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

Lena notched another arrow as Talos came to her side, questioning the fresh wound on her arm. She grinned, "It'll leave a pretty mark, but I'll be fine. I don't get why the wench didn't aim for the kill, but I'm not complaining." She looked him over quickly and then seemed pleased. "Good to see you are well then." She shouted over the noise, Lena felt a twinge of comfort from her partner having her back. Her and Talos may be married but they were also a great fighting duo, one covering the back of the other. She locked back onto her target. The woman on the horse. Lena pulled back the string of her bow as hard as she could and aimed at her. "We can't have you running around..." Was all she said before she released her arrow in the direction of the girl. Lena fired off two more for good measure but couldn't check to see if they hit their expected target.

Two dragons came forward to Talos, looking rather upset but not malicious. Lena kept an eye behind her to make sure no more rogue arrows would come flying at her as she looked over the new dragons. Lena stood stunned for a moment, the freakin' gate was open?! And lovely, only two people took down the guards so Zartear couldn't just come marching in without even trying. Lena looked to Talos to see what it was he wanted to do. He was the leader after all and Lena would follow in what he chose to do.

Akira hissed in pain as the flames licked her flesh arm, red burns blossoming on her skin, and turned to her new opposition quickly. "Yup he really is pathetic isn't he?” now if you wanna call something confusing, it would be the completely honesty that showed in her eyes, a loyal invader, for a brief second. But she quickly masked it with a growl and took a defensive stance, before lunging at her with her twin diamond blades. “But I don’t have the freedom to choose who I follow.” she grunted as she sidestepped changing the direction of her attack quickly.

Mizu finished off the soldier that was on his blade before turning to the opposing dragon and letting out an ear splitting screech and spreading his wings menacingly. He readied his bladed tail lowering on his haunches and dropping into a quadrepedal stance letting out a jet of flame in response to Lyrians.

Kono stopped when he heard the shouts of the leader of the defenders mentioning the gate. He quickly turned and looked at what was happening. The men were swarming the gate. He spun swinging his tail into the crowd of soldiers knocking them away like flies before grabbing a few in his mouth and biting down until blood ran from his lips. He spat them out before taking to the air again to evaluate the situation from above. Something odd in the distance caught his eye. One of the side gates was swinging open. He hissed and lowered his altitude until he could see the leader. “The side gate has been opened, and it looks like from the inside. I’m going out there.” He quickly flew off without waiting for a response. He figured he could handle whatever could be happening over there, but he wasn’t so stupid as to approach without caution. As he neared the gate he saw a small group of people. He hissed and let out a screech. Landing on one of the nearby buildings threateningly, “LEAVE!!!” He shouted.

