C1 RacksomAnd then, there was War(5th Board)

A crushing weight bore down on Rilos when he finally came to, heavy on his shoulder and tail, but light elsewhere. He sucked in a deep breath, dust swirling up his nose and making him cough painfully, the breath wheezing out of him until it turned into a low moan, his whole body hurting, especially one side of his face. He opened his eyes, blinking fast. Two shafts of light lit his rubble prison, zigging across his vision from the left, but everything on his right was dark. Something warm and sticky dripped onto his leg and he moved his head, trying to see what it was. There was a crack above him and the rubble suddenly shifted, sliding down to one side and letting a little more light in to the left. Something at the back of Rilos’ mind told him that he should be able to see something, anything, to the right too, but he couldn’t, it was just black and pain.

He closed his eyes again, trying to remember what had happened. He had been battling another dragon in the sky, then she had kicked him away and he had hit a roof… That was the last thing he could remember. So where was he now? He tried to move his wings and managed to get one in to his side, but the other was stuck and pain shot up its length when he tried to pull it free. He cracked open his right eye again to see what was holding it, but there was still nothing, just an increase in the sticky drips on his leg.

He tried a new tactic to get free, swishing his tails from side to side to clear whatever was holding him in this strange prison then crawled backwards, dragging his caught wing free. He moaned again as the movement sent pain shooting up his wing and down his neck, and strangely, along one of his back legs too. It gave out after a couple of steps, buckling to the ground, which he was hardly free of anyway. The rubble that had been in front of him cascaded into the space where he had been, sending up another cloud of dust and making him cough. His left eye smarted when he opened it but he made out the brown of wood and the grey of stone, which was more than the faint outlines of before. Had he crashed into a building, was this what this was? He clawed aside a long beam that cut across above him, resting for a moment before squeezing gingerly through the gap that it left and onto the mound of rubble.

Lotharia was making her way to Atleon when suddenly she felt a pull on her conscious. She stopped in the middle of the street, Rorn nearly running into the dragon. "What is it?" He asked, looking around and expecting to be attacked by something he could not sense.

Lotharia turned herself about, looking into the distance. "There is someone calling for me." She responded, sounding slightly distracted. Whoever it was sounded in pain, nearly unconscious even. She was torn between finding Atleon and helping this person but for some reason they knew who she was and were heading right for them. Trotting slowly down the street Lotharia was soon meet with another man on a horse. He looked in bad shape as well.

"Armeno!" Rorn called and made his way quickly to his leader. "What happened?!" He cried looking over the man with fear and concern clearly written on his face. "Can't you heal him?!" He asked Lotharia, in more of a pled then a demand.

"Of course." The dragon leaned in, pressing her large nose against the mans side and let her healing magic flow. She was beginning to tire, having healed so many people and even more of them on the brink of death.

(this may not be how my characters were left but I think it has been long enough that it doesn't really matter ^.^; )

Akira pulled herself away from Mizu who had his arms around her protecting her from a fall that probably would have killed her. She wiped the blood off her hand before stumbling alone through the city, she waws slightly disoriented from the tumble but quickly shook herself. She quickly tied her hair up with a strap of leather and proceeded to search for others. She was surprised when she saw a winged man who seemed to be ordering a group of soldiers around. "That must be Talos." she whispered to Mizu, "What do we do?"

Mizu shrugged folding his wings, "Play innocent?" eh suggested. Akira shook her head, "You don't look innocent." She responded quietly. Mizu huured for a moment then quickly motioned for Akira to come closer, "Give me your swords." He motioned with his talon for her to hand her weapons over. "Your young enough you could probably pass as a villager." He mumbled then quickly cut Akira's forehead, "And the blood with add some sympathy...I hope."

Akira nodded wiping the new wound which was already dripping blood."Hang close." She smirked before turning around and starting her act, "Mommy!? Mommy where'd you go?!" She shouted stumbling towards the soldiers while Mizu hung back well withing the shadows." (heads wounds bleed ALOT XD)

Kono swooped down over Racksom when he heard the sound of a building crashing down. Hovering over the city he took in the horrifying sight. The city was destroyed and burning. The people who once happily roamed its streets were no where to be seen. He growled, taking in the scene hoping against hope that the invaders had yet to take over the city, though it seemed like a futile thing to believe, but as he got closer he began seeing that fights were still raging though there seemed to have been a lull in the activity. 'where are the soldiers?' he thought to himself alighting down on building in search of the DDC.

