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

Last edited by Zay on Wed Apr 20, 2011 2:06 pm; edited 5 times in total

Welcome to the next plot board in line, official number 5.
If you haven’t already done so you are strongly advised to read about our plot information and revise the roleplaying/plot specific rules before participating, all found under “Everything You Need to Know” On the main forum page.

***Note***
There will be NO posting order and replies are recommended to be somewhat short to keep a fast continual pace going, periods of absence can’t be accounted for and will mean likely that you miss a sizeable chunk of roleplay.
The only large posts are likely to occur in intros.

Short replies may be favoured, but poor quality is not. And as the rules will tell you, powerplay and godmoding are as ever, disallowed unless permission is given.

Back Story:
The people that the Surahnians enslaved on Dragons Cove were ordinary townfolk in the far south west of Dragons Cove, living out their peaceful lives in the thickly wooded region of Quinsilla, it’s neighbour Racksom one of the three major cities of the island lying east of it.
The people were given a two options, join Zartear’s army and become a traitor to your own nation, slay your own people…And never have to feel the callousness of punishment and helplessness, or else you could hold onto your allegiance and become a slave, from there on serving your conquerors, working endlessly to make the foundations of a “new kingdom”. While many of the residents became slaves, the legions that formed Zartear’s army were now no longer a uniform of black haired, white skinned thugs but now many other kinds of people, even races, though it didn’t need to be said that there was often an open elitism of the humans over the other races, another “value” instilled by the new King, and likewise, the Surahnian natives over the Dragons Cove people.

And Now:
After a mere month of respite, it then took another 10 days of tireless trekking for the army to go further east to the city of Racksom, then camping within reasonable distance of the city for a day to recuperate strength. But finally, the time has arrived.
Now the army of many classes of warrior is presented in front of the City, and the people inside the city anticipate the next movements by now very aware of the reality of their position. And today, Racksom will be given it’s own ultimatum…But there will be no time to decide.

Time: 11pm, slight clouding overhead, quite a warm summers night with a soft breeze.

Joiners:
-----------Zartear (Zay)
-----------Siofra + Atleon + Xaoc (Eldarwen)
-----------~~Deos~~ + ~~Vann~~ + Talos + Arasolra (Aero)
-----------Akira + Mizu + Kono (Lastinginthenight)
-----------Tegan + Lyrian + Mask (Tegan)
-----------Cato + Faust (Nyx)
-----------Lena + ~~Felren~~ + Lotharia (Taj)
-----------Silverwing + Sandy + Vitreasa (Monty)
-----------Static + Rilos (Rogue)
-----------Armeno + Rokam + Jaden + Kumiko (Artemis)
-----------~~Kevv + Xavien + Kayoss + Gorz~~ (Kevvx)
-----------Kagan (EchoingScreams)
-----------Measle + Jackdaww + Startling (StormKatz)

OOC| This intro is long-assedly long, don't be put off, all replies onward should be a /fraction/ of this length. Smile

The “New King”s face flashed a smile, as he sat comfortably in the saddle of his tall, proud grey horse, carrying it’s master forward, leading the way for the troops following suit. Zartear was pondering the best way to lay an attack upon the city, something he had been thinking about for a long while now, yet everytime the “direct” approach came back with the favour.
The walls may have been staunch and unmoving, but the wooden gates and their feeble keepers left much to be desired.

The army he now lead was assembled completely before the walls, there was no use even trying to hide an army of this size, not least because they had hardly made their presence on the isle a subtle one. Their march was a drone of metal with it’s own steady rhythm, beating out the new sound of a new mastery, Surahnians and converted Dragons Cove humans alike.
“Halt.” Zartear commanded, an echoing voice over the stretch of empty grassland that surrounded the walls of Racksom, the woodland territory not far behind them.
He could now see that Racksom had rallied it’s own pathetic display of makeshift defences, trenches that’d pass more for ploughed lines and men, boys…elderly, forming a rag-tag frontline. True, he couldn’t see that in Racksom it’s own power was rising as people had banded together to come to it’s aid, yet ultimately he thought…It would be no solace against /this/ force, because /this/ force was his. It was powerful, elegant and impossible to oppose, the forceful discipline seemed to have done wonders to the people.

The lines of infantry, archers and even magi and a few captive dragons came to a mechanical halt and the air fell heavily quiet. Zartear urged his horse forward close enough to be heard by whoever kept Racksom’s gates, and he reckoned authority would be there by now. And so, he began.
“Racksom! As your new rightful King, I am here to make you a proposal!...I’d advise that you listen.”
It was nighttime, there were pale clouds overhead and an eery glow of a shrouded moon behind them, the sound of wind passing through the low-growing bushes played loud against the pause, before Zartear resumed his shout.
“Surrender everyone of yourselves and all possessions to my rulership. Else, your whole people shall die.” It was both simple, and fair, he thought. His army agreed, cries of vigour and appraisal poured from the crowd destroying the nights peace in one roar, one mass of bloodthirst taunting the enemy, daring them to defy swords, spears, bows…and fire, as they struck up their torches, flames now blazing amongst them, smoke rising into the night sky.

“Cowards of Racksom! Have you seen your fate yet!?” Zartear thundered, the roll of his voice running through the ranks as they now tensed themselves ready to be let loose…
While Zartear waited for the response, he turned to a dragon to his left, guided by a somewhat skillful Dragon Rider, but it’s cargo was of particular importance.

Fastened to it’s back was a stake, and bound to that stake was Dragons Cove’s own Prince Atleon, here to witness the beauty of blood in it’s full glory.
Zartear nodded to the Prince with a vicious smile, then turning back to the full view of the city in front of him.
His for the taking, and so he waited for a reply, his speech may not have been all too diplomatic, but then again in Racksom’s case, beggars couldn’t be choosers.

The days that he had spent in Racksom had been stressful, to say the least. There was always a flow of people coming and going in this city which had obviously seen better days. When he arrived in Turich with a small band of humans, elves, dragons and various other creatures to fight for the cause, admittedly he hadn't been entirely prepared for what was coming. For some impossible reason, people were looking to him for guidance, even though he was as unsure as they were about this whole war thing. Apparently, he just hid it better than the average man.

Nobody knew how long they had until the Surahnians came marching up to their doorstep, and so preparations for the coming battle were both rushed and going on at an agonizingly slow pace in all areas of preparation. Weapons had to be quickly made, but there was only one blacksmith left in the entire city, so production numbers were low. Food was an issue as well. Thieves kept stealing their rations and the locals wouldn't donate supplies, so it was down to raiding abandoned houses for what they could find and begging extra crops from the farmers that lived outside the walls of the city. His force that was composed mostly of boys didn't know much about fighting either, so in the early hours of the morning before things got too busy he held an open training session so that they could learn the basics of swordplay. How to swing and dodge, parry and block. Guilt nagged at him every time he saw these untrained warriors mess up, because he knew that essentially he was leading them to their deaths against the unknown horror that was coming for them.

