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

Static didn’t expect her second missile to hit, now that Armeno was protecting the two avians- it reached them, but split around his sword and shattered. She saw his face light up green for a moment, a little sparking across him, and guilt leapt within her- She hadn’t meant to hit him. She crushed the guilt down within her. If she had to feel it, then she would feel it later, when the battle was over.

She formed another ball of electricity, all ready to fire it off again. “Get out of the way Narandal, you know I’ll not stop!” Despite her words sounding strong, the wobble in her hand betrayed her reluctance, and she hesitated for a moment. A snarl came to her lips and she suddenly twisted her hand to face away from him, firing it skyward instead. It shot upwards before reaching the edge of her range and exploding harmlessly into the air like a firework. She gave a sigh, looking back at the elf, hardly visible through the milling circle of riders that had formed around them.
“If you live through this, and you can forgive me, meet me at the Azure caves in a month.” She had to shout her words over the noise of battle, and she hoped he had heard, but didn’t hold out that he would comply. She wouldn’t, if it were asked of her now.

Restoring her fighting stance, she turned back to the battle at hand, heading into the fray again. Someone had been taking potshots from a high-up spot at the DDC, and if she could find where they were, she would have the perfect advantage for her own electric bolts over the fray below. And she wouldn't have to be so close to Armeno any more.

Go, go, go! Rilos huffed as he flew as fast as he could up into the air, putting all his energy into driving upwards. He was faster, but the tight bank the female had taken had brought her almost onto his tails again. They were so evenly matched in size, it was going to be hard for him to escape! He kept gaining height, trying to outrun her, but he felt her fire on his tail again- Maybe he could escape another way? Matching his breaths to his wingbeats he took a few deep ones, then pivoted in the air, angling almost vertically downwards again. The red female loomed almost on his tails and he opened his claws, aiming to get her underneath him and drive her off-balance before cutting his fall and making a break for it. It was risky, especially if she decided to use more fire (it seemed so much hotter than his own, or any other he had come across, normally he was quite fireproof) as he would be directly in its path, but he couldn’t outmanoeuvre her, that was for certain. He fanned out his tails, trying to slow his descent.

Narandal? He had never expected to hear himself called that by anyone he knew out of an army, let alone by Static.
'Static, you know that I'll always be the protector!' he yelled back. But she was already loosing her charged electricity into the air, and a relieved sigh gusted from Armeno's lungs as she left. He wasn't sure it he could have actually brought himself to fight her- but this thought was quickly dismissed. He would be able to, he was sure. As for the meeting in the caves... He would have to see about that. Now, he looked back at Talos, Lena and his cavalry.
'Can you all stay here for a bit? Do whatever this lady tells you if situations change, but I should be back. I just... Need a moment.' Static's backing down had calmed him a little, but his limbs were shaking and he knew he was close to losing control again, so without waiting for any response he wheeled Velox round and hacked his way out fairly quickly with the assistance of his horse's hard hooves lashing out. As soon as he was free of the melee, he veered towards a promising-looking nearby building. Sure enough, when he entered it was a stable. All the horses and tack had been looted or somehow removed; they weren't there. But there was still hay and water, and Armeno opened a stall door open wide for Velox after dismounting. The horse ate and drank large quantities, tired by his exertions. Armeno let himself flop into one corner and buried his hands in his hair.

Kassandra... No, Static, he reprimanded himself. Static was hardly the person he had expected to see. What sort of luck was it that after leaving the island because of his relationship with her, when he returned to a very different place she was the person he met? It couldn't be one of the innkeepers he had met... Some fighter or commander of an army he had served in, or any employer of his... But in a way, it did seem like he had brought it upon himself. Static had never really left his thoughts, and while he hadn't had any proper relationships before her he had been even more withdrawn and self-contained after leaving her than he had been before meeting her. A thought suddenly struck him, and he leapt to his feet. As he stood, he swayed. What's that about? he wondered vaguely, before realising that the pain still burnt on his back and the warm, wet feeling down below that pain was blood. His brain registered this with a little numb surprise as he rifled through his saddlebags to find something. Eventually, in an inner pocket at the bottom of one, contained within a leather pouch, he found the object of his search.

It was a green ribbon. A vivid emerald colour, albeit slightly greyed by a little dirt it had picked up over time. It was frayed at the ends and generally looking a bit battered. But then, he had had it since the third day he had known Static. One silent tear leaked from te edge of his eye, and he let it roll down his cheek. He was not generally one to cry, but now he did. Just a few tears escaped as he leant on his horse, ribbon twisted between his fingers.

