Tales of Astalia [Fantasy|IC|Open]

by **Nations United for Conquest** » Sat Mar 10, 2018 11:20 pm

Tales of Astalia

A Fire-Emblem Inspired RP

Background Lore

The continent of Astalia; a large spraling landform with a variety of beautiful features ranging from soft or rocky beaches, to might mountains, with soft rolling plains and hills thrown in between. Many generations ago it had been ruled over by three separate kingdoms each nearly as powerful as their neighbors, until The Grand Struggle, as it is known by most on the continent. It was at this time the three main Kingdoms; The Acraine Empire, Kingdom of Hasno, and The Prijam Kingdom, began to do war with one another for a great many reasons. Thousands from the main kingdoms and some of their vassals, died in this great conflict. It only grew worse through the use of Dragons, whom came from unknown origins, became weapons of terror on the battlefield, particularly by the Acraine Empire, who used them heavily in battle. Though, there came a point where even the Acraine were unable to control such power, and the Dragons began to wage war against the weakened humans, almost as if it were their goal before. Pushed back to the edges of their homes, the humans of all three kingdoms managed to push away their seemingly petty squabbles and face off the Dragons, only through shear luck, a strong will, and a bit of help from some holy weapons, were the Dragons finally pushed back.

Now, humanity has spent the last few hundred years rebuilding from this time. The old nations have fallen into many new and aspiring kingdoms both small and large in size and power. The signs of The Grand Struggle, have been reduced to little more than legends of mighty heroes and the few ruins of once mighty castles and bastions that lie around the countryside. Humanity has moved on with its life, and for the time peace had rung true throughout the continent, most nations too concerned with rebuilding and their own interests to set their sights upon their neighbors. Though in the past few years times have changed. From the ruins of Acraine Empire in the south a new power, in the form of the Friala Confederation, headed by the Pluenian Empire, has risen. Preached as a protective union of the Southern States, they have openly annexed many of their neighbors, and turning those who submit into Vassals with limited autonomy. Such actions have put them at odds with the Kingdom of Astya to the North, Zendle in the East, and others, who look to form their own leagues in anticipation for what maybe another Grand Struggle. But for the time being the world hangs in a delicate balance, and all it takes is a single event to throw it into chaos once again.

RP Summary

Hello! And welcome to Tales of Astalia. Now, right off the bat, let me clear one thing up; you may have noticed the little "Fire-Emblem Inspired" at the top of OP. If you've never played the games, or don't even know what they are, don't worry. The Games, their mechanics, events, characters, etc. will have no control or connection to the RP whatsoever. We are simply borrowing the rough setting and time period, along with some other "set pieces" in order to give the RP a bit of a kick start, so not everything is from scratch. Thus if you've never played the games, you won't be at a disadvantage or missing out on anything in the RP. All in all, this is a light to mild fantasy RP.

With that out of the way, we can get down to business. This RP will be all about you and your characters. Your party to to speak, and their journey around the Continent and its various Kingdoms. These characters can be from any of the nations, whether you created it or someone else does. They can be from any walk of life; Nobles to Mercenaries, Knights to Footmen, Grand Wizards to Apprentices. It's all up to you. There will an overarching story, as you can tell from the Background Lore, but in the beginning you will likely be separate and embarking on your own journeys, that will eventually be tied together.