So, with a heavy heart, he worked alongside whoever would help him to build Racksom into a pathetically flimsy fortress of sorts. Finally, half a month after he had arrived in Racksom, the flames of war were present on the horizon. Zartear's army was formidable looking indeed, but he spent the entire night that the army camped outside their walls bolstering morale. The next night, the so-called King finally spoke.

Talos listened to his call for his forces to surrender from the ramparts, his hands forming into fists with every word the man spoke. Of course Zartear would come at night, when his vision was terrible, but that was a secret that had as of yet gone unnoticed by the general populous. After the speech had finished, Talos spread his wings and half jumped-half flew to a vantage point on the wall where both the men in the trenches and the oncoming army could hear him. "Racksom knows no king, invader!" He shouted back with all of his might, cupping his hands over his mouth to be heard better. "We of Dragons Cove are are free people, and we'll work to stay that way with all our might! Those who would have surrendered in cowardice have already left the city. You'll find only warriors with resolve in these walls! Our fate is our own, and we won't bend to every self-rightious fool with a sword that comes marching our way!" A daring speech, for he was only half-convinced of it, but her certainly made a good show of it, which was worth more than anything for morale's sake. There was a cheer from the ramparts at the end of his speech and some harsh words thrown at the invading army from the safety of the walls, but he wasn't paying much attention to them. Instead, he was squinting hard at the suspended figure riding on dragonback. He couldn't make out who or what it was, so assumed that it must have been a corpse that was being used to scare them into submission. A dirty tactic, but a possibly effective one.

Last edited by Artemis on Fri Dec 03, 2010 8:07 pm; edited 2 times in total

Armeno stared in shock at the huge army before him. Veloxpes skittered uneasily, and Armeno soothed him, stroking his flattened ears. Arabs were generally seen as bad war horses, but Armeno found Velox was just what he needed. The horse was put off by the vast army, however, and the clamour they created. He had arrived a few days previously by boat, and heard rumours of a huge war happening in a city to the North-East. He had hurried to the scene, and it seemed that though the rumours were correct, it was a one-sided battle. The defences of the city looked pathetic next to the army which stood ready to invade. He kicked Velox, and galloped closer to the city. He was definitely going to fight hard for the defenders- if they were the cause he preferred. If not, then the attackers would get his assistance. He was glad he had taken the precaution of putting on his armour before he arrived. He now looked around for somebody to ask about the two sides. However, he was distracted by the shouts from what he assumed were the leaders of the two sides. He rode over to the edge of the defences with his hands up, and called,
‘What are the causes of the two sides?’

Rokam had his eyes tightly closed, as did Jaden. The two dragons’ front paws were touching so as to maximise their power. They were both on the side of DDC, as they didn’t like the way Zartear had been enslaving dragons and they did like the way DC had been for years. The pair were now trying to get over their dislike of each other and use their powers for some good- by predicting what might happen in the hours to come. Rokam shuddered; he usually did not focus his powers so intently, even in his activities with Ellias. Jaden had been practicing and honing his abilities for about five centuries, and did not have this issue. He had done similar things before, though with less pressure. Finally, and perfectly simultaneously, the two dragons sagged. They then picked themselves up, looked grimly at each other, and hurried to deliver their results to Talos. They bowed their heads slightly in respect as they approached him, and Jaden spoke.
‘I’m afraid it’s bad news.’ Rokam nodded in agreement, and Jaden continued. ‘We saw just what we have all expected; many being killed by the Surahnians, some taken prisoner. Generally not good. But we did see some small triumphs, too; a couple of fairly important looking people in the rebels’ group did fall.’ Rokam looked at Jaden.
‘Remember that nothing we see is set in stone. Once I saw somebody losing half their gold to us; instead they doubled it. It is just one of the more likely possibilities that we see, it would be impossible to see them all. There are so many. Jaden gaped at the younger dragon.
‘Your rider must have been teaching you,’ he said. Rokam tossed his head proudly.
‘I have been around for well over a century, even if it’s much less than you still. It doesn’t mean I know nothing about being a card dragon.’ Jaden nodded his acknowledgement of this and turned back to Talos.
‘He is right, though he uses odd examples. We may be completely wrong. However, we may be right. It is the way our predictions work. And, of course, we can try and twist fate our way.’

Tegan sighed. So the time had finally come. The fight was upon Racksom at last. The elf opened her eyes hearing the two sides words, and looked to her dragon Lyrian. Her worry was washed away just slightly by the dark and determined look in Lyrian’s eyes. She knew that her dragon was ready. Tegan pulled her two swords out one at a time and checked them over. The elf was a dragon rider, and thus knew how to use her dragon’s magic and abilities for herself, but she was also skilled in swordsmanship, and could protect Lyrian from other riders on her sides. Another feat she was proud of was her ability to fly anywhere on Lyrian, which also helped to protect her beloved dragon, and best friend.

When they had arrived, these two had helped with what they could. Lyrian did as much as she could with hunting for food and cooking, while Tegan helped as much as possible with training. They also offered what they could of what they had with their travels. Which wasn’t all that much seeing as Tegan was more used to the meals of berries and such over meat that Lyrian liked, but she was getting used to the taste of dead animals.

“Ready?” she asked Lyrian, not bothering to use the mind link.

Lyrian’s great head nodded swiftly and Tegan leapt onto her dragon’s back. She checked the bags of things she did have that were strapped to Lyrian’s saddle, taking a deep breath she urged her dragon to take off. They weren’t going to head into the fight just yet, rather they were air support, and were going to stay back for now. Till the fight started at least, but Tegan wanted to see. Her eyes scanned the army in front of the city and her heart dropped. Lyrian caught sight of the dragon that Tegan was staring at and they reeled back towards where Tegan saw Talos in the air.

“Talos,” Tegan said as Lyrian kept close enough were the wind under her wings wouldn’t cause a problem for the anvian. “Do you see the dragon Zartear has? The person on the stake, it’s Prince Atleon!”

Lyrian’s lips drew back as Tegan spoke, but then she picked up a thought from Tegan. When they were back in Turich, Avian’s can’t see well in the dark. Lyrian shut her eyes for a moment, then turned her head to look at the prince on the stake on the dragon’s back, her sight being given to the avian as well. He’s be able to, if he so accepted the sight from her, see everything through a dragon’s eyes. Of course, she could only offer the magic, he had to take it.

A sigh was drawn from Lena as she leaned against the wooden supports of the flimsy defense for the stone wall guarding Racksom. Her bow was loosely drawn as she looked over the huge army that was Zartear's. Of course she just HAD to involve herself in this whole mess when she heard Talos was leading an army of untrained civilians. Her life had been far simpler before Talos had entered it. Not only was she nearly killed by his sister's dragon, wrapped up in his families personal war, and now wrapped up in this war...she was the mother to his child and his wife. Why? She could only ever think Talos must have drugged her at some point to get her to agree to the whole thing. She smiled to herself and could only wish she would have been sane enough for that to be true.