He stayed there for a few minutes, then suddenly his left leg buckled at the knee. He was shaken from his stupor, startled, and after quickly stowing the ribbon away he felt behind his back for the gash. It was covered in blood; slick, wet and warm, and underneath a thin layer of dried-out blood. Armeno grimaced, and quickly pulled his shirt off from underneath his armour. He wadded it up, then pressed it firmly against his back and held it there by leaning on the wall. He held his water skin, and took small sips from it occasionally. Now that had sorted himself out a little, he could feel the pain a lot more and many movements caused pain to rip down the slice.

Starling lowered her bow as a figure approached. It was a woman, and she was dressed in a plain shirt, that seemed a little charred around the edges. There were a few scraps of green fabric across it, but they were burned too. As if the remind her it was there, the dagger in her boot dug into her ankle, but she made sure she looked calm on the surface. She offered a hand to the new person to help her onto the wall, holding her own wings out to support herself. “Friend or foe?” she asked, in an overly trusting, happy way that reflected her sheltered upbringing. She did not, however, appear quite so childish in her steel plate armour with her bow strung at her side. She had seen green flashes from across the battlefield, and she recognised the shade of green on the scraps of cloak as similar, but she told herself that was just a hunch. The green specks in her wings were identical to the balls of energy, but she would never think it was herself, after all. Either way, she seemed to have found some company in the long distance offence at last, and she welcomed that at least.

Jackdaww winced as he recognised the green flashes lighting the battlefield, and stopped still. His hand fell slack by his side and he felt sick to his core as he realised who was causing them. The woman he and Measle had had so much trouble with. He turned his head and saw Measle had stopped in a similar fashion. An attack by his left side brought Jackdaww back to the battle, but he couldn’t shrug off the feeling that he was in danger again. Parrying desperately to claw back his advantage, he tried not to think about it, but his throat was growing drier and drier as he fought, and the thought was festering in his mind.

Static kept a lookout for the mystery archer as she headed deeper into the ranks of the Surahnians, deflecting the attacks that came her way, but not making any real attempts to engage anyone herself. It was chaotic down on the ground with people fighting and winning and dying everywhere, but she tried to keep her eyes on the bigger picture. She spotted a woman standing up on the wall and knew she had found the person she was looking for. Running forwards to get out of the fray she swapped the long sword into her left hand and grabbed the offered hand, clambering inelegantly onto the wall. Static straightened up, quickly letting go of the hand and swapping her sword back to her fighting hand, just in case the other woman were to attack her.
“I’m not a foe, but I don’t do friends. If you cover my back for a while though, I’ll cover yours.” Her eyes flicked up and down the woman quickly, taking in her armour and bow- She could fight, that was for certain. She obviously wasn’t as strong an ally as Kumiko had been, but hopefully a bit more… stable. Shooting the woman another glance she looked out across the battlefield, trying to work out who was winning and who was losing. A hiss escaped her lips as she saw the lightning storm- So, it was still alive…

Starling smiled, and replied: “Alright, then. A not enemy is good enough for me. Who do we have to take out?” She asked, simply to find out if the new woman had a strategy already. She eyes the ranks to see where the glittering armour of the defenders stopped and the colours of the rebels started, so she could track the progress of her side. They were pushing the defenders’ line hard, and she couldn’t help smirking to herself.

Ready for any instructions or a simple response like ‘Just attack DDC’ Starling drew an arrow from the quiver at her hip and looked at the feathers sparkle. Every one was a downy section of one of her own shed feathers, and she hated to loose an arrow. She had already mapped out a path to retrieve them at the end of the battle. She noticed the woman also looking for the balance of the battle, and decided not to do anything else before she had time to think.

Static’s eyes swept over the battlefield, trying to pick out the targets that looked the most dangerous. Of course there was the lightning storm, but she was reserving that pain-in-the-neck for herself. She would get revenge for him breaking her ribs… But no, first there were better targets to take out. She pointed her sword towards the horses milling around where the avian she had taken down was.
“Those riders, try and miss the horses, they’ll make more chaos without riders. Then any dragons you can see.” She raked the battlefield again. “That one.” She pointed towards a black and white dragon- Again, she knew this one, the one that had attacked her before the lightning storm had come into play. “Careful, he’s got some power over darkness and shadows.” She gave a harsh laugh. “Although, now it’s day, that won’t be as much as an advantage for him…”

Starling raised a curious eyebrow, before raising her bow again. “Why that dragon especially? Has he wronged you?” she asked as she fired her first shot amongst the defenders’ cavalry. Three more bolts followed, each travelling at an astonishing speed. She avoided striking the dragons until she was happy with the chaos caused by wounded horses, and watched in a silent cross between a grimace and a smirk as the first arrows began to take effect. She didn’t see any strike, but she knew that there was every chance one of them had. She was tempted to fire at one of the dragons, who glittered blue and was standing stock-still, but decided against it, since the woman clearly had priorities of which dragons needed ‘disposing’ of.