Armeno sighed in relief as the man and dragon approached him.
‘Ah, thank you very much,’ he said to Lotharia as the magic gushed into his back and smoothed the wound into the rest of the skin on his back. ‘I just got hit. It was foolish; but thankfully, the DDC have an excellent healer on their side.’ He looked at Lotharia gratefully, but then his attention snapped back to the cavalry and he slipped back into his role as leader.
‘Right, where’s the rest of the cavalry?’ Glancing around, Armeno could only see half of the men.
‘The others are all with Talos,’ explained Rorn. Armeno frowned briefly, but let the point drop.
‘Ok. I know we aren’t exactly the typical cavalry here, but let’s take a moment to straighten ourselves up here. Form a line, please.’ The men obediently shuffled, Rorn joining them, and got into a line. Armeno’s eyes flicked along it from one face to another.
‘What’re you all called?’ he inquired. The answers came back in a variety of accents.
‘Rorn.’
‘Caedin.’
‘Stein.’
‘Dalin.’
‘Jonst.’ Armeno nodded, pleased to at least have his men’s names.
‘We’ll be sticking with Atleon for now, I suppose. Possibly we’ll try to meet up with Talos- did he get healed?’ The men nodded jointly. ‘Good. Well, we’re off. Keep vigilant.’ Armeno was starting to wonder about giving these men some proper training if they got out of the city, and gather some more riders and swords- maybe he could supply the DDC with something which actually did vaguely resemble a cavalry? The thought of Static’s proposed meeting niggled at the edge of his mind, but he pushed it aside for now and moved out behind Atleon.

Starling spun around when she heard her name, and gasped as she saw the dragon attacking her. She threw her dagger towards it to try to scare it away, but missed. It was a close miss, and she hoped it would distract the little black-and-white dragon, but she was very irritated to have lost the only dagger she had with her without it even hitting its mark. She pulled out her bow again, and tried to string it again, and loosed an arrow behind her into the crowd of soldiers experimentally. The close range meant that the bow was ineffective in terms of efficiency, but it knocked two soldiers from the wall from its sheer force. She smirked as she realised that she might stand a chance, but the rest of her being refused to let her look to see if those men had survived the fall. She couldn’t bear to think that she might have actually killed someone. Still, Static was a not-enemy, meaning that in her mind she considered her a friend, and Starling never let her friends get hurt if she could help it. She turned to face the dragon and static, and held the bow up again, the fresh arrow glittering to match her outspread wings. “Leave her alone, or I’ll fire.” She shouted at the dragon, pulling the bowstring back further and locking it momentarily so she had time to think.

From his place in the front line, Jackdaww had seen Talos being taken away, and the sight had spurred him to fight harder, slashing viciously at every rebel soldier that ran his way. His battle-rage blotted out the pain of the various minor wounds his victims had dealt before they died, but the wound on his face was still slowing him. The scab had cracked as he fought, and fresh blood was trickling slowly but steadily down his left cheek, like a trail of gruesome tears. The blood had tinted his vision pink again, but he could still see well enough to fight. It was getting tougher as more of the rebels poured out of the city, and more arrows fell from the sky like deadly rain, and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep fighting. He could only hope for a retreat, or a sudden change of strategy to hold the DDC army together. Then, he felt a blow to his legs, and the world spun as he fell to the ground among the legs of the rest of the DDC army, swearing.

Measle stuck by Jackdaww’s side constantly, protecting his more vulnerable left side as the pair crashed their way forth. There were men deserting all around them, or being slaughtered where they stood, but the pair managed to keep their position, although their progress had slowed almost to a standstill. Then, a pike-man took a swing at Jackdaww’s legs, and he tumbled down, swearing heavily. Measle roared in an animal-like scream, and stood over him as he struggled to his feet. His leg was not broken, thankfully, but it was badly cut, and he would not be able to keep up his running with it. “Jack, you need to get out of here, you can’t go on like this.” He said, holding his wings up high around him to fend off blows, ignoring temporarily the burning pains of arrows and pikes grabbing at his good wing, and growling at the ones on his broken wing. Then, a thought came to him. “Jackdaww, climb on my back. I might not be able to fly with you, but I’m still strong enough to run with you.” He announced, stepping back. Jackdaww grinned, clearly glad to have a way to continue fighting instead of retreating (because a gentleman never abandons his side under any circumstances), and grabbed Measle’s spiny shoulder. Measle winced as his hard leather boots bit his scales uncomfortably, but he soon felt Jackdaww settle into the hollow behind his shoulders. Jackdaww wasn’t far off the floor really, and was considerably shorter than any man on horseback, but his seat seemed much finer than one on the back of a filthy beast. Measle took a few careful steps, adjusting to the weight of Jackdaww sitting on his shoulders, but soon felt ready to charge again. “Here we go, Jack!” he shouted, before making a break for the city walls, and by default the rebels’ soldiers in between.