But...she couldn't leave the poor fool to die on the battle field while she was at home taking care of their one year old daughter, Oirana. With many nights of arguing with Talos, she finally sorta convinced him to 'allow' her to assist him. She left Oriana with her sister-in-law, Mai and left them. Even if he had tried to make her stay home, she would have slipped out and trailed him here anyway. That was just the kind of person Lena was; her hand always itched for a new fight whether it be with Talos or on the field.

As Talos made his declaration of what she supposed would bring on war, Lena tightened her hold on her bow as she looked back out at the ever expansive army. Humans, and elves Lena believed she could handle but when it came to magic users and dragons fear crept into her stomach. To dabble in the art of magic took years of training but it all was worth it when one could fry an enemy with a bolt of lightening or curse someone to death.

Lena's attention was brought back to Talos as a dragon and its rider approached him. "Prince Atleon..." She knew the man, traveled with him not long ago. Her heart went out to him. He had a strong soul and a worriors pride but to do this to him was just beyond cruel. This wasn't going to be easy...She thought the obvious statement to herself as she notched her bow.

Kagan began tapping the dagger in his hand, blowing out a puff of smoke in frustration. Of course there would be verbal warefare at first, it was almost a rule to war, but couldn't they speed up? Some of the people standing around were getting a llittle bored, and some were almost out of their grass. Kagan felt around in the sack at hs side, frowning as his hand came out with only a few brown, dried-out leaves. He stuffed them grumpily into his pipe and lighted them on a nearby torch, inhaling deeply then blowing out. It would come soon enough.

Kagan was soon pushed to the side by a large, burly man in chain link armour, the metal having been polished meticulously and was shining magnificently. Strapped to his back was a rather large katzbalger, with a sheath nlaid with semi-precious stone. Hoo boy, Kagan thought dissaprovingly. what's he supposed to be? The hero from his village? Pathetic. The man looked back at Kagan then laughed, pointing. "And what's this supposed to be? Someone's pet?" The man began laughing again, which was beggining to get on Kagan's nerves. "Ah, yer a funny guy then?" Kagan said, looking up at him. "Well then, git a look at this!" Kagan held up his dager proudly, at which the man once again laughed." "That? A weapon? Hah, more of a toothpick, I think!" Amidst the laughing from all around him now, Kagan looked around at all of the men then at his dagger. "Well, maybe not this." Kagan muttered. He flipped it in his hand, then smiled. "How about now?"

In a flash, Kagan was now standing much closer to the man, blade to th man's throat. But not a dagger, now it was a large battle axe, the only thing similar to the dagger being the handle's style. The laughter was silenced quickly, and soon Kagan had much more elbow room than before. And now, all he had to do was wait for the first strike. Hopefully his grass would last that long.

Kono had been hovering around and in the city for many weeks now. He had gone north to retrieve some armor, he knew a battle was coming and though a dragon may be powerful they weren't invincible. But this night he could feel the tension in the air as he flew to the top of the tower that held the stone. The recruits for the army were lined up along the battlements and he thought he saw a faint line of the opposing army outside the wall. He leaped off his perch to glide closer so he could hear what was going on and after the man atop the battlements had made his speech he let out a deafening roar and spread his wings to emphasize the man’s point. His large size was threatening and he hoped that would give the opposing soldiers pause. Enough, he hoped, to make a difference.

Akira walked up next to Zartear, Mizu close behind her, "My lord." She greeted formally "We could fly over and surprise them from the inside if that pleases you. What would you have me do?" She offered her eyes cold and blank, a stiffness in her stance. It could easily be mistaken as cocky confidence, but only her constant companion knew it was merely her trying to control herself. She stood there with her blades drawn looking on as the enemy defied her king.

Mizu merely swung his tail lazily watching with a smirk as a few of Zartear's men had to step back to avoid his bladed tail. He crossed his arms and snorted as the soldiers on the battlements hollered and jeered at the army before them. Most of these men were going to their deaths, they had nothing to cheer about and yet they did. Stupid, every last one of them.

Guest

It had been days of walking, a bit of teleporting, and perhaps some flying even. Though Kevv seemed to have journeyed a long way. Still not finding any of the Guardians or rulers this planet held. Her getting to grow a bit unsure about even finding... anything of it in all honesty. Kevv knew she had to keep loking though. This planet had soem kind of authority to it, such was obvious to her. The elements seemed to have someone to answer to here. Thus her hope wasn't lost yet. Plus the journeying had been a gift to her in truth, to be able to see so much. This planet had a big variety of creatures to see and speak to, their mindsets every whichway. Kevv preferred this to her own planet somewhat... the variety was jsut interesting.

Here today though she frowned as she approached what she knew was another city. But her soul and heart ebgan to feel pain. Lots of pain and suffering... sadness, tension, fear, anger.... and coldness. She could smell the heat of battle seeming to approach too. She could feel suffering of ehr own kind... "What is going on here?" She muttered. She didnt like it, the feelnigs of the others brought tears to her eyes. But she held herself steady, drawing her elegent robe around her a bit. Shouldering her staff and walking forward simply. She moved her scope of vision slightly though.... she could feel two sides to this. Was there a fight coming? What had she walked into? "I had wanted to find peace..." she said softly. Seeing it clearly... seeing two sides. Kevv was off to the side of both however. She did not know who was good, or who was vile. Well not yet anyway.

Kevvs' gaze swept over the field... But she heard a booming voice ebfore long, which made her mind snap to who was good and who was vile pretty quickly. Seeing a being of Royalty, on a dragon it seemed. The dragon did not seem itself either... eeling pain and sadness within it, and a horrible submissiveness. "What has he done?" She muttered... her soft eyes upset and saddened by the sight of it. She Twitched ehr tail a bit, angered by these seeming unreasonable actions. But KEvv was not a fool. She was not about to go starting some massive magical show here. These beigns had no idea who or what she was at all. She kept her tail tucked in the cloak around ehr, keeping her face hiden best she could. Kevv didn't want to do anything unreasonable herself. She did not like all this negative feeling around ehr though. Kevv was not eager to join a battle or takes sides i nthe elast. But... this was insane! This did not have to happen. Who was the royalty on that enslaved dragon? He would likely answer alot for her but... getting him out of that imprisonment was out of the question for the moment. What about that human seeming to command this? She tilted her head, watching him a bit. Not for too long though. KEvv sighed... perhaps she could get into the city from there?

Kevv was not too sure if standing where she was would be too wise. She wa ssure she would stand out a bit to most... her elegent fashoins and her body shape itself different then any other she had encountered so far. Well She would try to get into the city. But Kevv was not warping for awhile, she had just done such, and she did not want to exhaust herself. Though it seemed she would ahve to pass this opposing army to get in there. Well... why not have a chance at it? If they proved to get too.... bothersome.. Kevv would give them a good reason to let her be. They hardly seemed prepared for the kinds of tactics Kevv would sue in any kind of combat. She smirked a bit, imaginin locking that Leader in a vortex of Frostfire.... But she would not. She wanted to remain neutral. Thus.. Kevv began to walk. A bit to the side of the dark army.... However her ears flicked beneath her hoood. She was very sure one of them at least was going to see ehr, probably a good few of them. Hoping no one too haughty did though. She got a bad feeling though that leader wasn't going to leave her unnoticed....