Jackdaww’s senses had been restored, and he was back to fighting in his own erratic style again, but Measle was still bolted in place, like a rabbit stood before a fox. His eyes opened wider as he saw the young girl – who seemed barely out of her childhood – lift her bow and start firing at Static’s command. An arrow landed near him, and that was all it took to spark him back into motion. He roared, charging forward into the approaching infantry, biting and clawing at foot soldiers as he went. Jackdaww spotted him, and followed suit, staying close and slashing next to Measle in an attempt to break the line. The onslaught of defensive strikes bit his arms and chest, but the mail just barely protected him from the worst of them. He did, however, catch sight of the girl helping static. Something about her struck a note within him – did he know her? Had they met before? Surely not, as this girl had a pair of raven dark wings spread out behind her. No, not raven dark, but speckled like a starling. Starling. That word touched a part of his memory, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it meant, and returned to the fighting without giving it another thought. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he knew her, though, and his first actions after the battle would be to find out who she was.

Static narrowed her eyes at the dragon as Starling asked after her reasons, ready to charge up another ball of electricity. This avian seemed to have no qualms about hitting those who she had pointed out, taking them down quickly without much arrow wastage. Hmm, she could use that, it might save some of her own power, if she could lead instead of act. She ducked as a few arrows shot their way in response to the arrows that the avian had fired, hoping more wouldn’t come their way- She might be out of range of swords, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t be stuck with arrows like a pincushion by the end of the battle if she didn’t take care.

“He’s a strong target, he needs taking out.” She said sparsely, aiming a small ball of electricity at the dragon.

Last edited by Artemis on Wed Mar 23, 2011 6:12 pm; edited 1 time in total

Jaden had left Rokam being attended to while he warily trod the battlefield, occasionally striking out at passing Surahnians. But there had been a reason for his departure; while watching the main points of the battle, a minute or so ahead, he had seen Talos fall. Despite Rokam's protests, he had forced the younger dragon to stay put while he tried to find the leader. He had now reached the general area, but he felt uneasy. Something impending was prickling at his mind, and now he saw an arrow fly silenty through the air and neatly pierce the skin of one of the motley defenders. His head whipped up and he began to scan the rooftops. He realised abruptly he was facing the wrong way when he got a second's forewarning of the missile which was headed for him. He leapt away, snarling as he saw the emerald electricity harmlessly dissipate on the ground. Round two with the electricity user, it seemed. Knowing his opponent, he focused his foresight on her and an endless realm of possibilities appeared to him. He picked the one he liked best- her toppling off the wall in his direction in an attack- and coaxed it forwards, urging it to become more likely. Of course, it wasn't at all reliable... It all depended on how much she was moving around up there.

Starling nodded to the woman, and raised her bow high. Caught in the spur of the moment, she fired straight at the dragon, before turning to face the woman beside her. “Not meaning to pry, but what can I call you? I like to have some sort of name for those I fight with, instead of being accompanied by some unknown stranger.” She said, before trying to trace the path of her arrow. She had lost her concentration when she had turned, and it was embedded in the earth near the dragon. She fired again, watching intensely this time, before an unusual feeling crept over her. She suddenly felt as though someone was watching her – someone she knew, or thought she knew. She looked around, but failed to catch sight of anyone she recognised. Shrugging, she fought the feeling, and convinced herself that it was nothing, but she couldn’t shake the way the feeling had fallen around her like a shroud. It was intriguing, and she made up her mind that she would look for the owner of that gaze after the battle.

Lena looked back up from Talos when Armeno gave the word to his men to help her if need be. She needed to get Talos out of there now. Right now. Once she was sure they weren't going to be killed right away Lena looked up to the nearest person after wiping the tears from her face. "I need a horse, and some men to help me move him. He will die here." Lena left no room for argument, as she stood. The man readily jumped from his horse and grabbed the reins, bring the horse close to Talos. Lena leaned back down. "We have to get you out of here or you really will die." She said stroking his face gently.

The man looked from Lena to Talos and back with an unsure glance. "Should we really move him?" He asked, looking at his condition. "Do we honestly have a choice?" Lena growled, sweeping her arms out to encompass the chaos going on around them. He nodded slowly and bend down to Talos. "Sorry." He mumbled, slowly picking up the man in an attempt not to hurt him and lifted him onto the saddle. Lena was quick to work, getting on the horse behind him, wrapping her arms gently around his back careful of his wound and grabbed the reins. "Fighters of the DDC, fall back or lose your life!" Lena ordered, nodding to the man who had helped her and kicked the horses side, heading towards the east gate. She had as many people following her as she could avoid and Armeno might be mad at her for taking his soldiers but they were out numbered, her husband was nearly dead and they were getting no where. Lena refused to lose Talos. "Lotharia! Where ever you are you better find us!" Lena yelled, hoping at least her thoughts would reach the dragon.