Kono turned when he heard the clashes and bangs of a battle not far off. He quickly took off with a strong swoop of his wings towards the noise to see if he could lend aid to his fellow DDC soldiers and was astonished to find that the DDC army was slowly retreating, badly outnumbered by the rebels. Rage built up deep in the barrel of his chest burning white hot then climbing into his throat. With decisive intent he angled his wings down and folded them slightly diving down towards the field of battle.Once at a height where he could aim precisely enough he let out a white hot stream of fire on the rebel army in a great sweep after he saw a pair of what he assumed were DDC soldiers dash for the wall. With that he climbed into the sky again flapping hard to the pained screams of rebel soldiers, before flapping and tuning in the air to prepare for another go at them.

Jackdaww let out a roar of satisfaction as the rebel soldiers before him burst into flames. He looked up t the dragon responsible and screamed his thanks up to him, before slashing at the remaining ones with a renewed vigour. Measle sent a similar message of thanks to the dragon, and continued to charge forward, the task much easier once the majority of the soldiers before them were gone. He still needed a healer, but now nothing could draw him away from the battle, since the dragon had made it seem so one-sided. However, he had failed to comprehend the sheer numbers of the rebel forces. There were still too many for him to take on alone, but his sword continued to bite the flesh of the soldiers immediately before him from Measle’s back, loving the elevation that the macabre scene gave him, as well as the physical elevation of Measle’s low back, that added a few inches to his height in total.

Starling moaned in a low one as she saw the rebels’ forces go up in flames. She knew that there were plenty more left, but the loss of so many filed her with sorrow. She kept her focus pinned to the dragon over Static, but she was painfully aware of the horrifying screams of soldiers burning to death, and the sickly sweet stench of burning flesh filling the air.

Static kicked out again as it seemed to make no impression on the dragon, still trying to wriggle free. She was reluctant to fire off a lot of electricity at the dragon as it would spark at such a close range, and then she might end up in just as bad a condition as he would. Damn the dragon for trapping her sword.

As Starling spoke, she shoved at the dragon with her shoulder, hoping that she would catch him off guard enough to get free.
“Don’t threaten it, just kill the bloody dragon!” she shouted at Starling, frustrated that the girl was just standing there and not doing anything. She couldn't care less whether the dragon was dead or alive, or what else was happening on the battlefield (she registered a flash of red and flame, but didn't take much more notice than that), getting free was her first priority.

Kono dove again into the remaining soldiers this time landing in a burst of flame. "Get out of here!" he roared snarling and baring his teeth as he grabbed a soldier in his teeth then trowing him aside in pieces. He growled as soldier stuck it's sword into his thick scales along with several other soldiers who put their weapons to him, but his enormous size came to his advantage when their weapons were so small in comparison. The flame he let out wasn't as hot as the first release but it was still hot enough to send soldiers to the ground flailing and rolling about in pain if not death. He struck out with a claw knocking over another soldier who was trying to sneak past him.

Starling nodded, and released the arrow. She had not aimed for anything vital to the creature, since she only wanted to frighten it off, and remove it from the battle, but if that failed, she would drop that kind frame of mind. She pulled another arrow from the quiver at her hip, and pulled the bowstring back again, before firing a second arrow towards the dragon’s leg. “I said leave her alone!” she shouted, grabbing another arrow. Someone behind her attacked, and she felt the bite of a pike at one wingtip. Luckily, it was not enough to hinder her flying ability, but she span around to see who the culprit was. She stabbed the arrow through a join in their armour, and winced as the shaft broke, but the soldier staggered back, and leapt from the wall clutching his stomach. She was distracted, however, and took a long moment to turn back to Static and the little dragon.

Last edited by Aero on Sun Apr 03, 2011 9:21 pm; edited 1 time in total

Talos was just about to take off for the skies and grab his bow when two things happened at once. First, he realized that he had dropped his bow, probably when he had been hit by that ball of lightning. His great idea to provide cover by aerial means suddenly seemed to come to nothing. Oh well, at least his vision could prove a great service, his ability to see long distances hopefully enough to keep the horse riders below out of trouble. Second was the sound of some high-pitched female voice screaming for her mother. He drew his sword, half-expecting a battalion of Surhans to be following the screaming child and spotted the girl emerging from the side streets. When no enemy seemed to be in tow, Talos sighed inwardly with relief. "Somebody direct that girl to the East Gate!" He called, gesturing his sword in the general direction that the body of his forces were fleeing. "If you're mother's alive, then she's that way. Go flee with the other citizens!"