Cato sat astride Argento the black Freisian stallion pawing at the ground. His massive hoof sending up clods of dirt as his need to be moving make a hole grow under his hoof. With a toss of his head Cato pats the horses' neck to get him to calm donw. Cato keeps an eye on the top of the pathetic looking walls. Behind him he could hear the achers moving around, they where just a tence as his horse was. Wooden arrows rattle in the quivers as they shift from one foot to another. He looks over his shoulder and all go silent.

Cato was "King" Zartear's Bow Master, so he was in charge of all the archers within the army. Earlier that day he had inspected them and their weapons to make sure he would not be at fault in any way for Zartear's plans not to go right. Flexing his hand he pulls a vile from his belt and downs the dragon's blood that was in it. Tossing the bottle into a saddle bag he listens to Zartear calling out to the unfortunate souls of the city.

Faust had been watching for a while now sitting in the shadows of a large oak tree just behind the invading army. He clicks his beak together in agitation. He had seen many things in his lifetime here on the island, and this was one of the worst things he had to witness. His black feathers give off a blue and purple irredecent shine as he shifts on his perch. Sighing he sits and listen's to Zartear should out his demands on the barely fortified city. There will be little survivors in this fight. Faust knew he could do noting to help them. HE had always kept himself deteatched from the major events on the islands history.

With a mutter he hops to another branch his long feathered tail floating behind him. Getting a higher perch he steps slowly to the end of the branch and with a powerful stroke of his wings he takes to the air. WHat those on the ground think they see when the spot himin the sky he didn't know or care. He knew what he was. A rare phoenix of black feathers not the fiery red like the rest of his kin. At lest what was left of his kin, most have left the island a long time ago, leaving him to watch the histories of this place.

Sometimes, she was still wondering what she was doing, especially when she was waiting for things to take their path, like now. While Zartear was spinning a yarn about how he was going to take over all of Dragon’s Cove and imposed himself as their new king, she let her thoughts return to the last couple of days, weeks actually. Everything had been very hectic, despite the fact that Zartear knew very well what he was going to do and had it all planned out perfectly. Yet, people had to be prepared, armed with weapons and other gear and organised into different groups according to their skills with various weapons. The half-elf had tried to keep out of most of it as much as possible, focusing only on her own goal and not being mislead by her new leader’s glorious words. He did have a way of lulling people in, she had to give him that, and he knew skill when he saw it. Despite their instant dislike for each other, he could not deny that she was an asset to his army with her deadly aim, but since she refused to take on a position of absolute power, she was now in line behind Cato. She had given the latter a hand here and there while he had spent his time inspecting his part of the army, but she had done so halfheartedly only.

However, as soon as the people of Racksom put forth their leader, Siofra looked up. There were a few faces in the ranks she had seen before, though none she knew closely. Just as well, she thought. It might put her in a different position if she had to fight against people she knew and had maybe appreciated so early on. Because this she knew, this was only the first step of many more to come, no matter what the people of Dragon’s Cove were telling them. It was not going to end tonight, or tomorrow. Nor any time soon.

As the bowmen behind her began fidgeting even more, she moved up closer to Cato, Shetan trying to bite Argento playfully. “They’re eager, that’s good,” she faintly commented when the Bow Master silenced his men with only one severe glance back over his shoulder. “Hopefully they will know how to handle their nerves however.” As she let her gaze sway over the countless people in front of her, all of which seemed eager for the battle to begin, her eyes fell on Zartear and the girl standing next to him. Her and her dragon were somewhat suspicious to Siofra and she did not trust the girl further than she could throw her. However, neither Akira, nor Mizu had ever done anything to raise her suspicions; it was just a gut feeling, which she usually trusted as much as her instincts and senses. Siofra pulled up the hood of her cloak, hiding her face in its shadow completely and carefully selected an arrow from her quiver, only by touch. Said arrow and her bow were resting on the front of her saddle. There was not the slightest hint of trembling fingers or any other of the typical signs for excitement, because in fact, she wasn’t. In an odd way, she felt like a predator, biding her time or the right moment to strike, and that moment was near.

Rilos stood surrounded by a large group of humans, behind the walls of the city. It wasn’t the best place for a dragon of his size to be placed, but he figured it would do- The enemy troops hadn’t seen him yet, so when the battle really started, he might be a bit more of an asset. And there was no point in taking up a better spot when he was likely to fly anyway. He looked around him at the shorter humans, surprised at how many there actually were. It was obvious they felt strongly opposed to being enslaved by Zartear.

To his left, there was movement amongst the humans, and some pressed closer around him where the humans had moved back to form a space around what looked to be a goblin, his characteristic green flesh marking him amongst the paler humans. He was making a fuss, but looked to be interesting enough. Rilos made his way towards the goblin, sliding his way through the massed troops behind the walls of the city. He towered over the much smaller two-legged, snaking his head down to speak to him.
“Hey, chill. Don’t make a fuss before you’ve gotta, if you want to fight, I’m sure you’ll get the chance soon enough.” Rilos blinked and drew his head away slightly, the smoke from the goblin’s pipe stinging his eyes.

Static slinked at the back of the army, down a long street that was less crowded than the larger open spaces near the walls of the city. She wasn’t feeling good about this stand-it was futile really, seeing what Zartear had done to Quinsilla. She could see the tacticians talking further ahead, but couldn’t hear their words over the distance and the noises of the waiting army.

Tamarisk shifted uneasily beneath her, uncomfortable with being hemmed in by so many other people. His rider could empathise with the horse, feeling equally crushed. There was no way out of this now, Racksom was soon to be taken- in her view- and that was never good when you were on the wrong side of the walls.

OOC| Commence chaos!

Zartear cocked a brow with interest at the returned yell of Racksom's supposed leader...For an avian, he knew how to sell a speech to the damned inside the walls.
Self righteous fool eh?
Before he was just about to say his final words the young girl, Akira...And her sword dragon were there...A plan to sneak in? If truth be told Zartear had little faith in the possibility of this working...but perhaps this could prove whether she was worth anything at all.
Not even looking to her he casually responded;
"If that's what you wish then, you can try...maybe finally that dragon of yours will be put to some use."

Returning his attention to the avian he sneered then turned to the sea of expectant men behind him.
"Do you see that my people? The leader of Racksom is a mere squawking bird, none of you have anything to fear of these people under the power of such an infant." Raising his sword to the air he replied, finally.

"In that case Racksom I promise you this, all of you shall be burned or put to the sword, prepare to meet your maker!" He hollered back, the captains among the army now mobilizing the troops toward the wall, some splitting off to othersides.
Zartear purred to himself, riding the horse forward alongside the tied Prince.
"Promise me you'll enjoy the show Atleon?"