Onto the Story

Oclane, The Grand Empire of Pluena

War Room

Seven Days Ago

Emperor Ehnfrid Alvar III

The room was grand and large in all respects, making it a perfect representation of the castle in which, and by extension nation in which it had been constructed. It was large room, seemingly endless in the lengths that it covered de to the low light that had filtered in through the many candles lit around, some hanging while others sat firmly on the ground, as there were no windows in the room after all, and few in the castle itself aside from perhaps the King's own personal study, adding much to the dreary look of the Castle within, despite how magnificent one might believe it to look from the outside, especially in the rising sun of a new day. A majority of the candles hung from smallholders positioned on the large stone pillars that supported the enormous weight of the room itself. Sixteen of these wonderful pillars, created hundreds of years ago not long after the founding of the Empire following the grand struggle, they were a marvel to behold. Seemingly endless in the heights that they climbed, each was about as thick as three men, and made entirely of a calming grey sort of color stone, carried from the very pit in which the lower areas of the castle resided. Despite seemingly only being exposed in the large war room, which sat below the King's personal study, the pillars extended much below the hard stone floor and equally strong roof which remained out of sight due to the positioning of the candles. Yet, the room was surprisingly empty, save for the many bookshelves that could be found lining the walls on either side, leading up to a pair of mighty wood doors, much too tall for any one person to fit through, and seemingly tall enough to allow one if not two Giants to pass through at the same time. Perhaps not the most practical use of wood or a doorway, but it was more so the feeling such an impressive monument gave off rather than how it was used. Aside from the overly sized wood doors standing to the North end of the room, the many bookshelves which lined it's walls and the even more plentiful candles which sat strewn about in seemingly random ways, the next most important object in the room would be the might table, made out of a lighter wood than the one found in the doors, of color not weight itself. The table was quite large, taking up a good portion of the middle of the room, though still allowing some to pass by, multiple even, if the need for such a maneuver was to arise. Around it sat might chairs of a similar color to that of the grand doors hanging not to far away from the table, the largest of which sat at the very south end of the Table, and was much larger and grander in design; fit for a king perhaps.

Across the table were strewn about many papers and map of all very degree, the most important of which was a large tapestry of a map hanging across the table which listed out the territories of the nation on Astalia. It was still bright in fabric and quality, perhaps only being a few years old, as to illustrate the more recent additions to the collection of territories which now resided under the command control of the Empire, and number that had been irregularly growing for the past few generations. Nearly a hundred years or so in fact since the original expansion of the Grand Empire from a smaller kingdom in the disorganized south into a power player that soon rivaled if not over took their rivals to the North East and West. Now it was shown to include areas that nearly encompassed the same territory as the Acraine empire, the current empires own father, which had died and collapsed many centuries ago during the Grand Struggle, mostly of their own doing. On the map itself were many markers of varying degree, seemingly random in size, assortment, and placing upon the first glance of the map, but as one would look closer and perhaps notices the many books laying open around the table on the map, it would become clear that these were in fact the markers that were to represent the locations and areas of troops that were spread out across the region. Everything from the traditional light and heavy infantry companies, to the more proud cavalry, both air and ground, units that were positions near the borders of the nations, for many reasons. Some of which would be used in the coming days and weeks. Thought for the most part, the room would normally sit empty, only the occasional maid passing through to clean up the cobwebs and dust that seemed extra attracted to the older room, though with the space of the place it wasn't hard to see why such a phenomenon was becoming of the room. Yet, today it was different than the many other days the room sat silent, as there was currently a use for the room, a meeting perhaps, and the once quiet room was filled with the chattering and chorus of many voices all talking and discussing many things at once, the outfits of these many as different as the voices and ideas that they carried with them.

At the head of the table resting upon the grand chair, fit for a king, was an older man. Perhaps not terribly older, and to be fair younger than some of the men sitting around the table, but nevertheless an older man. His hair was white mixed with streaks of grey, yet still remained in a somewhat lush clump around his head in an almost bushy manner that some would call curly if they were to look hard enough at it, or perhaps or long enough and lost track of all the different strains of white hair in the mess of tangles. Working its way down from the bushels and forest of hair was a well kept beard of the same color and texture. Long and soft it had crept from his sideburns just past his ears and made its way around his jaw line coming to a complete stop, giving him the look of a northern man who spent many days in the cold, despite having lived his life in the relatively temperate environment of the Grand Empire. Look up from the beard and catching a glimpse of the features that lay between the seas of flowing white, it was even easier to tell he was an older and seasoned man. Much of his face carried a creased and brown look, like that of leather than had been left out in the sun and was beginning to crack, likely the result of too many days spent out working in the sun, and a common result of a soldier or farmer, adding to show the man no doubt had strength within those aging bone, and had put it to good use throughout his life thus far. His eyes hung in an almost squint, a reflex from the many days spent in the sun, despite the light levels within the room being that of dusk or dawn when very little light could be filtered in, but the man did not seem to mind. Not even a large cut that ran across his left eye could deter the man from squinting, although it might have been more accurate to call that part of the cause of the squinting, the wound likely being the result of some lucky blow an enemy combatant managed to land in combat against the older man. The man's eyes, finally, wore a look of patience, obviously use to the confusion resounding from the many men sitting around the table, though also carrying a look of tiredness, not so much the one you would assume comes from a lack of sleep, something he was certainly lacking, but more so from simply dealing with the present situation. Below his face sat a well kept body, covered in a fine set of plate mail bearing a bronze like tint, despite not having been made of such a material, with stripes of blue and green running alongside some of the spaces between the plate armor, perhaps to cover the mail sections or perhaps simply for decoration, it could have gone either way. Seemingly fed up with the bickering around the table, and likely wishing even more to end whatever meeting was taking place, despite likely calling such, the man raised his hand and the room immediately fell silent, all eyes focused on him, awaiting whatever words he would speak.

