Background:
My evil 10,000 year old Nature Mage Erilius has escaped the desert and made it back to the furthest outpost in his Rainforest kingdom. Upon entering his makeshift Magic plant tower ,his large, Insectoid acolytes inform him that they discovered a powerful spell in his collection of magical scrolls. The power it grants him is…….teleportation! He can teleport instantly into any place within fifty feet of his original location. The only downside is that he has to wait for two minutes in between “jumps.”
He has heard news that Aran, our hero, has linked up with his Uncle, the King’s army, so he goes out to join his 3rd army of Felinus (a subset of homo Sapien more vulnerable to mind control evolved to have cat like features in the forest) on the field of battle. His original invasion force equaled roughly 3 million magic wielding Felinus. Aran has something he wants….Flaming Sword of Türbrik.
This sword has the power to create fire along its length and control said fire along with any other fire within a ten foot radius. The sword is not limited by the regular limits of magic (it has unlimited amounts) and the only limitations on its power is the ability to multi-task by it user and remain in control of the fire (which is directly correlated to your patience, sobriety, and self control). Legend has it that whoever holds this sword will save his species which is why the Nature Mage Erilius wants it so bad
His benevolent, magically-adept race solved our starvation by putting permanent fertility incantations on the fields. After the Elves and Humans grew in numbers they overwhelmed and destroyed his species for reasons unknown. He was the only one to survive and he fled across the desert to an unknown forest where he has resided, growing in magical power for millennia waiting for the right time to strike back and get his revenge by driving us to extinction.
He divided his army into 3 pieces of 1 million each and sent the other two to attack and burn the countryside in the human and elven kingdoms. He has 1 million soldiers. The Felinus all have magical powers (Which I will tell about in the Magical Rules part of this question).
The Felinus are arranged in a scattered formation (think about how the ancient Gauls went to war) along a wide plain.
A long, thin ridge overlooks this plain on which the Humans have centered their defense. The Human king has a combined allied force of 50,000 knights, 100,000 archers and 150,000 disorganized regular infantry armed with halberds, long swords, spears and pikes from both his and the neighboring human kingdoms. He has positioned his 20,000 pikemen on the lowest slope of the ridge. The 50,000 halberdiers and 30,000 spearmen are arranged in a near perfect line directly behind them. The knights are directly behind the lines divided into five units of 10,000 each and are formed into diamond formations prepared for a charge. The 50,000 swordsmen are positioned in the hilled forest on both sides of the vast field to protect the flanks. Each flank has a separate unit of 20,000 archers to back the swordsmen up. The king has positioned the rest of his archers (did I mention that they use the long bow) along the length of the ridge to rain down holy hell on the Felinus camp.
Upon seeing the entire 1 million strong Felinus army and learning from his scouts that the powerful Mage has entered the camp to join the battle the human kings in the command tent agree that staying here will be suicidal. After all, Erilius can control the trees and the animals in the forest which is where the flank defense is located. If the flanks fall the Felinus will surround and crush the human alliance here and now. The human coalition leaders (comprised of the kings and most powerful vassals) look at a map of the region and decide to retreat to an abandoned mountain fortress 75 miles to the north to make a stand.
Then an army of 10,000 Elven Archers/Magicians (Elves are naturally good at magic and have a set of powers to be described in the magical rules section) This significantly bolsters the human army. The elves decided to aid us after the Mage kindly removed the head from one of their envoys. My coalition still wants to escape to the mountain fortress and now the elves are here to help.
Magical Powers:
I need to establish a few rules. First off is that there is a spirit world. All people go there when they die and there is a Heaven and a hell half. Most people achieve heaven, but the crooks of the world go to hell (people who like to steal, rape, and kill. People who have no choice go to heaven). The hell half is crammed to the brim and is watched over by Spirit Guards. The dead often escape and try to hide in the bodies of humans via possession, although most people have enough will power to unknowingly reject the evil spirit (even newborn children have they much will power).
Using magic weakens will power temporarily and the more you use it the more vulnerable you are to permanent possession. Magical prone races like the Felinus, Elves, and the Mage (the Mage moreso) have massive resistance to possession. Humans, Dwarves, Hobbits, Mini-Dwarves, and Fae are all vulnerable, however.
Felinus powers:
- Blend in nearly perfectly with environment
- Change colors like a Chameleon
- Run like a cheetah (literally, dropping like a cheetah on all fours and reaching speeds of 112-120 km/h or 70-75 mph)
- Limited (four feet) telekinesis
Elven powers:
- Levitate
- Fly for about five feet
- Blend in with environment
- Shoot flaming arrows
Nature Mage Erilius’ powers:
Control all living things (both flora and fauna) within a 100 foot radius. He can cause plants to grow at near infinite speed if the conditions required for its survival and growth are met (i.e. Enough water and nutrients are present and there is sunlight).
- He has telekinesis
- He has limited telepathy (e.g. Those trained well enough can block him from their minds)
- He can fly up to 10 feet off the ground for a max of 1 ½ minutes.
- He can temporarily (think 10 minutes) assume the form of any known animal
- He can control rock and transmute it into any type of rock or mineral(think turning coal into diamond, granite into coal, or rock into iron)(kind of like the earth benders in Avatar The Last Airbender) but cannot reuse the same piece of rock (one and done, so to speak).
Aran Stronheart our hero has the following powers:
- He can fly like the Mage
- He can use telekinesis within a 30 foot radius.
- Use the Flaming Sword the Mage is after to make and control fire.
- Resist mind attacks better than others.
Other Rules:
- Medieval tech level only (obviously)
Question:
What is the most effective (least deaths, less time for Erilius and his Felinus to catch up) way to get the army out of this suicidal situation and to the mountain fortress? Take note that Erilius has spies ready to arouse his army if the humans are obviously fleeing.
Linked:
How to Escape a Horde of Worms Using Magic with Minimal Injury
How do I Draw the Elves Into the War?