And with every second the grinding of metal and weapons flooded closer to the walls, torches ready to burn the gates down, others with ladders among teams of them. Anything larger would have been wasted energy. An effortless victory was about to be seized.

As Talos stood on the wall waiting for Zartear's reply to his bold challenge with bow in hand, he heard the dry rustle of scaled behind him, quickly followed by a voice that didn't sound all too happy. He turned toward the origins of the voices, seeing only two white figures in the gloom of night that stood out painfully bright against the dark stone of Racksom's walls. He knew the two to be Card dragons, having seen the pair during the days when he worked with his fellow soldiers to make some sort of a barrier. He frowned at their report, running his fingers blindly over the smooth curve of his bow. "I see. It is good that you came to me first." He looked over his shoulder where he knew the invading army to be, then back at the white blobs standing before him. "Keep the bad news to yourself, if you can. It might feel like lying, not letting these people know what you've seen, but telling them will only stir their nerve. We're against impossible odds, it doesn't take a fortune teller to see that, but the hearts of men are easily swayed. Nudge them in the right direction, and they can do incredible things." His voice was soft as he spoke, but not unkind. He didn't want anyone else overhearing their conversation and loosing nerve. "If you want, you can tell them about the upsets on the other side however. That will certainly bolster morale a little bit. I hope your fate twisting skills will work for us."

He heard the approaching dragon before he saw it, and turned just in time to see a dark shape descend from the air, hovering near by. If he squinted, he could make out a figure on dragon back, and raked his memory to try and remember the pair. They had come with him from Turich, right? It was hard when you couldn't see properly... Oh right, Lyrian and Tegan, that had to be them, he recognized the voice. His heart dropped at their news, and even though he couldn't make out the figure on dragonback, his eyes snapped to the dark form on the ground far below. So, this is why the Prince hadn't been here to rally the men? That certainly made things a touch more complicated. Then, something invaded his head, like a slippery worm digging in through him. It didn't hurt, but wasn't entirely comfortable, either. He blinked once and almost lost his balance, his vision suddenly clear upon opening his eyes again. He couldn't see as well with this sudden magical vision as his natural sight during the day, but it was much much better than the squinting mess he was reduced to at night. Looking up at Lyrian, he could clearly see the dragon peering at him and nodded. "Thank you good dragon." He shouted up at the creature to be heard over it's wing beats. He wasn't in possession of any psychic ability himself, and so didn't understand the concept that all he needed was to think his thanks for the dragon to hear him.

Looking back to the field with his new vision, he could now clearly see the ragged man tied down to the post, though he did not recognize him. He had never met the man in person, and so had no expectations of actually having some epiphany that it was the Prince. The man certainly looked in a sorry state, and he decided right then and there that somehow, someway, he needed to get the Prince down from there and on the inside of the protective walls of Racksom. Zartear was using a dirty trick indeed, for he could tell even from here that the man was still alive, marked by his shallow breathing. For the people of Dragons Cove, the Prince was usually a figure head, but one that kept them safe from danger. To see him in such a sorry state... Yes, he needed to be rescued immediately. Again, the call of the enemy leader could be heard over the general noise of the battle field, and Talos listened intently to his words. Same old threats, he mused, and turned to his own gathered forces.

"People of Dragons Cove!" He shouted over the milling nervous crowd below. "Before you stand your would-be new King! If you love your freedom, your city, your friends, family or value your life in any way, then we must stand and fight! Fight for what you believe in! Fight for your life!" Talos thrust his bow in the air, and was met with a resounding cheer and a similar motion from the half-trained boys he called troops. "Archers, ready your weapons! We keep them away from the walls as long as possible!" Everything was moving so quickly now, and he knew that he didn't have much time to be giving coherent commands. To the two card dragons he said; "You two, bolster the front gate. If they take that, then all hope will be lost for us inside." Turning quickly toward the oncoming army, he raised his bow and searched the skies for the flying duo. "Tegan! Lyrian! If you spot an opening in the battle, try and rescue the Prince! But only if you can manage it without dying! And you!" This he directed at the lone horseman on the ground, who he had heard earlier, but hadn't had the time to comprehend his question until that second. "If you like Dragons Cove as it is, then you'd best go defend the gates of Racksom with the others. That tyrant is bent on enslaving us all." Practically growling the word "tyrant", Talos drew his bow to full weight. "Draw!" He yelled to the archers lining the walls. "Aim high and far!" He waited for a few seconds until most of the rustling of arrows stopped. "Let fly!" The black bolts lept away from their bows in a cloud of hissing wood, arching toward the enemy army in an untrained mass. Hopefully, they would at least get rid of a few of the front line men.

((Footnote: Please please PLEASE do not feel like you need to make a massive post like this!! Talos simply had to talk to a gazillion people, hence the length ;D Thank you!))

Last edited by Artemis on Fri Dec 03, 2010 8:07 pm; edited 1 time in total

Rokam and Jaden inclined their heads, then hurried to the front gates. Their pale yellow legs flashed as they pushed themselves to travel faster, and they drew up in a small cloud of dust by the gates.
‘We have some small good news,’ began Jaden to the nearest members of DDC. ‘We have seen some fairly important looking members of the rebels fall in the battle to come, when we tried to predict some of the outcome.’ Rokam nodded quickly.
‘Talos has requested that we reinforce and defend the main gates. If they fall, then that will be a big blow. They’re a weakness in our defence.’ With that, the two dragons stood by the gates, half supervising the humans reinforcing the huge gates, half trying to prepare for twisting fate once the battle began. Just before the gates were sealed irreversibly for the battle, they slid outside so they could see how to attempt to change the way of fortune.

Armeno frowned. The avian would of course promote his own cause, but generally invaders had little reason. He scanned the ranks of the defenders, seeing several dragons working to protect the city. In the vast army that advanced, many of the dragons he saw looked miserable and unwilling. Making a sharp, impulsive decision, he drew Levitas. The smooth snick of the blade leaving its sheath excited Veloxpes; the horse had heard the noise many times before and knew what it meant. He pranced forwards a little, and Armeno gave him a quick tap on the sides. The wound-up horse shot forwards, and Armeno ended up near the front of the city’s defenders. He twirled Levitas, the sword lighter in his hand than any human’s. His strength, speed and reflexes were above those of shorter-lived beings, though not massively so. His muscles all tensed in that well-known battle suspense. His only basis for risking his life was that dragons tended to make good decisions, and he respected them. He wasn’t very old at all for an elf, but humans of his age were rare and senile. Perhaps he was acting a little like a human of this age now; this was probably not his most sensible decision ever.

Lena couldn't help the swell of pride that welled up within her for Talos. She had known of his fighting skills, having been his partner for some time now, but never his leadership skills. His speech was inspiring and seemed to rally the people, even if they had little chance of survival. A good leader indeed, not that she would ever tell it to his face. As much as she wanted to fight by his side, this was currently not the time. Lena would have to be content in her station as archer until the full battle was upon them.