A gust of wind sent a cold shiver down Sandy’s spine, along with the murmuring of the leaves. She was sat, practically on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea. It’s dark water barely seemed to move, people who had a lack of sight wouldn’t even notice it was there if it wasn’t for the soothing sound of waves crashing against the banks. It was black, unearthly-looking and sinister. Yet it seemed to calm her. She had her legs dangling off the edge and her arms behind her holding most of her weight. Her sword lay in its sheath, tidily across her hip. It seemed as if it was the calm before the storm. Only she knew the storm had already started.
A few clouds moved across the sky, in the direction of Racksom. The wind seemed to change direction rapidly, as if some force was controlling the weather. But Sandy didn’t even look up. Her vision was situated in front of her, looking over the water. Thinking.
A few moments later, a sound of flapping wings broke the silence behind her. Followed by a small transferring of weight as a dragon landed behind her. Sandy didn’t turn around, she barely even blinked.
“It’s never going to be the same, is it?” She asked, coolly. This night could change anything, it was going to change everything. There was nothing anyone could do about it. This very second, she knew two giant armies were already crashing into battle, sword against sword, arrow against bow.
The dragon behind her folded it’s wings and almost-silently padded up behind her.
“No.” The low voice echoed.
Sandy turned round and stood up to face the dragon. Her eyes met his, and there was an understanding silence for a few seconds. This was the dragon she rode, the one she was most likely going to die with in battle, but most of all, this was Silverwing, her friend. The Guardian dragon whom she respected more than anything.
“Are you ready?” Silverwing asked, his blue scales shining silver in the moonlight. Sandy nodded briefly. “But why have we waited so long?” She began. “We could have put a stop to this before anything more came from it. The battle has already started, we should have been there, right from the very start!”
Silverwing’s calm gaze didn’t falter as he spoke. He understood completely why she didn’t agree with everything he was doing, but she had to understand. ‘We could have been there.” His voice sounded. “But if we did, then would the people of Racksom have any dignity? They needed to find the strength within themselves to fight against this man. Yes, the Guardians are here for protection, but the people need to have a chance to realise what they want. Realise that even against defying odds, they still have the willpower to fight. To fight for what they believe in. The hope they generate within themselves is greater than anything those following Zartear could ever have. And what’s more, we can join them at the beginning. But when things start going badly, then what? They have shown that they will fight for freedom, for what they believe in. And now, us turning up after the battle has started will bring them more hope. It will bring them more strength, the strength they wouldn’t have known they had at the start. Only then can they show everyone what they can do. Let the people fight as one now, while they still have a chance. I don’t want to tear that away from them. We aren’t just for protection, but we are the people’s symbol. If we go now, we’ll do more good.”
Sandy’s hair moved as the wind began to pick up slightly. There was a few more seconds of silence, before she responded. “I see.” She said. Both of them turned their heads to the direction of where Racksom would be. “I can’t guarantee you’ll come back out of the battle. This could be the end, for both of us.”
She turned to look at him again. Her face straight. “I know. And I don’t care. I know that if I don’t fight, if I don’t help Dragons Cove now, then I won’t want to be alive anyway. Plus”-she half smiled-“I’m your rider, it’s our duty to help. Wherever you go, I go.” Silverwing returned her gaze, before lowering his body to the ground. Sandy nimbly climbed up onto his back. This might be the last time she ever did this, if she does end up riding to her death tonight. But if she was, then at least she would have died with cause. Saving the island she loved.
Seconds later, they took to the sky as one, flying off to battle.


It wasn’t long before the first sounds of battle filled their ears, and the large mass of fighting slowly developed into recognisable creatures as they dropped lower in the air. Sandy noticed there was a lot of chaos happening about one gate, that looked poorly guarded by the people of Racksom. Then a sight met her eyes for the first time. A dark-haired man upon horseback. She felt Silverwing growl, and she respectably placed her hand against his neck. This was Zartear.
She had never met this man before, nevertheless seen him. But she knew of what he could do. She knew how he and he had almost died, and almost brought down two Guardians down with him. She wanted nothing more to stick her sword through his chest. But she couldn’t tear the pleasure away from her dragon. He had more reason to hate him than she did.
Silverwing lowered in the sky and let out a bellowing roar that echoed across the battlefield. Sandy didn’t even look to see how many people looked up on their arrival, but instead, she fixed her eyes on the enemy’s leader. “There.” She said quickly, as Silverwing came back around in the sky. She pointed behind the place where Zartear’s group was advancing. Maybe they could cut him off from his army for a few moments-or at least try. A few moments that could be of great value.
Silverwing opened his mouth and let out a blaze of roaring, blue-silver flames across a line of men advancing with their leader. Now was not the time to attack the man himself, that time would come later. Now they had to give the people of Racksom as much chance they could get of penetrating the opposed forces themselves.

The news was just getting worse, wasn't it? Talos muttered darkly under his breath after hearing the reports of the Card dragons, throwing in a few swears just for good measure. Of course the other three gates had been another weak point, but he had been counting on Zartear concentrating his forces on the largest gate. Perhaps the worst news of all was the fact that on top of it all, they appeared to have been sabotaged from within. He wished with every fiber of his being that he could find the two that had killed the guardsmen at the gates and strangle them himself, but idle wishing wasn't going to get the problem solved.

