“Two long lines of Shifters stretched over the field, standing unmoved. They expertly held composite bows at ready, various in origin and style.”

“The Winter Shifter army rushed toward their opponents at full speed. A unified roar thundered over the field.”

“All the Spirits of the Winter Realm, that just a moment earlier hustled around the Shifters as small balls of fire, were now in their ghostly forms, gray and transparent. Their ethereal bodies stretched parallel to the ground, huge eyes wide open, their wispy, long hair streaming in the air behind them”

“She opened her hand, and a ball of fire blasted from it toward the cloudless sky of the Realm. It whirled above the Shifters, growing and stretching into a huge flaming disc. It moved down, forming a spinning inferno wall around them.”

“A blinding burst of white and red light exploded when the surfaces of both gems touched. It stretched over the battlefield in an enormous, flat disk of power.”

“She heard a low murmur of the far-away voices: a chant repeated over and over.”

“She slammed into an invisible wall and flew back once more, landing on her back. She lay sprawled on the ground, trying to shift into her leopard form. But her enhancing Spirit held her firmly in the human body.”