A loud roar boomed out over the city, and Talos looked up to see what manner of creature had made the noise. To his relief it wasn't the red dragon or the huge black and red one, but instead a more familiar dragon. He wasn't entirely sure where the large purple beast had gotten off to, but was glad to see that it had returned and resumed fighting for their side. He spread his wings and leapt into the air, watching with some satisfaction as the huge creature set fire to what he could assume was the Surhinian forces. From his height, he could start to grasp some of the battle, though the close-knit houses were blocking some of his sight. Most of the DDC was either in full retreat, scattering through the alley ways like frightened mice, but there were a few still on the front, given a slight reprieve by the dragon's fire. Most particularly he saw that the dragon and rider pair that he'd given bandages earlier seemed to be holding their own.

But even as things appeared to be turning up for them, the sight of a huge line of soldiers closing in on them from the West had his heart sinking. What's more, the Surhans had their war machines back in use and were aiming for the dragon that had come to their defense with catapults that shot arrows thick around as a man's arm. "Move forward!" He called down to the horsemen, gesturing toward the lines of battle. "Give the retreat order to anyone you come across!" Now the issue was getting to those handful still holding the front lines and get them out too, no easy task.

(I2)

*~*~*

To Arasolra's delight, she didn't seem to have killed the dragon when he went down, which was very good indeed. Her tail twitched like a cat that had it's eyes on something interesting, watching the blue dragon emerge from the pile of rubble with a grin on her face. A roar distracted her attention briefly, and she looked over her shoulder to see a dragon harassing something on the ground. Well, maybe when she was done with this character, she could go play with that one. Though, the purple dragon was a bitsmaller than she, so she assumed that it would make easier prey than the blue dragon. Turning back to the blue dragon, she took in his beaten up appearance.

Most of it was from the building falling on him and his sudden departure from the air, one of his wings looking particularly beaten up compared to the other. Bits of building were stuck to a sheet of blood on his scales, marring his blue scales with grey powder mixed with the crimson liquid. The smell of blood hit her and she inhaled it readily, sensing his state of duress eagerly. However, her favorite feature of the blue dragon was turning out to be the more recent addition of coloration to his face. Her fire had charred his scales black where she had hit directly, one eye apparently utterly useless since it was sealed shut quite thoroughly and bleeding. How wonderful…

"I am enjoying your new markings." She hissed out loud in draconic, pacing slowly around him so that she stood on his good side. "Perhaps I should add another?" Sucking in air rapidly, she prepared to let out another white-hot burst of fire. However, when she went to encompass him in flames, a jet of orange came out that rapidly turned to blue then suddenly died. Blinking with confusion, Arasolra tried to spit a smaller fireball, but came out with nothing. "Lucky for you… I seem to have used my fire for the moment." Her eyes narrowed, shoulders bunching as she dropped into a low crouch. "Then we play the old-fashioned way." With a roar she lept for Rilos, aiming to hit him in his body hard enough to get the blue dragon on the ground.

(G3)

Jaden snarled as the avian threatened him, thoughts whirring through his mind. If he persisted he could probably dispatch the electricity woman, but the avian could fire. She didn't seem to be used to fighting like the human, but she did have an arrow pointed at him and he didn't think it was a good idea to test her morals. He ignored another kick, but just as he was about to make a move he was rocked by a large shove from the woman's shoulder. He gave another violent growl, baring his teeth as he shifted himself to keep on his feet. He had had to take most of his weight off Static; now he had to focus on the avian's arrows as two fired off at him. He dodged the first, but the second cut into his front paw as it came back down. He gave a small yelp of pain and hurriedly lifted the injured foot from the ground. When the avian turned, distracted by another attacker, he quickly spun, reared on his hind legs and used his uninjured right paw to swipe at Static's face, claws fully out and toes spread. Not having time to inspect the damage he had dealt, he swung back round to see what the avian was up to. She was just withdrawing her hand from a soldier who ws clasping his stomach; Jaden saw the snapped-off shaft of an arow protruding from between his fingers and felt a small wave of pity, but he ignored the falling fighter and instead lunged for the avian's spread wing with his teeth. He'd fought avians before; the hollow bones were surprisingly strong, considering how light and thin they were, but he could still crunch a wing and render it useless in his jaws.