Lena looked confused as Talos stumbled back as he spoke to the dragon but he then regained his senses. She had only wished she could hear what they were talking about, but it would have to wait. At Talos' command, Lena drew back her bow and released several shots into the night. She watched as a number of opposing men fell dead on the spot but knew that wouldn't be nearly enough as the rest of the advancing army came upon them.

Lena stood up from her post to get a better angle to shoot at and prepared to jump down in case and when they broke through the gates. She knew it would happen and it was only a matter of time.

Cato nods as he gives Siofra a glance as he horse nips at his. The Freisian dances more beneith him. "Nerves are good keeps them moving and on alert. It is the calm ones I am worried about. They could break and try and run once this all begins." With the signal from Zartear Cato's archer fan out around the walls and begin to fire on the opposing archers. Picking them off the walls little by little to keep their forces from being pick off themselves. Cato sat behind his line of archers his bow on his lap, two large quives full of arrow on each side of his saddle. Closing his eye he opens them again, they were no lornger human but reptilian giving him a differnt way to see into the night. Almost like wearing night vision goggles, he saw nothing but various chades of green and blacks. He had no depth preception but he didnt need it when he grabs an arrow fits it to the string. Pulling it back letting the fletching tickle the corner of his lip he lets the cord go with a deep thwack. He could hear the buzzing of not only his arrow but many arrow flying into the night. Like a bunch of angery bees desturbed from their nest they seek out those to sting.

Faust lifts higher into the air as he sences the arrows disturbing the air. Weighing the possible outcomes in his mind he sees there would be no hope for thise within Racksom if he didn't help in some way. Tucking his wings to his sides he dives down at the advancing army below him. He may regrat it later aspecially if he would be captured. With a groan he feels the wind tug at his feathers as he dives. With a ear peircing screech his body catches alight with black flames. The flames where traced with dark blue and purple like his feathers. OPening his wings he flies just above head level.

Akira nods ignoring Mizu's angry growl at being called useless, and ushered him away hopping onto his back and take off just as the army charged towards the walls. He flapped his wings soaring high into the air above the clouds until they were well over the walled city of Racksom. Quietly they drop from the sky ignoring the great tower in the cities center and landed behind the rear lines of the force. These were the soldiers that were to wait for their orders. They were no archers, were any of them much of a challenge. Akira approached them with a forced smile, a rare glimpse of excitement in her eyes. Many of the soldiers ignored her at first, thinking she was one of them. That was until they started dropping around her. She did not care that the men screamed or drew attention to the forces already within Racksom's flimsy walls, she had started there was no way she was going to be able to hide the blood on her hands anyway.

Mizu pursed his lips as they landed tucking his wings tight against his back. He let out a stream of flame before coming at the men with his tail in hand. "Do you think they've noticed our presence?" He asked grunting as he sliced off one of the soldier’s heads, and backed up stand back to back with Akira.

Akira grunted, "They would be more foolish than I thought they were if they haven't." as she stabbed one guy through his chest before kicking his bleeding form away.

Kono growled with the rest of the soldiers as the fighting started but he took a different approach. He jumped over the wall on top of a group of the invading army, who had been carrying a ladder and some torches, then spat flame into the mass of the opposing forces. He couldn't stand in one spot for long though, he wouldn't put it past these men to try and climb up his legs, if not slice through his leather armor. He spread his wings and rose again to move on to a different location along the wall though he made sure never to keep his wings open for long so they did not get stuck with arrows, though he couldn't stop a few from piercing the membrane anyway. The small arrows didn't down him, but they stung none the less.

Tegan nodded to her orders, rubbing Lyrian’s scales as they got them. So it would seem they would have a very interesting task ahead of them. To rescue the one protected by the invading army’s leader… Now that was going to be hard. Especially being that it was Zartear, and they knew the rumors and darkness that surrounded that man well. Still, this task had to be done by someone right? Tegan glanced in the direction of the prince, trying to figure out the best way to get him and the captured dragon free. Seemed they were protected by more than just Zartear. Wonderful.

“We shall do our best,” Tegan said, hiding the slight bit of uncertainty well from her voice. “Ok, Lyrian, time to go…”

With an increase in the speed of Lyrian’s wings, they headed higher into the skys, trying to go completely out of sight of anyone around, but something out of the corner of her eye and Lyrian’s head swung in time to see another rider and dragon heading towards the back lines of Racksom. So they did have other riders on their side. Lyrian let out a roar that echoed through the clouds like thunder and dove hard and fast towards the other rider. Her scales were dull in the darkness.

“Lyrian, wrong way!” Tegan said, then she too saw the pair, slicing through other men of the army, the ones in reserve. “Damnit!” Tegan said darkly as she watched them. “Nice call Lyrian.”

Lyrian got closer to the two and as she did she spit out a jet of hot blue flame aimed at them. This was followed by a large growl that erupted into a roar. Tegan stood on the back of the saddle, her twin blades were held at the ready. Her eyes were on the young girl that appeared to be the rider of the dragon, while Lyrian was more concerned with the dragon. A blade dragon was very dangerous, in the air or on the ground.

“Hey girly!” Tegan yelled. “Get your butt out of this army and go back to your sorry excuse of a leader!”

Guest

Kevv could feel it, smell it, taste it..... hatred, fear, agony, BATTLE! Her eyes widened, hearing arrows. She quickly moved her staff from her shoulder to at her ready, a strange golden bubble wrapping around her. Projectiles like Arrows and knives would be useless. She could only stop one thing at a time(Projectiles, magics,physical), but well, this would do for the moment. She warped away from the middle of things, behind the oens who seemed to be defendnig this city. Obvserving quickly... should she really? She didn't come here for battle. She didnt coem ehre to shed blood at all. Kevv had only came ehre for a very peaceful mission and union. Then this happens. It was utterly dissapointnig. How should she handle it? Well she was not about to just warp away from there. Simply seeing the agony the ones across the field were forcing upon the ones here, let alone some of their own over there, like that dragon holding the human on the stake. Kevv was not going to tolerate this. She perhaps thought she could make some headway with wo was causing it though. If not then she supposed she was actually going to need to help these poor beings.

"I came to just make a good peace and union with the dragons here, and to help their existance along as mine was.... Yet this....." She shook her head a bit. Her mind opened rather, Kevv not fearing attack to it really. It would take someone likely far stronger of will to actually damage her at her mind then what this battlefield held. Her mind sought and searched. Who all was in charge here? Her mind found one, for sure. Wel he seemed to head this entire charade in all honesty. Kevv did not look far in however. She did not want to chance him seeing even a minuscule of what she was without dire punishment to his brain. Thus.... she didnt delve into his own. Yet.