Off to the right hand side of the man, sat another man a good number of years younger than himself, though perhaps not by much. Unlike the man who sat at the head of the table, he wore a head of mostly black hair, long and somewhat unkempt in its presentation, yet with a distinct air of discipline that seemed to flow from the style itself as well. Most of the hair was tied back in a long ponytail which hung off behind the man, threatening to touch below his shoulders, as it likely did when not constricted by the twine that currently held it in place. He also lacked the large beard of the man sitting at the head, instead optioning for a light beard, barely visible in the low light of the room they sat in, which was the result of the both the mains lifestyle and other reasons that no doubt had much more to do with culture than anything else of importance. His face too was in the rough and beaten down form the man sitting at the head, though not quite as leathery and beaten up, still having many years to go before he reached the experience and exposure of the that man who wore the tired face, though it would be unfair to say it was not weathered as well. It too carried a story of many hard days spent fighting, though lacked any distinguishing factors of injury of fighting. Such wounds could be found in large scale patterned and crossed across his back and chest. He too had seen many rough days in his life, and too carried an near sense of grief as did the man at the head, though lessen in its extent. His clothing was also radically different from the man sitting at the head. While the main at the head had donned a full set of plate armor, making a powerful and nearly impregnable defense against whatever blows may come his way, and of course adding to his might appearance along with that of the chair, the man lacked any armor of any sort. Instead he had chosen a loose fitting attire, mainly of a long overcoat, splitting at the neck to reveal another tunic of sorts below it. The overcoat resembled a robe in many ways with its pattern and style , though lacking in the color of white, it instead of a light blue color accented by a dark blue on the edges of the rob which were of a more thick material. The lack of protection seemed to matter little to the main who currently wore it, as he turned his attention to the man at the head, giving a slight nod in the direction of the man before returning it to the other sitting around the table.

Across from the man in the loose fitting robe, a sword visible at his side, though held in place by nothing more than the simply belt of cloth that secured the robe itself into place, sat a man much older than both the man sitting at the head and unarmored man. He too had a head of aging hair, though his sat more on the grey side than that of the man at the head of the table whom's hair was a shiny and bright white as if by snow. Making the hair of the man who sat to his left perhaps the grey clouds that circled over one's head before the heaven's were filled with rain and storm, making it perhaps the most fitting hair color for the man's position. He too carried a grand beard that traveled past one ear, making a loop around the man;s sharp and sturdy jaw line and eventually ending on the opposite ear, yet in contrast to the man sitting at the head of the table and to his own right, his beard was in a much more orderly fashion. Military if you will. It had sharpened edges that had no doubt been finely groomed as a reflection no doubt of the man's own personality and background as a military official, of course being the very reason he sat in the room among the other men who had recently been gathered, Much in the pattern of the men who sat besides him, he too wore that hardened face, never relenting or exposing a weakness of any kind, forged in the burning and hot fires of life and combat, and with the same dried look carried by the man to his left and somewhat exposed on the man sitting across from his position at current. His eyes were of a different color than the other too men, the dark blue like that of the sky that the man at the head carried, and the darker brown like that of the large doors to the north of them, he insteaded carried a pair of green eyes, like that of the large fields and forests that the men would have been able to see if there were windows of some sort within the room they currently resided within. He too wore armor, in contrast to the man sitting across from him and in similar tandem to the man who resided between the too, though in a much heavier state for the most part. A single large breast plate of cold and dark steel extruded from the man's chest, followed by many similar pieces that covered his arms, legs, and about ever piece of his body that you could think of, including the mail and plate armor gloves that he wore, though he had removed them due to the heat of the room in which they sat. He had taken similar measures with a large helmet of the same material which sat on the table beside him. It was orneite with a almost wing like pattern coming from either side, making an almost lock for the face guard which was above instead of resting in its normal place, yet they did not resemble the wings of a bird or pegasus one would find in many of the northern nation, but rather something with a much more earth like feeling. At the raising of the hand of the man sitting at the head of the table, he too turned his attention towards that direction, giving a slight nod, before returning his gaze to the map that lay in front of him. Along either side of the table stood more men, most wearing the same type of armor as the man at the head, though difference in sizes and colors, who too had quieted at the raising of a hand.