Starling turned her head, and saw the dragon lunging for her, but couldn’t turn fast enough to protect her wings. She shouted as the dragon attacked one, and flapped the other wing to try to put him off. Shaking her body, she tried to force him off, but she couldn’t stop herself screaming as she felt teeth penetrate the thin skin between the hollow bones of her wing. She was dimly pleased that she had gotten the dragon away from Static, but she had no idea how she fared. Right then, not getting her wing irreversibly damaged was a more pressing matter. She had broken her wing before, and she had no doubt that she would break it again, but if the fine membrane of skin under the feathers was badly damaged, she might never fly again, and that was all she lived for. Every moment of flight she had ever had flashed before her, and the fear of loosing that forever stopped her. She decided that she may as well wait for the dragon to finish breaking one, before continuing to fight it, since struggling would only complicate how badly it broke. She could hear someone screaming in agony, and wished that they would be quiet, before realising that the voice was hers, and silencing it fast. She stood still, her teeth drawing blood on her lip as she bit down on it and waited for a chance to free herself. Flying during that battle wouldn’t be vital anyway, or so she hoped.

Jaden felt the bones give way under his teeth as he made contact with the wing. He held on as the avian resisted, wanting to have her restrained before he let go. As she went still, he hooked the front of her clothing on the claws of his uninjured front paw, sitting back on his hind legs. He then released her.
'Avian,' he said after spitting out some of her blood. 'You have caused me pain with your arrow; I daresay I have caused you more with my teeth. But I do not have to kill you. Choose now, and choose wisely, for you may only choose once. I only kill my enemies; if you want to stay my enemy, then we shall continue to fight. Your wing is not permanently broken, but I could arrange for it to be so.' His dark eyes betrayed few of his thoughts; then, there were few to be betrayed. He was simply offering the girl a chance to go free in exchange for her changing sides. Unfortunately, she was unlikely to fare well either way...

AKira sobbed as she obediently followed the two soldiers that were escorting her acting as innocent as possible while watching closely as a familiar shadow flowed in and out of existence next to her little group. Once well out of sight she quickly punched the two in the gut before transmuting part of her metal arm into a blade. and silently dispatching the two of them. Once the two had been sowed away Mizu rejoined her as a lookout while she grabbed a piece of chalk to draw a transmutation circle,"Make enough confusion and terror here and someone is bound to come running right?" She asked quietly to Mizu who shrugged, "Maybe, but so much is going on they might just leave things be. They seem to be stretched thin enough."

Akira snorted, "Well I guess there's no harm in trying." With that she smiled looking at her finished product. After dusting off the chalk on her fingers she nodded to Mizu who flicked his bladed tail getting into a fighting stance, wings spread wide, preparing for anything that might come there way. While Akira clapped her hands together before placing them on the transmutation circle. As soon as she did so there was a loud bang along with a flash and a cloud of smoke. Akira's favorite, flashbangs.

Kono lunged baring his teeth and swinging his claws as soldiers fell on him with their blades, frustrated he once again lifted into the air pulling above the battle field, he surveyed the situation, dismayed by the line of reinforcements he saw, and the machines that he realized too late were trained on him. Flapping hard to try and get out of the way, he didn't manage though, and let out a horrible high pitched shriek as bolt lodged itself in his thigh. He teetered slightly in the air as the pain rushed to his head, but quickly fixed himself as blood began oozing from around the edges of the bolt shaking the pain away as best he could thankful that at least it had avoided his wings, with a bolt that size would have easily torn the membrane between his fingers and though it wouldn't have necessarily rendered flight impossible it would have definitely made it much more difficult and the hole would've taken forever to heal, if it did at all.

AKira Mizu- H11

Static shifted as the dragon took his weight off her, sliding down further underneath him. That way she would be out of the way of any blows that he and Starling might come to, now she had attacked him, and it would give her the chance to get her sword underneath him too- A good hit to the stomach would probably dismantle the blasted thing for good. She tried to twist her sword free, but it was still somewhat trapped… She didn’t notice the dragon move until he reared up on his back legs, suddenly letting her free. His paw swiped across her face and she screamed as his claws raked across her cheek, dropping her sword. Her hands flew to her face, rolling onto her knees as her own scream was cut off by one much louder from the avian.

Blood dripped between her fingers as she looked up, wiping away the scarlet trickle that rolled down her forehead into her eyes. The dragon obviously thought that the damage had caused was enough to keep her occupied for a while, but he was mistaken. She wiped the worst away from her eyes with one deft movement, rising to her feet.
“Seems like you made the mistake of sparing me then, dragon.” She stepped forwards and rammed her hands against Jaden’s side, green sparking between her fingers as they came into contact with the dragon. Electricity as strong as she could stand glittered across his skin until she wrenched her hands away, grimacing as her arms tingled numb. Seemed that although she was normally immune to her own electricity, when she had blood on her hands, she started conducting…

As he finally freed himself from the pile of rubble, Rilos took a breather, looking back at the gap he had crawled through. A dark sheen of blood and dust on his scales made him gape- Was that really all his? There was a roar in the air and he looked slowly up, confused as to why he couldn’t see the calling dragon. He swung his head back and forth slightly, one side of his vision black. He knew he had been hit on the side of the face with fire, but surely he had gotten his eye shut in time, and fire couldn’t be that strong, could it? But… what other reason could there be for not being able to see? No, she couldn’t have blinded him, his eye must just have been gummed shut… Right? Right??