Then out of nowhere a soft voice was whispering in the back of his head. At first, he thought that maybe it was Lyrian again, but this voice was different. It was powerful and carried that power with it. He felt lighter, stronger and quicker as the voice continued to speak, and for whatever reason, he began to hope. Maybe this whole endeavor wasn't going to be as impossible as he first thought it was? Looking out over the battlefield, he noticed that some sort of otherworldly creatures were attacking the enemies and just hoped that whatever form of being they were wouldn't decide to attack his men as well.

A blurred object caught his attention, something moving rapidly toward Lena and without conscious thought he dove for the woman, pushing her to the ground quickly. The hiss of arrows buzzed over his head and a brief twinging pain radiated from his left wing. Looking up, he was startled to see a couple of feathers missing from his wing, the arrow that was culprit lying on the other side of the wall with his now detached feathers. Daring a quick peek over the side of the wall, he eyed the archer line. "These archers really have it out for you tonight." He commented bitterly to Lena, moving off of her, careful to keep his head below the protective stone of the wall. Around them men were dying, screaming as they fell, but it was happening less and less. The strange power he felt coursing through his body seemed to be affecting everyone else as well, making them stronger and faster, able to fight back against the invading horde more effectively.

Then the Guardian Dragon came.

Cheers erupted from the defender's side at the sight of the dragon as it came flying toward them, and Talos gladly lent his voice to the noise. "Defenders of Dragons Cove!" He shouted, standing and nocking an arrow, aiming for the archers on horseback and letting fly, grabbing another as quickly as he let the first go. "The Guardians are here! Rally your spirits! With them, we can win!" He would never know if anyone but those in the immediate vicinity had actually heard him or not, for he was too concentrated on what he was doing now. With more speed than he had ever known he possessed, he launched the remaining six arrows in his quiver at the mounted archers and those that surrounded them, hoping to hit either man or horse. Either way, it would be a score in his book.

Once his quiver was empty, he ducked behind the wall and looked to Lena. "So my darling wife, are you ready to take up your sword and go head hunting with me?" A devilish grin was on his face as he shouldered his bow, pulling his dirk and long knife from their sheathes.

*~*~*

Deos watched with a faint amount of amusement as the riders steadily approached the now open gates. Once they were close enough, she headed back inside and climbed the wall to the ramparts where Vann was keeping watch over things. As the approaching force came storming in through the gate, she simply waved to any that looked, a smile on her face. "Well, that was incredibly easy, now to-" Whatever it was she had planned to voice next died in her throat, an earth-rattling roar echoed toward them, and she spun quickly to see the source. It was the huge purple dragon from before, apparently having descended into the fray to take care of things now. The building that it had landed on creaked and groaned under the weight, and some of the horses of the invaders shied away from the beast, a couple even rearing and throwing their riders in the process.

Snorting with disgust, she swept the field with her eyes, spotting a few more fights that had broken out within the city itself. A new dragon was was fighting that brown and red one with the elf rider she had seen before flitting about the city, the newcomers appearing to have wreaked some devastation on the rear guard before being confronted by the defending dragon. An unnatural thunder echoed out over the battlefield at the front gates and lightning was sweeping through the invading forces, as well as some sort of creatures that looked like they were made entirely of water. What in the blazes sort of magic was that? But no, the bad news wasn't ending there. Another roar sounded over the entirety of Racksom then, this one more powerful than anything the purple Spine dragon could produce, and all eyes were on the sky.

A flash of silver descended from on high, and a very distinctive dragon came into view, looking and sounding very impressive as it flew toward the battle. "A Guardian Dragon?" Vann breathed, his fingers tightening noticeably on the grip of his sword. "Then all the old legends are true. There really is a stone of power in that tower." Both he and Deos looked toward the spiraling structure that loomed over Racksom. "They'll not give up now, not now that one of those legendary Guardian Dragons are on their side."

Deos sighed, rubbing her temples and began walking briskly along the wall, her eyes always searching for something, anything that could tip the scales in their favor once more. Zartear's army had numbers, but the Defenders were suddenly doing a very good job at perking up their morale and recruiting unexpected allies. Something needed to be done.