~*~*~*~

The gentle dragon could in fact hear Lena's scream though it was a wounder over the noises and screams all around her. Whatever dragon was in front of her was just toying with her and she had no time for that. I will be on my way now, thank you. Lotharia said, skiting around the dragon and speeding off down the streets. If there was one thing on the dragon's side it was speed. Lotharia hoped the dragon would not find her again but she did not want to take the chance, covering as much ground to the eastern gate as she could get. Atleon, Lena is heading to the eastern gate, I assume with Talos. The dragon commented to the prince, not having the time to wait for him, least she get stopped again.

A cynical smile flickered across Static’s mouth as the dragon just avoided her blast, knowing he was now thinking of his next move to plan against hers. She backed away from the side of the wall a little as some closer fighters took notice and turned at the green of her electricity, but they couldn’t get up onto the wall where she and Starling were. She gripped her sword tighter, keeping half an eye on what was going on down below.
“The name’s Static. Yours?” She shot the avian a look. “Or is that prying?”

Suddenly she noticed movement behind the girl as a few smart members of the DDC moved along the top of the wall towards them, having climbed up a little further along at an opportune moment.
“Incoming.” Although there were a few heading towards them, there was no way they were going to be any match for Static and Starling- They were just untrained farmers. It would be moments before Static could go back to working out the best way to kill that black and white dragon.

With his hearing damaged, Talos could only just barely make out what it was that Lena was saying to him over the dull roar of the battle going on around them. Another figure came into his range of sight, muttered something he couldn't hear, and the next thing he felt was pain. The wound in his side flared and it took all of his will power not to simply cry out for the agony of it. As it was, he was probably making a really horrible face as he was lifted on the horse and nearly blacked out, the pain receding just a little when he wasn't being moved any more. It took him a few seconds to realize that he was indeed on a horse, and his heart sank. He hated these things. Hated them with a passion. And what's more, he'd never ridden one before.

Luckily Lena seemed to be on top of the situation, her tiny arms wrapping around his chest to keep him in the saddle. When the smelly creature started moving, every step sent a shock of pain lancing up his side. Lena's order rung loudly in his ears, and as he looked around at the state of things, even with his impaired vision he could tell that all was not well. The DDC forces were getting slaughtered by the better trained Surhans. There were dead on both side, but the majority of the fallen weren't wearing armor, especially around where there had been a breech in the defensive wall during the initial surge. Talos clenched his fists tightly, anger, sorrow and a sense of helplessness welling up inside him. "Retreat." He murmured over his shoulder, his voice cracking slightly as if dry. "There won't be… any soldiers left… at this rate. Retreat."

~!¡!¡!~

Seeing the dragon above her quickly wheel around and launch an attack of his own had Arasolra surprised, to be sure. She only just got her own claws out, the two dragons colliding in midair. Arasolra didn't even check her speed when she slammed straight into the male dragon, wrapping her claws around his outstretched ones to keep him from taking swipes at her face. With a draconic grin, Arasolra opened her mouth wide, summoning forth more of that white-hot fire that she was known for and flared her wings to stabilize their flight path, letting lose a hot wave of fire. 'Dodge this one!'

“Starling. If you want a surname, Blackbird is as good as any, but just Starling will do fine.” She said, smiling. Then, she noticed the DDC warriors walking towards them. “This won’t be much use as close range.” She muttered to herself, just loud enough to be heard, and laughed. Then, she placed her bow on the wall and grabbed the back of her boot. She was looking for the silvery dagger she had there, and eventually found the cold shape of its handle.

The blade was a bare six inches long, and was completely featureless. In Shayenne, she had a box with hundreds of them, as she always managed to loose hers in flight, but the metal was as bright as polished silver, just like her bracelet. A man in the city worked with the mysterious silvery metal, and she liked it much better than plain steel. Gripping the handle, she eyed up the closest man. He was carrying a pike, and looked terrified. She felt sorry for him for a moment, before he threatened her with a warning strike of the pike. The blow barely grazed her arm, but she lunged for the gap he had left in his defence and sunk her dagger into his chest, the blade falling between his ribs and piercing his heart. A lucky strike, and nothing more, but it left Starling feeling bloated on glory. The body tumbled from the wall, and she wiped her dagger on her trousers as the others approached, growing cocky as she watched the untrained farmers close in.