He shrunk back onto the mound of rubble as he heard a strange hissing voice, whipping his head back and forth faster now to try and see who it was that was speaking. His heart froze as he caught sight of the same dragoness as before, the quick movement making his face sting with the cool wind. He flinched back as she sucked in a breath, trying to raise his wings to flee but his right one hurt at the end- A wound he had picked up when he crashed into the building, the bone fractured while he was out. He let out the breath he had been holding as no more fire came his way, but didn’t relax his tense shoulders.

Play? Rilos’ eye widened as he realised she was about to attack him again and scrambled to get out of the way, leaping for clear ground. She hit his back legs and he went flying off balance, crashing onto his side with a screech. He kicked out, thrashing his tails, trying to either get in a hit that would deter her at least until he could escape, or free himself from her weight.

(G3)

Jaden had wounded both his opponents, but he was outnumbered and outmatched- though the avian wasn't so bad right now. Surely the woman wouldn't be kept down though? He realised with a jolt it would be a small miracle if she wasn't moving on him now- and as he half twisted his neck round, he felt her hands land on his leathery skin and the next thing he knew he was lifted a little off his feet by the searing electricity which blasted through his body and burrowed down through the wall to the ground. But Jaden didn't think of that; the electricity repeated jolted him, burning him, agonising. His body was spasming, he almost feel off the wall as he jerked uncontrollably. When the woman finally removed her hands he flopped onto his side, two palm-shaped scorch marks left on his white skin and his body looking noteably singed all over. One paw twitched slightly and his sides rose and fell minimally, but otherwise he didn't move. His heart stuttered slightly, trying to reascertain its rhythm. A little blood still trickled from the arrow wound on his pad, though it was clotted. After a few seconds, he took a deeper, rattling breath and one of his large and distinctive horns feebly wavered a few centimetres. He was draped precariously across the wall, though, and his addled brain couldn't figure out how to make the muscles move in order that he wouldn't fall off- it was a distinctive possibility, as he could have seen with his powers if he was in any state to notice.

Starling gasped in releif as the dragon fell away from her, and pulled her head around to face static. Her wing was a mess – the feathers sticky and matted with blood and gore from the messy wound, but she managed to put on a smile to whisper, “Thanks,” to her, before wincing and doubling over in pain. The dragon seemed to be faring worse, with the burns from Static’s attack, but Starling was too preoccupied to notice that. Her damaged wing was half-extended, and the joints had locked in place, so she wouldn’t be able to sort it out until she found a healer loyal to the rebels. However, her arms were still fine, so she picked up her bow from the wall again, and drew another arrow from her quiver. They were dwindling rapidly, with only five or six arrows left, but the fighting seemed to be drawing to a close, so she wasn’t too concerned. She whimpered slightly as her elbow knocked her damaged wing, but continued to pull back her bow, and loosed an arrow into the remaining few DDC soldiers. The rebels’ forces were burning fast under the breath of the dragon, but she could see another dragon amongst the soldiers – with an injured man on his back. Around them were a few other soldiers. She aimed for one of those, healthier soldiers, and picked him off with one good shot. She smirked, pleased that she could still be useful, before turning her attention back to the dragon before them.

Atleon looked the man before him over once more, trying to assess whether he could be trusted or not. All the while, he kept feeling the urgency to move on, knowing that he could not allow himself to linger anywhere anymore. The defenders needed to get out of Racksom as quickly as possible. Any back-up plan they might have had for taking back the city had been disrupted by yet another surprise attack on Zartear’s behalf and the invaders were not going to play easy with anyone they would get their hands on. The prince inwardly cursed Zartear’s cunning and the fact that the defenders had not been able to foresee such an attack, yet there was nothing to be gained by dwelling on that now.

The man did not say anything, just simply stood there, apparently waiting for the prince to make a move or say something and it somewhat unnerved Atleon at this moment in time where they had better things to do than stand around in the streets in awkward silences. It did not make him feel any better when suddenly the dragon’s voice resounded in his mind and she conveyed yet again that he had to hurry and that Talos was severely injured. He did not like the avian but he had to be saved by all means, though he was sure that they would all do their best to accomplish exactly that.

