Dal'tek's chest rose and fell rapidly, deeply, as he struggled to catch his breath. He took in the sight before him, as the warped-elf fought with wicked skill and more than a mild dose of determination, and almost all the other outlanders arrived and began to pitch-in. Verita, the young human woman, had been captured and forced to the ground, entrapped in some sort of net that the invaders had brought with them. This struck Dal'tek as being quite odd - after slaughtering his people without mercy, the enemy sought to capture a seemingly inconspicuous human girl alive and unharmed? The others present, though, were keeping that from happening. The blind-folded elf as well as the other human woman, Dawn, and the human male Darion were fighting viciously, as well. None of them were lacking for skill or determination, especially in the face of the prospect of their own demise looming before them.<br/><br/>Even now, Dawn was hard-pressed by the remaining invader on the platform. Dal'tek knew that they had to move -quickly-, or like the rest of the village, they would soon be overrun. He raised his staff, preparing to summon more power, using his anger and rage as fuel, but the staff felt heavy in his hand now, his arm quivering beneath its weight. He was nearly spent, and he -had- to save some of his power in order to be able to fly, if necessary. Or heal. He could feel the blood trickling down the side of his arm in a small, slow, warm rivulet, but he had no time to examine the wound. For now, they had to finish the last of the invaders on their platform, and make good their escape.<br/><br/>Dal'tek lowered his staff and with a few quick strides he moved to where Dawn was locked in mortal combat with her foe. The aviari would not summon magic this time, but had a different idea in mind. Though these invades fought with unrelenting strength, ferocity, and heartlessness, Dawn was proving to be her foe's equal. The two of them could likely fight on for quite some time. All Dal'tek did was simply step into the fray in order to tip the balance just enough to give Dawn the edge she might take advantage of. Behind him, he knew that the warped-elf was still feasting, a strange act given the situation, and Darion was cutting Verita loose from the net. They had to finish this last foe off quickly and depart.<br/><br/>With a half-hearted 'tap', Dal'tek's staff bounced harmlessly off the yahnus's shoulder. Dal'tek had hoped for a more telling blow, but his strength was fading, and he simply did not have much more to offer at that moment. But his attack had gained the yahnus's attention, and provided Dawn with the opportunity to press home her attack and hopefully eliminate the creature.<br/><br/>Dal'tek's head spun and saw that Kali had successfully led many survivors away, across the ramp that led towards the dock. "Quickly!" Dal'tek hissed, "To the dock! Before all is lost!" he urged, striding in that direction as quickly as his shaking legs would take him, leading the way. He was simply not used to this sort of exertion - at least magically. He had called on powers that he very rarely practiced with, for the land around the village for miles had been a peaceful one, and practicing magic in anger was all but forgotten by his people. That mistake was costly, as the shadows caused by the flickering flames of his burning village and the screams of the dying would attest to. Dal'tek knew that as one of the village's foremost protectors, he had failed - and failed spectacularly. The only solace he could seek now, was to do his best to save as many of his kin as he could, as well as the visitors that had sought refuge within the aviari village that very day.<br/><br/>Could the arrival of the outlanders had caused this great Doom to fall upon his village? That and other questions weighed heavily on his mind, but this simply wasn't the time to explore such curiosities. For now, survival, escape, and then of course tending the wounded were far more important than understanding the 'whys' and 'hows' of this terrible night.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>