Last edited by Artemis on Wed Mar 30, 2011 4:45 pm; edited 1 time in total

Jaden's eyes followed the arrow as it thumped into the earth. Apparently Static was no longer alone, which would make things harder for him. But they seemed to have a distraction, at least for the moment; a small group of doomed DDC fighters had scaled the wall to confront them. Jaden was going to take the opportunity- keeping an eye on the happenings and nudging the chances of the DDC up just fractionally, he ran over to the wall. While it was lower than his head, he would do better if her was on it, and so he reared up on his hind legs and planted his front paws on the top. While a jump and a small scrabble, he got onto it and then proceeded to run lightly along the wall. He slowed upon reaching Static, beginning to more prowl in the hopes that she wouldn't hear him behind her.

Kumiko sighed and rolled her eyes as the dragon pressed forwards, but drifted sideways to let her pass. She got the feeling that she could find something more fun elsewhere; the question for her was just where. She glanced briefly at the sky where Rilos and Arasolra grappled, but she was disinteresed for the most part and began to weave through the streets in pursuit of some entertainment.

Static’s eyebrows rose in contempt at the little dagger that Starling drew, but bit back any remark. After all, she could still do with the ally. She gripped her sword tightly and swung into action as the avian too engaged her first opponent, her longsword just the right length to get around the clumsy pikes that the men were holding. She dispatched quickly of the ones that came forwards, eyeing carefully to see if there was anything on them she could use- Namely armour, but smaller weapons would come in handy too. She didn’t notice the card dragon creeping up behind her.

Rilos tightened his claws as the other dragon’s wrapped around his own, trying to dig them into her pads, now he had no chance at getting in a swipe. At her grin though, he realised he had suddenly made a horrible mistake, engaging her like this, and tried to pull his claws free. He beat his wings furiously for a moment, trying to free himself from her grip, and even got one paw free, but her words suddenly stopped him in his frenzied actions. His eyes widened in horror as he saw white fire build at the back of her mouth and he turned his head to one side, squeezing his eyes tightly shut as the wave of fire came straight at him.

It burned like no fire he had ever felt before, scorching his face and the side of his neck. He screeched in pain, trying to tear his other paws free of the sunblaze’s grip and throwing his head up out of the way. He screamed again as the rush of cold air cooled his scales, his cry choking off as he beat at the air, doing everything to try and get away. He cracked open the eye that hadn’t be hit by flames, the ground spinning slowly closer. His other eye remained firmly closed, scrunched up to try and keep it safe, but the scales on his eyelid were cracked…

Lena was prepared to start off when Talos weakly reissued her order for them to retreat. "You heard him." she growled, gripping on the reins at Armeno's men. "Flee for your lives and head for the eastern gate." Lena looked at them for a long moment before kicking the side of the horse hard and galloping out of the area of battle. "I'm sorry Talos..." She issued her apologizes as she tried to get them to a realistically safer place...as much as that didn't seem possible in Racksom.

Lena for for a short while, twisting down alleyways and streets until she found herself alone. "I think we are alright for a moment." Lena said, slipping on the horse and thinking a moment on how to get Talos off. She decided just to go for it, gently grabbing at his forearm and pulling him towards her until he began to slide off. As he did, she used her body to keep him from out right falling, she went down with him on the ground and laid him down.

"Talos..." Lena's heart ached for him and even the thought of losing him. No, she refused to let that happen. "Lotharia!" She screamed to the heaven's hoping that any bit of luck or chance might be on her side for the dragon to hear her.

As if on cue, the soft pink dragon rounded the corner, her sides falling and rising quickly as sighns of her being out of breath. "How is it little winged one that I am to find you when you keep running around? Lotharia asked, making her way over to the couple and bending her nose down to Talos. Poor thing... She said, pressing her large nose to his stomach and releasing her healing powers. How many people had she healed this night just to have them end up hurt again? It broke the dragons' heart.

Lena leaned back, letting the dragon do her magic as she waited, and watched. Was he alright? Lotharia finished with her healing and took a few steps back to allow Talos to breath as well as his partner.

Talos wasn't entirely sure that they had heard him, in fact, hearing the noises of battle continue to resume as Lena turned and made for an escape, followed by the clatter of hooves as what could be scarcely called a cavalry followed them into the less accessible places of Racksom. He nearly passed out several times on the journey through the winding back streets, only just barely keeping from blacking out when his vision swam with pain, darkening further around the edges. Whoever thought that riding on horses was a good idea severely needed to have been stuck with a quiver full of arrows and quartered… The torture couldn't end fast enough, though when it did for whatever reason Lena decided that it would be a good idea to drop him on the ground. Barely conscious and not at all lucid, he was more or less dead weight and was sure that he really had blacked out that time.