Kevv of course had found the twisted mind of Zartear. Though her mind did not stop there. She linked to others as well, going to give these beings a fair chance to flee, before they bit off way more then they could chew. No one here really had seen Kevv fight and she knew it. None had seen the expanse of magic and strength her body could exhude. One had seen a very limited portion of such, but the demon was not here that she could see. Kevv did NOT want to show her abilities and such on this planet at all. But if it seemed that she must.... then it was going to happen. Her mind quickly sought two others there. One who seemed named Cato... and another, who seemed named Siofra. This Siofra seemed almost familar... had she met another who Kevv had met before? She pushed that little thought from her mind. Her floating up to a tower, to see thigns better from the Town walls.

She considered for a second... what to say to these beigns? She knew her words could make many outcomes. Though she was sure ready for anything now, her adrenaline beginning to flow heavily. Rather she opened communication suddenly. Her voice light, but dire. Definently giving them as true a warning as Tuesday was a day. ~Flee! Youre all making a dire mistake.... it shall bring you a horrid misfortune, if it continues!~ She told the three softly. Her sounding almost shy in mind.... She withdrew her presence slightly, but left them a chance to respond. Hoping they were idiotic enough to try assaulting ehr mind either....

Returning Cato's glance, Siofra wondered whether it had been a side-comment to the fact that she herself was not nervous and just quietly sat astride her horse as if they were simply going for a grouped walk, but she quickly dismissed the thought. She did not care anyway. The battle was on hand and that was all that counted for now. Almost casually, she picked up the arrow she had only moments before laid across the saddle in front of her and slowly twisted it in her fingers. She had not decided on her target yet. With her left hand, she ever so slowly picked up her bow and held it at the ready, before she let her eyes glide over Zartear's enemies once more. Her target would be the archers, the ones that were now the most dangerous to her side of the battle, and maybe shower a few dragons with arrows, though that would be a waste of ammunition. Scales were fairly arrow resistant, every child knew that.

As her eyes were sliding over the walls of Racksom, lined with people ready to fight for what they believed in, for their lives, their families and everything else they held dear, she wondered what most people on Zartear's side were fighting for. Dominion? Revenge? To protect their own loved ones? Or was it simply the desire for war that edged them onwards? All around her, Cato's archers were shooting arrow after arrow, regularly hitting targets, but they were not good enough in her opinion. It was a shame to call them bowmen, yet she kept her mouth shut. It was not her place to criticise them.

Amidst all those thoughts, she did not even realise that a presence was seeking out her mind, its power ever so distant and powerful that it remained undetected. The half-elf had other things on her mind. She had found a target. A girl with wings, fiercely shooting arrows as if her life depended on it. She rather was a good shot, the half-elf noticed, as several men fell under her aim. Siofra grinned. But is her aim as deadly and precise as mine? And with that she nocked her arrow and shot it towards the girl's right arm in one swift, barely visible movement. It would not kill her but it would render her useless. Siofra had finally joined the fight.

Atleon was in pain, not only physically but emotionally. Watching Zartear attack Racksom and being completely helpless in this degrading position made him want to cry out. Yet despite himself, he had to admit that this had been a smart move. The people of Racksom would certainly be shocked to their very core seeing him strapped to a pole like this in a situation there seemed to be no way out of, and at the same time it was fuel for his own army, giving them the strength they needed not to flee or give up their fight. Tactically speaking... it was almost genius.

"You will pay for this Zartear!" Atleon growled at the latter. "Even though you might not suffer for it under my own blade, you will suffer. You can take my word for it." He did not pay much attention to Zartear however, knowing that the dark leader would not return the favour anyway. Instead, the prince watched Akira and Mizu fly off to attack the defenders from above, which was not a pretty sight. They had taken out too many people already before a defending dragon came diving down to interfere. He did not understand the girl and her dragon, he had tried but failed miserably. They were fighting for Zartear, yet the dragon had helped relieve his pain a little down in the Surselea. The leader of the rebellion had been quite surprised seeing Atleon still in such good shape when he had come back hours later to check on his prime torture victim and had taken it out on Atleon but that was the only time they had even looked at Atleon, and now they were fighting Zartear's fight like they had never had any doubts about being on the right side. Shaking his head, he refocused on the ongoing battle.

Arrows from both sides were hitting targets all around him, men falling into bleeding heaps, whether they were all dead or not, they had already reached the end of their fight only minutes into the battle. How Atleon hated war, always had, always will, even though he was well known for his strategic ideas. It was painful to watch, even more so because he could not do anything to help the defenders of Dragon's Cove. He could only hope they would not do anything foolish like try and rescue him, but he was sure that Talos, their seemingly appointed leader - he had heard of this spokesman before, if only vaguely - would do the right thing and keep the defenders allied and ready to give their best.

Kagan was just getting to enjoy his newlyfound elbow room when, joy, a dragon shows up to teach him about manners. "Keh, And what do you know?" He asked grumpily, puffing a cloud into the dragon's face. "You 'aven't been called a pet, have ya?" He smiled at the dragons reaction to his smoke for a moment, then turned it into an innocent frown before the dragon got a chance to see his enjoyment. Of course, he really shouldn't taunt a dragon: There wasn't enough room for him to fight properly, plus there wasn't the time. The crowd was now rippling, the men and women all raring to go and fight for their freedom after hearing the avian shout at Cartears, or whatever his name is. Kagan felt his ears buzz in anticipation, and he looked up at the dragon for a moment and smiled. "Oi, what say we fight together? Nuthin' like fighting atop a dragon to make a fight a fight? What do ya say, buddy?" Of course, Kagan knew the answer was no: But a goblin could dream, couldn't he?

Lena shot arrow after arrow, taking down several people around the wall and herself. She was trying hard not to let anyone or thing cross this wall and she was doing a damn good job if she had to say so herself. That was until an arrow came whizzing straight for her on her right side. Lena only saw the arrow at the very last second and the best she could hope for was to dodge a complete hit. The arrow grazed her right arm leaving a deep tare in her skin. Lena had let out a startled cry and took a couple steps back to find the source of who was shooting at her. For the time being, Lena took a few moments to rip the bottom of her pants to use the material as a bandage.

"Damn damn damn..." Lena mumbled as she tied the bandage off and stood to look for her shooter once more. As she scanned the field and found a particularly annoying looking girl sitting on a horse with her bow drawn tight. "So there you are, you don't have bad aim what so ever." Lena grinned as she drew her own bow, aiming straight for the girl. She winced at the new pain in her arm but quickly put it to the back of her mind. As she was about to release the arrow two or three men advanced upon the wall and Lena's glance flickered over them. She snorted in a very unlady like fashion before turning her bow on them and picking them off one at a time. "You will have to wait a moment while I take these nobody's out." Lena apologized to herself really that she couldn't attempted to take revenge on the girl quiet yet.

“Hey, just cool it won’t you?” Rilos pulled his head back further from the smoking goblin, disgust wrinkled on his face. He gave a dry cough, and a small spit of flame leapt from his lips. Fire, yes, smoke, no. He ignored the goblin for a moment as the crowds around them started to ripple with excitement- Something must have changed. He looked to the walls of the city, where the archers who had been still were now firing off round after round of arrows. So, it had started.

