They weren't going to make it. There was no need for the soothsayer he brought along for them to know that although that didn't stop the soothsayer from shouting it everytime an arrow missed his head. He would have slapped the man if he wasn't running for his life at the moment.
Behind him the Nain Guard fired arrows upon arrows, all set ablaze with Ifril magic. In front of him, the gates to Belzbul stood in all it's glory taunting him with it's false distance. He knew without a doubt that what he was searching for was behind those gates, if only he could reach it. For years he'd travelled trying to find the Shalia. The search was supposed to be over today. Supposed to be but some idiot had decided to let the Nain know they were wielders too.
Curse that soothsayer.
"Stop shouting Dewain or I will feed you to the Nains the first chance I get! ", His companion bellowed over the noise of arrows and fire," we just need to cross the gates."
"Easier said than done, we won't make it!" Dewain announced for the umpteenth time.
And he was right. No matter how fast he rode or how hard he prayed, the gates were still too far. Looking over his shoulder, he saw as an arrow pierce his companion's thigh. They weren't going to make it. He turned his horse around and signaled for the others to keep moving. He placed a whistle in Dewain's hand and told him to blow it the instant they crossed the gates.
"I'll buy some time. Get to the gates. And do whatever you can to find the Shalia." He said and started chanting. His companion argued and screamed but he already couldn't hear her. Magic really was stressful, he could already feel his eyelids drooping.
Whereas the Nain relied on Ifril magic, from the god of fire, his magic came from Reas, the god of lightning. He wasn't sure if he was at an advantage or not. Checking to see how far his companion and Dewain had gone, he started shooting the guards down one by one. Arrows pierced his body, not that it was unexpected, he was a man against what? An entire army of Nain.
After a few minutes a shrill whistle rent the air. They had crossed the gates. He rubbed his hands together and prayed to Reas for power. His companion probably wasn't going to see him for a long while. He took a long steady breath and then using his life force as energy, he set the desert on fire.