The next thing he remembered was warmth coursing through his body as feeling returned to his left side that had been numb before after the shock. Talos could feel Lotharia's nose against his belly, but couldn't quite comprehend what was happening to him in the current state that he was in. When the warmth left him, he drew a deep breath and let loose a relieved sigh. His heart no longer beat erratically, and it seemed that his body would do what he wanted it to now. Slowly he sat up on his own, meeting the gaze of the light pink dragon. "I fear that I may owe you my life this time." He murmured to the gentle beast, wondering briefly where it had come from, and where Atleon was if not with the Euphorn. He looked up to those that had followed the order to retreat and saw mostly the men on horseback, though a few gasping on-foot soldiers had recently caught up. "Where's the rest of the infantry?" He asked, getting his feet under him and standing, glad that he could do such a thing now that he had been healed up.

*~*

The sound of the dragon crying out in pain when her blast of fire struck home had Arasolra thrilled, a trilling song of victory reverberating deep in her chest. She got a good look at the damage she had wrought on Rilos in the brief second after her fire had died, her heart beating excitedly at seeing the scorch marks all along the dragon's blue hide. But it was hard to hold onto him when he struggled so fiercely to be free, given that he was just about as strong as she was. Instead of trying to hold onto the struggling dragon, she let their course carry them closer to the ground then shoved at him, kicking at his belly with her hind legs and let go of the claw that she had in a death grip, flaring her red wings wide when the connection between them was lost.

Arasolra groaned with the wing-loading, her already sore wings muscles pulling with a twinge of pain when she used the speed of their fall to arc back up into the sky, away from the ground and the harm that it could do. She examined her paws briefly, found one to be bleeding from where the blue dragon had clawed at her and licked at the blood, cursing mildly. Foul creature. Her ire risen, she looked down at her opponent, hoping to see him crashing through the roofs of buildings.

Lena sat on her knees a moment longer, coming to grips that Talos was really going to live. She stood up behind him, wiping at a rogue tear or two and kept her silence. She looked to Lotharia, what would have happened if she did not show up to Racksom?

Lotharia bobbed her head at Talos. "Think nothing of it." She said gently in his mind as her soft pink tail silently moved behind her. She was only thankful she could save another soul from being lost in this war.

One of the men on foot, who had given his horse to Lena stepped forward. "Hopefully in retreat." The man answered looking at Talos and then a small smile cracked on his face. "Not sure which is more fearsome, the enemy or the bark of that woman." He nodded back to Lena. Even though the rest had been in retreat, his loyalties laid with Armeno first and he had ordered them to stay with Talos and so they shall.

Lena scoffed as the man mentioned her, grabbing the reins of the horse they had used and returned the beast to it's owner. "Do not make it sound as if I would not follow through." She eyed him, but despite the seriousness in her tone her eyes spoke otherwise. She returned to Talos' side and kept her eyes off of him. If she tried talking to him now she feared she might punch him for scaring her.

The man who had spoken before got on his horse and looked down to Talos. "We follow you until we hear otherwise. What is your plan?"
[i]

After several minutes, Armeno carefully peeled the shirt from his back, trying not to let any clotted blood come off with it. He grimaced, though, as a little did. As soon as the shirt was gone a few trickles of blood began to run down his back, but he tried to ignore his slight dizziness and used a dagger from his saddlebags to start rips in the bloodstained fabric he held. Having torn the shirt into something resembling strips of cloth, he laid a few along the wound, and bound them into a rough pad with more. He then bent forwards, head in his hands and elbows on his knees, and thought. He needed some level of healing before he returned to his little cavalry- he knew he would still be losing blood and wouldn't last long. His first thought was of the Euphorn, but he didn't know were she was now... Then, at the thought of the Euphorn and having got over Static for now, he remember Foen. The sorcerer... He had no magics of his own, but Armeno remembered the ointment he had applied to his and Static's burns and the many other potions in the cluttered house. Foen had lived in Racksom; would he still now? After time and now the war, it wasn't at all a definite thing, but Armeno figured it was worth a try. With a plan, Armeno found himself mroe active and mounted Velox, setting off through the streets to where he thought he remembered Foen's house.

Ooc: Rogue, feel no obligation whatsoever to bring Foen in- I just wanted Armeno to have a reason to shift.

Jaden's lips lifted, half viciously and half triumphantly, when he got to a spot a few inches behind Static unnoticed. She didn't seem to have any injuries, and so he felt that they were at least equal, if she didn't have the advantage, as he lunged for her shoulder. Perhaps, he thought fleetingly, he should have gone for the neck, but the shoulder gave him a far better angle and if he managed to get his teeth in it would be a good hit. She was obviously going to noticed him now, so when his mouth was about an inch from her soft, breakable skin he let out a low snarl.

