, they would reach home tomorrow.