That's when Deos spotted it, whatever it was. The creature looked half human, half dragon, cloaked in a robe and was very obviously the one causing the unnatural storm and water creatures that were swarming the field. "Right, we get rid of that first." She said to Vann, pointing to the creature and heading toward it. He was at her side instantly, sword drawn and ready for the attack. Side by side, the two swung their swords toward the strange creature, Deos from left to right in a downstroke and Vann from right to left in an uppercut motion.

Lena had just getting over the two dragons that had been talking to Talos when out of no where the man up and tackled her to the ground. She didn't have much time to refute what Talos had done as she heard the whizzing of arrows flying by them. She didn't fight as his body lay over hers in protection until he commented, rather sourly that that archers were after her and got up. "What can I say...I've become rather popular...with people who want to shoot me." A sarcastic grin found its way to her face.

Her grin was soon gone as she saw a silvery dragon come to the field and heard Talos mention that the 'Guardians' were here. So they really did exist. Anyone who had lived in Dragons Cove for any amount of time knew about the legendary Guardian Dragons and their powers to protect the land...but never had she expected to see one in her lifetime. It was an odd feeling, but one Lena wouldn't complain about.

And as soon as Talos was done boosting the moral of the people around them, he had given her the offer to go head hunting with him. The same devilish grin worked its way to her own face as she drew her short sword. "Oh...One moment." Lena faced the wall once more and let fly the remaining arrows she had in her quiver. She aimed for the annoying wench on the horse, thinking her attack had try to do her in this time, unaware of Cato and his own attacks. "Alright, lets see who can win the count this time, eh?" Lena grinned as she suddenly made a dive for the ground; she knew Talos would be right behind her.

Blood sprayed in a wide arch as Lena cut the jugular of the first man she came across, and in a sweeping motion turned to stab another through the heart. She quickly reunited with Talos to keep eye on his back as they fought their way through the crowd.

With a wild grin, Talos launched himself over the edge of the wall, dropping fast after Lena. Just before striking the ground, he flared his wings to break his fall and immediately lashed out at the nearest soldier, his long knife rebounding against armor and the dirk finding purchase in the chink of a man's armor at his elbow. As the man flinched away from the sudden pain, Talos was on the man, slicing into his jugular, then was at Lena's back, covering her flanks. They had fought like this many times before, back to back against crews of angry pirates that wanted the two avians dead. This wasn't so different really. They were still trusting in each other with their lives, but the opponents were different.

These were no sea-legged half-drunk pirates. They were sobered, trained and armored men that had a real plan. Down here in the trenches, fighting with his fellows against impossible odds on ground that was being stained red with blood, he should have been scared, horrified, even. But that same strange power that he had felt before was reassuring him, making him braver and more daring than he ever should have been under normal circumstances. Again and again he moved forward, always on the attack, covering for Lena when she would have fallen otherwise, and relying on her to do the same. Hot blood splattered his face, and he felt the bite of a weapon once, but the sting was gone quickly, another product of the strange magic that was over all of the Defenders.

*~*~*

His sword should have connected, should have bit into flesh and drawn blood. Vann hardly ever missed his target once it had been selected, but this... thing had evaded both his and Deos's swings almost flippantly. The creature didn't just avoid them by retreating or swinging around that staff around in a parry. No, no, it simply vanished right before his eyes in a swirl of smoke. Fighter's instinct had him turning in an instant. He used his body's own momentum to come around from the high left swing to a downward strike from the sky to the ground, pivoting on his left foot as he did so. Expecting more trickery, he pressed his attack forward, switching his grip into a back-swinging upper cut from low right to high left and advancing on left foot. He slid his right foot forward, bringing his sword down and around in a horizontal slice and brought his hands low down by his left hip. Vann thrust his sword straight out powerfully with an advancing right foot, aiming for the scaled woman's stomach as the prize.

Vann was first and foremost a swordsman, and though usually he operated under the control of the Voices when attacking another, it didn't mean that he needed their help. In fact, most of the time, they needed his skills more than what their shallow fighting knowledge pool could offer. As a general rule, once he set his eyes on a target, he didn't stop until the enemy was dead or otherwise disabled. Whatever or whoever this... creature, she would meet the same determination as any other enemy he had ever encountered.