Static ducked at the last moment as she heard a growl behind her, spinning and ducking at the same time. The card dragon crushed her to the ground (that was the second time a dragon had done that), his teeth snapping at her shoulder. Her sword hand was stuck underneath him but the other was free and she drew it up to her face, throwing it up for protection, green sparking between her fingertips. She kicked out at the dragon’s back leg, trying to throw him off balance so she could get free.
“Starling, help!”

Rilos shuddered at the song of victory that the other dragon let out, trying to free himself even more furiously from her grasp now. She was mad, crazy, completely insane! The ground was starting to rush frighteningly close, the buildings of Racksom starting to grow detailed as the distance closed… He huffed in fear, beating his wings fast, the breath rushing out of him with a whomph! as the female kicked him away. He twisted in the air, trying to work out which way was up- With one eye shut it was hard to gauge where things were, and he didn’t see the other dragon rush up past him to safety. He just got his wings out in time to miss the tallest buildings that came towards him, flying terrifyingly fast just over the tops. Something hit the end of his wing hard and it snapped back, the motion flipping him out of control. He screeched, shifting into his black shadow form involuntarily for a moment as he tryed to get his wing out again, a building rearing up in his vision.
“No, no, NO!”

The dragon crashed across the roof, ripping tiles off as he went before he went careering off and into the gaping street, bouncing down the jutted-out front of the building. A few tiles clattered down behind him, shattering onto the street amongst a scattering of black scales and two electric blue spines that broke from his neck. He rolled across the street, his wings flopping limply before he crashed into the building opposite the first, this time on the bottom level. The wooden front bent inwards before snapping, bringing the top of the building crashing down onto the dragon in a pile of rubble. There was an explosion of dust, rushing across the ground and covering the last limp traces of Rilos’ tail before it slowly settled into silence.

Last edited by Aero on Thu Mar 31, 2011 1:53 am; edited 1 time in total

Normally Talos would have grinned at the jab at his wife, knowing very well that when Lena's ire was raised, she could be incredibly frightening. However, the light-hearted attempt at banter among comrades couldn't lift his dower spirit by much, knowing that there were bigger things that he had to start thinking about. Highlighting this was the question as to what his plans were, to which he simply couldn't give an immediate response. What was his plan? Obviously to get as many men as were still alive, a handful more that had heard the order to retreat trickling nearer the ring of men that had gathered around. He looked once at Lena and noted her red-rimmed eyes. In his half-delirious state, he hadn't noticed her crying, but after seeing what sort of pain his near-death had caused Lena, he wasn't exactly eager to go do it again for her sake if nothing else.

"We find Atleon and set up traps to hinder Zartear's forces while we try to escape." Talos twisted his hands together, his face set in deep concentration as he tried to come up with a more specific plan that sounded like it actually stood a chance. "You-" he gestured toward one of the men that looked like they were relatively comfortable on a horse "-if Lotharia can find Atleon, follow her and get that man on your horse. I don't care what you have to say or do, but I want him out of this city right now. Lotharia," he faced the dragon briefly, "let him know that we're sending someone for him, and to be ready to flee. Also, let him know if he doesn't retreat that either he had better have a damn good reason for doing so, or I will find him personally and drag his unconscious body out of here if I have to." Talos' voice was dead serious, as was his entire demeanor. He could still vividly recall the ease with which the Surhans were breaking through any sort of defense his infantry could possibly hope to provide… and if they didn't escape, then the death toll would continue to climb until either there was no more opposition to slay or the farmers simply surrendered and opted for imprisonment or slavery rather than death. There was little he could do for the civilians that hadn't fled yet, but the soldiers who were risking their lives on his order… he was obligated to make sure that the ones alive got out.

"I need half of the horsemen to follow along behind me. Lena, you and me are going to serve as scouts and provide cover from the air. If there's anyone left on the lines, or are being pursued, we'll have to rely on the horsemen to pick them up and get them out of there…" Hopefully that wouldn't be the case. He didn't think that there would be any dashing and grabbing done, so was prepared for any rescue attempt to boil down to a free-for-all melee. "The rest of you grab any sort of road blocking material you can find. Carts, boxes, barrels, anything that'll slow down the Surhinians if they come looking for us. Is that clear?"

*~*~*

She had turned her attention just in time to see Rilos stabilize his flight path and was slightly disappointed that her bid to get him to crash straight into the ground was seeming to come to naught, when all of a sudden his wing jerked. She couldn't quite make out what he had hit on, but apparently it was enough to send the dragon into a sideways tumble straight onto a roof. Hovering over the scene, Arasolra had an excellent view as the chaos unfolded, ending with a plume of dust erupting over one of the pathetic human dwelling after Rilos crashed into it.