He looked back down at the goblin, who seemed to have had a change of heart- He was offering for them to fight together? Well, that was different, but why not, they were both strange creatures in a strange war. Snaking his head back down to the goblin, his eyes glinted with anticipation.
“Why not? You may be a foul smoking goblin, but if you’ve got my back, I’ll get yours.” He grinned. “You’ll have to be ready for air combat though, I was going to take some of those invaders out from the sky. Y’ever ridden dragonback before?”

Action seemed to erupt from around Static all in a sudden, and Tamarisk reared from the sudden change. Static didn’t mind- it gave her a different shot of battle, one over the humans around her. Flame erupted from a dragon to her left, then fighting broke out. Tamarisk’s hooves hit the cobbled road, and her vision was lost. So, one of the enemy had got into the city then? And looked like they were making heavy damage this side of the wall too. Shouts came from where the dragon and rider were, battle bloody.

Well, if one enemy made that much of a dent in the massed troops this side, then what was she doing on this side? She dug her heels into her horse’s side, directing him towards the dragon and rider. With three inside the walls, who knew how much damage they could do?

"Take cover!" The returning volley of arrows came at the defenders on the wall like a deadly rain. The wall itself provided a significant advantage from projectile fire. Where the defenders simply had to aim somewhere over the wall to strike a target, the offensive line would have to actually aim up the wall to the defenders who had the option of ducking behind the waist-high stone ridge that kept walkers from casually tripping to their deaths. The biggest relief was that the defenders had somewhere to dodge the volleys, their targets, however, were not as lucky. Out numbered and out classed, their biggest boon was the stone wall itself, which was helping to compensate for their lack of skill and bodies. It was much harder to take a fortress than to defend it, after all.

Talos was down with the men on the wall now, shouting orders over the general chaos and cursing when things went wrong. One of those very wrong things was the dragon that flitted over their defenses by air, bypassing all of the ground forces and tearing into the rear guard within the city. Lyran and Tegan were quick on the uptake, but not quick enough to save the men that had been brought down already. Turning his attention back toward the wall, he began shouting orders again. "Keep the enemy away from the gates! Aim for the men at the gates! Fire at will! Fire at will!" All of his orders had to be shouted twice it seemed. Once to get the fighting men's attention, and a second time to actually get the message through. They obeyed him a little less than readily, the smattering of untrained archers fumbling with their arrows as they switched gears. Well, at least the gate hadn't been breached by the main body of the invading force. That was something, right?

Among the tussling of bodies and darting arrows, he saw a flash of white wings and made his way over, shooting arrows over the wall as he went. By the time he got to Lena's side, she looked absolutely livid, a blossoming patch of red on her right arm cut off my the dark material of her ripped pants. A cold weight seized his stomach at the sight of it, and he had to consciously remind himself that this was war and injury was unavoidable. "Are you alright? How bad is the injury?" He half-shouted over the general noise. Spotting the three near the gates, he leaned over the edge and put an arrow in one's skull, the man collapsing where he stood. An arrow whizzed over his head, the sound causing him to duck behind the stone wall. While down there, he took count of his arrows and swore colorfully. Half a dozen left. He would need to make those half a dozen count.

*~*~*~*

Within the heart of Racksom stood a massive tower, upon which was perched a huge purple dragon, roaring menacingly at the invaders but otherwise appeared to not have any intention of joining in the battle. In the shadows of the buildings below stood two figures. One was a woman, looking up at the dragon and the tower it perched on, the other a man, who apparently had no interest in anything but their surroundings.

"How much experience do you have in killing dragons?" The woman mused airily, her arms crossed under her bosom, head tilted as she looked up at the creature on the tower. Deos was formulating a plan, though the details hadn't been all hashed out just yet. It involved facilitating the forced entry of the invading army, but that was about as far as she had gotten.

"Don't ask questions you know the answers to." Vann replied with a small sigh, his fingers hovering over the pommel of his sword. He wasn't nervous about the battle, he had certainly been in enough to be used to the sounds of men screaming as they died. No, he was nervous about what the exposure to battle would dredge up out of him. He had never been in a full-fledged war before, and didn't know if there was a spirit lingering around in his head that roared to life in the sounds of battle.

"Mmm, as I thought then." She tapped her full lips with her finger tips, then turned from the tower, walking through the narrow streets toward the sounds of battle. "There's no chance of getting rid of that dragon with our limited resources." The seer was pondering out loud as she walked, Vann following along behind silently. "So, we'd need to find a dragon slayer. But, who is going to leave the battle to slay a dragon in the middle of this mess? Nobody from the pathetic force that call themselves the Defenders of Dragons Cove, obviously... that scaly creature is on their side, after all. So, we'll have to recruit somebody from the other side of the wall, which means that the wall needs to come down..."

"Sounds like you've got this all worked out." Vann replied sarcastically.

"Not necessarily. We need to sabotage the defending forces and get Zartear's army in here." They were closer now to the battle, the stone walls that enclosed Racksom looming above the houses they walked through. "The wood gates are the weakest link, so of course if this feather-head leader that they've pulled out of the woodwork has any brains at all, that's where all of his forces will be concentrated. That gives us two options... One, we try and wade through those peasants with pitchforks to try and lift the bolts that keep the gate closed or-" Here she smiled and stopped walking, looking over Vann with an almost predatory gaze. "We give them another opening."

Vann fidgeted under Deos's gaze, not liking the look she was giving him. "And what exactly will that entail?"

"Racksom has four gates, the biggest one is the one that's getting attacked right now. But the other three..." Her gaze traveled to another gate, slightly smaller and similarly bolted shut. However, this one wasn't completely barred shut. Only a couple of soldiers patrolled the walls. "I think that between the two of us, we can get rid of the flies, yes?" Unsheathing her sword, Deos advanced on the wall. The first guard that saw her fell in a crimson spray of blood as his neck was laid open. To her side, Vann had pulled out his own sword and was dashing up the stairs to the ramparts. The farm boys went down easily under the assault of the two experts, and the gate was clear of opposition.

Deos tugged hard on the lever that would release the gate, satisfied with the grinding clanking and creaking of wood as the bolts came free. Vann was back down from the wall now and helped Deos to push the heavy wooden gates open. "There, only a fool would bypass this opportunity, and I don't think that this Zartear fellow is a fool." Walking through the gates, she looked to where the army would be and simply waited for someone to take notice. "Vann, watch the walls and let me know if any of those defenders wise up to what's going on."

» (C1, Racksom) The Making of Men (12th Board)
» Tremors in the Earth....C1, Racksom (4th Board)
» (North of Azure caves, east of Racksom) ~~~~Peace in the Everplains~~~~6th Board
» The Destruction of Quinsilla.....T1 (1st Board)
» (C1, Racksom) Surnames in Surahnia (19th Board)

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

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