Deos watched the easy flow of Vann's movements as he struck repeatedly at the woman-thing, her shimmering bubble shield taking the brunt of his swordplay. Her mind was racing, taking in everything that she had seen. This creature wielded magic that she had never seen before, and was using it to great effect. Two dangerous globes of magic were on their way to Zartear already, and the creatures that the dragon-woman had unleashed on the field were wreaking havoc every second. They wouldn't be able to kill her. She had no experience dealing with magical creatures, and Vann only a limited amount of dealing with mages. But, all things had a limited energy supply. Supporting all of those water and twister creatures as well as deflecting any stray arrow that came her way had to be eating at her magic resources. Perhaps between the two of them, they could wear her down enough to drop the barrier, or else get rid of the magical creatures on the field. It was a gamble, but she was willing to take it.

With a flourish, Deos was at Vann's side once more, her own sword covering him while his body was extended in the thrust toward the dragon-woman. She did not wield the same power that Vann had, but she could move quicker than him, her thin sword swinging with deadly grace in a flurry of stabs toward the dragon-woman, aiming for her heart, her limbs, her stomach... anything to nick or wound the creature and force it backward along the narrow wall.

The skies were now becoming very much more alive as more dragons took to the air. This was bad news, not just for them, but for all riders really. For most, the sky was the one way to escape from fights that weren’t going very well. Now if you took to the air, you would be faced with more force than you would have hoped for. Sandy’s grip tightened on one of Silverwing’s spikes. She nodded slowly at the peacock’s comment of finally turning up. They had reason for being this late, but it was no excuse for him to now go and sit out. The battle was between everyone.
She shook her head. Now was not the time to disagree with allies, no matter what their method of fighting was. She didn’t even know if her dragon had even acknowledged the flying bird beside them. But then again, she understood why. His gaze would be fixed on something else. Something he wanted to rip to shreds and burn the pieces.
Both of their attentions’ were stolen suddenly as an odd-looking woman on horseback rode towards them. The horse jumping every now and again over the dead corpses. It was then that Sandy realised how far into hostile territory they actually were. Now they were finally a part of the war.

Quickly, she unsheathed her sword from it’s casing and held it in her right hand. “Don’t stop.” She muttered, before swinging her left leg over Silverwing’s back and leaping off.
Because of the height and momentum, she jumped over the advancing horse and landed a few metres behind. As soon as her feet touched the floor, people were on her.
Her sword clashed with others and she nimbly avoided blows and cut her way forwards. Sandy turned around just in time to stop a high-blow from a man striking her shoulder. The split second when their swords collided, she thrust her foot into his stomach and sent him coiling backwards.
Meanwhile, Silverwing sped through the air, his wings outstretched and directing him in a straight line. There were very few defenders of the city here, if any at all. Yet still he fly directly above the enemy. Sensing a short change in the wind as lightening struck, he lowered his body towards the ground until he was roughly three metres above the floor. He opened his mouth and let out a long blast of burning, silvery flames. The flow continued as he glided. Enemies shrieking as they were burnt, some even tried to dodge out of the way, but they weren’t quick enough. It was a risky move since he was so low to ground level, so he soon withdrew the blaze and flapped his great wings. A few fells off their horses from the wind his wings caused as he rose up into the air.
Almost as soon as he was a safe-ish distance away from the ground, he lowered his left side and span around in the air. He opened his mouth once more, and released a ball of energy, about one metre in diameter. The ghastly blue ball came down in a diagonal from the sky as if nothing was going to stop it.

It’s path was heading directly to where an eighteen year-old girl was fighting. Swiftly, Sandy lifted her sword to the sky just as the ball was above her head. It seemed to attach itself to her sword, without toughing as it. And as she span around in a circle, her arms, it followed her sword. Seconds if not milli-second later, she had done a full circle and the ball detached itself from her and aimed directly for the person who at charged at her on the horse.
Silverwing flapped his great wings as he changed his direction. He didn’t watch to see if energy ball he produced had hit it’s target, for he trusted Sandy to aid his power. Instead, he now headed back into the thick of the fighting and towards a large gate, of which Zartear’s army had breached what seemed too easily.