I decided to continue.

Crystal clear and right there in front of her, Death beckoned to Emerald Dragon. Knowing that she was about to die, she forced herself to think clearly and look up at her enemy.
The male lynx with the black sword prepared to finish her off, and Emerald knew that he was about to administer his kind of veangance for his slain companion.
He didn't have time.
As that terrible look crossed the lynx's face and Emerald prepared herself to die, the lynx hesitated. Then he fell bonelessly, landing in a crumpled heap.
Scimitar bent over him, extracting his blood-smeared scimitar from the lynx's body. Looking up at Emerald, who stared at him with shock, he rasped, "you had better find a new saber, Dragon."
"How did you get behind him? I thought you were behind me!"
"I was ... until Ferran took over. I knew you would get into trouble, Dragon."
"You're not so great yourself, boss," she retorted, prising the black sword out of the lynx's deathgrip. It was superbly balanced, but Emerald was wary even so.
"We cannot win this fight, and we cannot lose it. We cannot press forward or retreat. We are, in effect, dead."
"Not yet, boss. We've still got our trump to play, remember."
"Yesss ... refresh me. I am still prepared -" he turned and slew another ill-fated turtle "- to fight, not to think."
"Venomarin and her half of the Sarav are waiting to help out, remember?"
"Aye ... cover me."
"Sure, boss," Emerald said dutifully, and took up her stand beside Scimitar, who closed his eyes. Emerald saw a slight shimmering around him, and the leaves that littered the compoud stirred slightly. Then Scimitar opened his eyes.
"Venom is coming. She said that she had assumed that we needed help ... and set up an ambush. They will be here," and he paused to listen to the wild yells and warcries that now issued from the Sarav, "shortly."
No sooner said than done, for Venomarin materialized just as Scimitar finished. With a short nod of her cowled head, she began to work.
Chilling death-winds, icy cold, did their work in installing a sense of dread and defeat. Growing darkness and gathering clouds spelled doom, and half-heard unintelligible whispers gabbled on tendrils of silent, creeping shadow. Emerald shook of the chills and prepared to fight ... yet another lizard.
"You know, Scimitar, I have a feeling that these guys are extremely intelligent, and they're very well trained ..." she began, to see her third lizard, a big grey thing, slink between two combatants and slide towards her.
"... and they always come after me," she finished. Her stolen black sword glimmered in the light as she drew it.
Scimitar hefted his namesake thoughtfully, then hissed as a randomly (or not so randomly) shot laser scored his swordarm. Blood caught at the light, but Scimitar dove into the fray without a backwards glance, heading for the sniper ... leaving Emerald alone.
The lizard stalked across the compound towards her, and she remembered another battle in a different compound, a battle under twin suns, with her allies and the freed slaves fighting Kroys' guards - she was jerked back with the realization that the lizard held a dart in his hand, just before he closed on her.
She slashed at him, and he skipped aside easily. This one was bigger than the second, but unlike that one, this one was strangely devoid of expression.
"Sso bold. No fear?" he hissed. Emerald laughed breathlessly.
"No fear? Oh yeah, I'm just trembling. WHY do I always get you guys, huh?"
"Sso confident ... unfortunately."
"Yeah, well, I asked you a question. What are you?"
"I am an infiltrator, trained to kill ... and you are my target!"
"Oh? So what's your problem, buddy?"
"Sso intelligent? ... not enough sso. You are a danger," it added, ducking a quick swipe.
"So? You are, too."
He hissed angrily. Emerald forced herself to swing again.
"Sss ... Deathwreaker commandss me. Jusst asss you crusshed Kroyss, sso he will crussh you!"
"Through you," she said contemptuously, although she would have rathered save her breath.
"Through me, and my fellow infiltratorss ... you are dangerouss to him. You, and no other!"
"I'm honored," she said sardonically. The lizard slipped through her defenses, to be repelled by her dagger.
"Sso foolish ..."
"Yeah, your buddy said that too. If you'll stand still a moment, I'll show you how he died!"
To which the lizard only hissed at, and moved in. Emerald slashed again, her sword flashing dizzyingly, and the lizard dodged it and ducked in. Emerald barely had time to realize that he was prepared to stick her with the dart before he collapsed liquidly, a boneless heap.
Venomarin had simply touched his shoulder, the barest brush with her skeleton hand. It was enough. Emerald stared uncomprehendingly at the broken body, before lifting her eyes to Venom's featureless hood.
"T-thank you," she said, and the Fader merely nodded, before turning away.
Now I know what Death looks like. If Death had a form, it was a Fader.
Then she realized there were no more guards.
Ferran appeared at her side, sabers sheathed.
"Sheathe your sword," she said. Emerald looked down at the black weapon, before shaking her head and throwing the black sword away. Ferran lifted her eyebrows, but said nothing but, "hold still. This may hurt."

After Emerald's wounded shoulder was tended to, she counted the Sarav remaining. Thirty out of the original hundred and twenty were dead, several of them good friends. Scimitar had sustained several cuts and slices, each of them serious, none of them life-threatening. They all hurt.
"We have succeeded ... I did not expect an ambush. But we have hurt the Deathless Ones, hurt them worse than they hurt us," he said, wincing. "Ferran, tell them what you saw." The Sarav stood.
Ferran was a vixen, a grey fox. She bore two curved swords, and fought like a demon with them. The only thing she wore that could not be used as a weapon was her silver cross, on a steel chain around her neck. It was the only remnant of her old life.
"I had made my way to the end of the guard wave," she said, her cold, expressionless voice even. "There was a Deathless One there. It saw me, and began to work its magics to slay me.
"I called for Venomarin - she was angry. She came to me, and the Deathless One saw her. It tried to kill her and failed, succeeding only in angering her further. She materialized in front of it, and touched its shoulder. The leaves whirled around her, enveloping the Deathless One also, and began to flame ... when they subsided, only Venomarin stood there. She had slain the Deathless One, but when I tried to thank her she turned on me. Her anguish and fury was audible ... you heard it when the - the voices - strengthened ... Scimitar interceded, and Venomarin turned on the remaining guards, slaying at merely a look. That was when they fled."
Scimitar stood. "So you have it. Venomarin has verified this ... and now we know that the Deathless Ones are desperate.
"And they can be killed."