Though the next thought that was crossing Atleon’s mind was the worry that all the plans he had had to cut off the Surahnian army by bringing down a few of the already ruined buildings to block their advance were now probably completely in vain. If the rebels were already near the gate and fighting Talos’ men, then there was not too much left to be hoped for. Or am I just completely losing faith in everything now? Atleon almost scolded himself. He should be the last one to give up hope and he should be the last one to leave this place, making sure that every single remaining defender and citizen was getting out of this place alive. Of course, it was at exactly that moment that Lotharia’s voice whispered in his mind about Talos wanting him to flee the city. Shaking his head to this, Atleon did not reply to the dragon, or at least not consciously, though glad to hear that the avian was up and about again, but he rather turned his attention to the man standing in front of him, who still had not moved a muscle or said a word.

“You are a very intriguing person, that much has to be said, but we are in a time of war and I do not have the luxury to be playing games.” The problem was that Atleon still had no idea whether this man was with the rebels or the defenders as nothing about him seemed to give any sort of inkling towards either. Maybe he was just looking for a bit of excitement… “I do not wish to be rude, but I do have to go. If you have a heart and want to help the people, then feel free to follow me and rescue some of the citizens in this place before there is nothing left to save.” With that, he turned around and hurried towards where Lotharia had disappeared to and where he was figuring she would turn up from again, retracing her steps as to easier find him. There was a lot of noise all around him and he was fairly certain that it was not only his men rallying the citizens but rebels making their way forwards. By now, the chest in his arms was bugging him, as it would definitely impair his movement should he come under attack but the documents were valuable and he could not afford them falling into the rebels hands. He still wondered how exactly Kayoss had come across it, but he pushed that thought aside for now. It was not important. However, it suddenly struck him, there might be plans of some of the thieves’ roads underneath Racksom, which would give them a hopefully easier retreat, at least for a great deal of their men. With this thought, some of the prince’s motivation came back as well and he picked up speed to hurry to Lotharia’s encounter and whoever it was she was bringing along with her. The sound of horses’ hooves was already very clear in his ears and it would probably only be a matter of seconds before the group reached him.

Armeno urged Velox on faster, trying to catch up with Atleon- they had fallen behind when they had stopped for Armeno to hear their names. The prince being on foot, it didn't take long for Armeno to be close behind him, casting a curious glance at Faust as he passed the man. Noticing a chest that Atleon held in both his arms, Armeno frowned- the last thing the defenders needed was another leader getting hurt. He nudged Velox forwards a little so that he was almost next to the prince and spoke.
'Excuse me Atleon, would you like me to take that chest? I'd be surprised if we don't come across any more Surahnians, and you'll need your arms free for defence... I could strap it onto my saddlebags easily.'

Lena took to the skies with Talos, but the usually easy motion of pumping her weight into the air seemed laborious and her breath started to come in ragged gasps. As she flew with her husband she would call out for people to retreat as she could, but it was getting harder to draw air into her lungs as she became light headed. Lena shook her head over, and over, trying to rid herself of it but it wouldn't go away. The edges of her vision began to grow dark and she felt herself falter, dropping a few feet in the air before forcing herself to make her wings work. What was wrong with her? She put in on the blood loss and exhaustion, having no idea how the army was still functioning as it was and made herself level with Talos once more. She did not much feel like making eye contact with Talos, knowing full well he would say something about her little slip up."How much longer..." Lena was unsure if the question was directed at the battle or for herself.

~*~*~*~*

Lotharia moved silently behind Armeno, keeping a level gaze at Atleon, pleased that she had found him so quickly.I have a message for you from Talos... She whispered in his mind, letting her words flutter in his head, trying not to add more stress onto the man who apparently was so important to this country. Lotharia wouldn't really know, having lived in the forest in isolation pretty much her entire life, but it was obvious enough from the signs she had been given.

For a brief moment, Atleon wondered whether he was not making a mistake with not hiding before the horses would reach him but just as he dismissed this thought, a group turned out of a street only a few steps behind him, and with them was the dragon. The prince immediately stopped in his steps and greeted them with a quick nod, eagerly looking at the dragon to hear her news, and he was not disappointed, merely seconds after the group had reached him, her voice was already sounding in his mind. “Tell me everything I need to know,” he gently bade the dragon before his eyes focused on the man on horseback who had addressed him.

“Thank you, that would be very kind,” he replied, eyeing the man up and down, taking in the dirty bandages and ripped clothing, and he remembered having asked him to scout the streets earlier but whose name he still did not know. “Before you strap it on however,” he muttered, and already opened the chest and began rummaging through the documents until he found the parchment he had been looking for. “We will need this.” He went on to beckon the other men closer and spread the parchment so that hopefully all of them could see.