With a grin twisting her lips, Arasolra glided down to the scene of destruction and landed gently on the cobbled street with a clack of her crimson claws. Folding her huge wings against her body, she advanced toward the ruins of the building, her eyes darting around to try and catch any sign that the dragon would be appearing out from underneath of the rubble. Her tail twitched once when a shingle fell off of what was left of the roof and clattered on top of the pile that Rilos was under, but otherwise, she saw no sign of the dragon. Then again, perhaps she would have to look harder than she was used to. She had seen his transformation from the bright blue to shadowy black, and wondered briefly if he could go invisible.

Faust stood there waiting for any form of reaction from the Dragon Cove prince. He was not totally out of the loop when it came to the comings and going of the island. He had felt the tremors of this war coming for some time now. He had seen the dice cast and the lines of fate and destiny redraw. Many have yet to enter this battle and the many to come for the little patch of land. He knew he would have to get into it at some point.

Cato sent small contingents out along to the wall but the bigger fraction of the army he sent toward the large congregation of the DDC Army "I will not have this city be lost not after we have gotten inside. [i]DO[\i] not fail me or you would be failing Lord Zartear as well." Cato's voice booms amongst the soldier. He could smell their fear and he knew it set their blood on fire. With a wave of his hand he sent his archers ahead of the main group to take off any of the re- advancing DDC Army. The smoke from the fires and the dead permeated the air as did the screams and battle cries.

With a nudge of his heal Argento walks forward right behind the advancing battalion of infantry. If any turned to run they would find an arrow sticking out of them. The only way out of the army was death... at lest that is how Cato felt.

The man on the horse that Talos pointed to looked at him and listened to instruction. As Talos spoke, he looked to Lotharia as if to confirm and then nodded. "I would hope the prince would be willing but I will escort him all the same." The man kicked the sides of the horse slightly, letting his horse trot over to the pink dragon and waited.

Lotharia looked to Talos. "I will inform him, try not to get in trouble, hm?" The gently dragon said playfully, but she had meant it. "Shall we go?" Lotharia said to the man on the horse and with another small nod the pair was off. "Atleon...I am coming back to you. Talos has...strongly requested to flee the city." The dragon spoke while jogging, not wanting to leave the man on his horse in the dust.

The other man who was speaking to Talos earlier frowned at this plan. He did not want to break up his calvary but this wasn't time to argue and his plan seemed solid enough. He looked back at his men. "Rorn, take your unit to start setting up barriers as Talos has instructed. Be careful."

"But Edrey..." But the look in his captains eyes left no room for argument. With an unsure glance the man collected the men in his unit, roughly half the men there and turned about in search of things to start making blockades.

The man with half his unit left turned back to Talos. "When you are ready."

Lena watched as the men followed Talos' orders and nodded at the instructions for themselves. There was no way she would leave his side and she knew he knew that as well. They needed to leave...

Last edited by Artemis on Fri Apr 01, 2011 4:29 pm; edited 1 time in total

Armeno grimaced, beginning to sway slightly. As he had suspected would happen, he had reached Foen's old house. It was half demolished and the intact part didn't look remotely like it had when the sorcerer had lived there. Obviously, he had moved away. Armeno turned Velox and dejectedly squeezed the horse's sides. There was no point in lingering; he would have to track down the Euphorn. Would she still be with the DDC? Armeno just sighed and made his way to where he had split from Talos. Predictably, the area was now practically deserted- aside from a figure on a wall in the distance, cloaked with emerald green and fighting alongside an avian. Armeno gritted his teeth and turned away before he could look too closely at their opponents. He didn't want to recognise any of them. He began to wend his way through the streets with Velox at a fast trot, trying to be systematic and cover as much ground as possible. Was that a pink shape in the distance? He urged VEloxpes on, increasingly aware of the blood leaking from his back.

Jaden snarled as the green magic flicked in the woman's fingers, a couple of sparks hitting him in the face. As the woman's leg lashed out at him, he shifted slightly, but largely ignored her flailing limb. It was painful, but not overwhelmingly so. He kept an inner eye on the avian who seemed to be her ally as he snapped at her, hoping not to be repelled by more of her green magic.

As Kumiko meandered between dilapidated buildings, she scanned her surroundings. Nothing interesting appeared until she saw the pink dragon jogging beside the prince- apparently they had travelled in similar directions. But it was something else that really interested her. A man, clothed in red, standing next to the prince. His scent was unusual, and Kumiko was quite sure that he wasn't human. But not a demon... She did feel, however, that it wasn't his true form, much like her. She sat in a gap between houses, tails lying still on the ground behind her, and regarded the group with a tilted head.

Ooc: I'm sorry, I wasn't sure where Faust was, so I kinda guessed. If I got anything wrong, let me know and I'll just edit.
ETA: Changed Miko's part to be correct for Faust. Again, sorry Nyx!

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

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