Pointing out a few markers on the map, he explained: “These are entrances to the thieves’ network of canals and underground routes. Remember those, because we will take advantage of them. At this moment in time, I don’t think any of the thieves will cause any problems, if they haven’t already all abandoned the city anyway. Whichever ones you come across and you do NOT use, cover them up. Block the entrances to the canals, block every single street that will not be needed for retreat anymore and cut off Zartear’s army that way. No matter what we do, we have to try and get save passage for any remaining people within these walls. Am I clear?” Looking every single man into his eyes, the prince made sure they had all understood what he wanted them to do. “Now, spread out, you will be able to escape quicker if you’re not in a huge group. Either use them yourself and leave the horses, or get out through one of the gates, but point out the passages to anyone you come across that is retreating.”

Looking back at the man who had first spoken to him in particular, he asked: “What is your name? And can the two of you,” with that he looked at the dragon, “bring me to Talos?” His eyes briefly flickered back to the mysterious man who was not far away and he once more wondered what his intentions were.

Lotharia moved slowly next to Atleon and bowed her head to make hers level with his own. "He has taken to the skies, and wishes for you to flee but if you wish for me to take you to him I am a swift runner. She offered, looking to Armeno. She wished that the rest of the calvary would flee and get to the safety of the outskirts of town.

Lotharia lowered her body on the ground, allowing it so Atleon could get on her back if he so wished. "I sense your unease but I think we must hurry." She offered, not wanting to upset the man but knowing they were short on time.

Armeno nodded as Atleon accepted his offer, glancing back over his shoulder to see the pink dragon there. His attention was quickly diverted, however, as Atleon spread the map out. Armeno crouched down and flicked his eyes across it, taking in the warren of tunnels marked.
'Right...' he muttered in response to the prince's instructions, before straightening and turning to the five men holding their reins and also peering at the map.
'Caedin, Stein, go in a pair; likewise for Dalin and Jonst. Get out of the city as fast as you can, keep the horses; do as Atelon told you.' The men nodded and remounted, looking lost and a little helpless as the horses cantered away.
'Rorn,' said Armeno, now turning to him. 'You can get out on your own-again, keep the horse- or, if Atleon doesn't mind, you can stay with us. It might be safer for you if you're not alone...' Armeno didn't really need to add that the man would be hopeless if confronted; all of the cavalry knew perfectly well that they couldn't tell the blunt side of a blade from the sharp until it was too late. Rorn grimaced briefly, then sighed.
'I'll go solo.' With that, he swung back onto the horse's back and clattered away down another street. Armeno shrugged, hoping the man would make it, and turned back to Atleon.
'My name is Armeno Narandal,' he replied to Atleon. 'At your service. I'll come, but I don't currently know where he is...' His gaze flicked over to Lotharia as she lowered herself.
'With all due respect Atleon, I would be inclined to agree with.... the dragon. Possibly Veloxpes may not be quite as fast as her, but I think I should be able to keep up and getting out is our current priority.'

”Don’t we all want for someone to flee,” Atleon muttered in response to the dragon’s words when he remember the many citizens that were still somewhere hiding away in their homes, too reluctant to leave their precious belongings behind and save their own lives. The prince briefly looked at Rorn at the mention of it being safer for him not to be on his own. That was probably a very true assumption, Atleon thought at the poor appearance of the man, though he did not pursue this train of thought any further. “He will be fine on his own, it might even be better for him,” Atleon stated as a means for reassurance for the man who now introduced himself as Armeno.

Following Armeno’s gaze, he took in his words, silently nodding along and stated: “I think the horse that could actually outrun a dragon has not yet been born.” At this, a small smile played around the corner of Atleon’s lips, while he suspiciously eyed the dragon, in particular its now lowered back, and tried not to let it show too much on his face that he was rather reluctant to even consider this option. However, they were running out of time, a thought that kept returning to the forefront alarmingly often, and this was probably the quickest solution. Finally, he nodded to the dragon: “I appreciate it.”

Before he could say more, a swooshing sound made him duck his head and swivel around to face the end of the street, which was pointing towards the centre of the city, his hand on the hilt of his sword. Luckily for him, he had instinctively reacted to the sound otherwise the arrow that was now clattering against the wall of a house would have struck him. “Move, move!” he bellowed and with that, immediately swung himself onto the waiting dragon’s back and hoped they would not be hit while they were fleeing this place.

» Tremors in the Earth....C1, Racksom (4th Board)
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» (C1, Racksom) Surnames in Surahnia (19th Board)
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» ~~The City of Thieves~~~ (7th Board)

C1 Racksom~~~~And then, there was War~~~~(5th Board)

C1 RacksomAnd then, there was War(5th Board)