Having noticed the room quieting down after the simple gesture of his hand, the older man at the head took a gaze around the large table, the light of the many candles barely illuminating the faces which hung at the ends, though for the time being they were of little concern to him. What was however, or rather who, were the two men sitting his left and right. Scanning over their faces, his expression never changing from the solid and stoic, yet tired one he wore be seemed satisfied with what lay before him and began to speak, the words cascading out of his mouth in a slow but powerful voice that seemed as if it would shake the very room he was in, despite being nowhere close to yelling, "As many of you can assume, due to the recent actions involving my son the Crown Prince and the Second Army, we have gathered here to discuss the near future."

Many hushed whispers were shared among the men sitting at the further ends of the table, yet the two who sat closest to the head remained silent, simply nodding in agreement with the words of the older man, as if they knew it was coming before hand and were prepared for such words to be spoken. Casting a gaze over the room and releasing a small sigh the older man waiting until they had finished to resume his speaking, "We have studied the movements of our neighbors, both next to us and afar for sometime, waiting for the time it would be right to execute our plans." Though it's still questionable if it will work or not, the older man thought as he paused for a moment collecting his thoughts. "With many of the field pieces in order and waiting, it is time we get the other gears of the plan turning."

There were now whispers and even louder words of somewhat joy and emphasis from the man sitting at the further ends of the table, likely for the fact that they would soon once against get a chance to claim glory for both themselves and their beloved nation. Yet the men at the head of the table once again remained quiet, simply nodding once more in agreement, as though it was information that had already been passed along to them, when instead it was much more simply just something the seasons and perhaps more reserved men had seen coming for a long time, observing the movements of the Prince's Second Army, and the moving around of other troops within the nation. The older man now, somewhat surprisingly rose to his feet to speak, his impressive size despite his older age allowing him to tower above the others and strike as an imposing figure even more so than he did already, "You all have your orders. Most will be heading for the West, towards Holyion to await your further orders. All are dismissed except General Triijo and Lord Goeff."

With that simple order the twelve or so many, many knights and lords of respected household in the ever changing political landscape, though somewhat stabilized by the older man who sat at the head of the table, left through the large wood doors of which they had entered earlier, leaving the three older men to themselves in now even larger room. The young man to the left remained quiet, though a look of intrigue passed over his face as he await for the last of the other nobles and knights to leave, and even more so for what the words of the older man would entail for himself in the near future. The man sitting across from him and to the right of the older man remained stoic, yet was the first to speak once the room had been filtered out and the three remained alone, "I assume this means you have something planned for us, my Liege?" The question was quickly answered by the man sitting to the left of the older man with a somewhat sarcastic remark of "Well of course he does. We're special after all." Which earned him a quick and harse look from his more armored comrade sitting across from him, something which earned a hoarse and dry laugh from the older man, giving away the fact the meeting had been going on for sometime and gradually draining his voice, despite the lack of speaking he had done thus far.

The older man simply nodded and cast a quick glance between the two man who sat to his left and right who had quickly changed their appearances from a somewhat relaxed state, more so in the case of the man who sat to the left rather than his heavily armored counterpart across the table, to a more serious state, their now orders about to be revealed to them. A reveal both had been awake for several weeks, especially as the ending of the Zendle-Astya armistice came to an end, and time was ripe for additional military operations, should the kingdom desire such of their services. Looking over the two, the old man gave a stern look of satisfaction, the men before him some of the best the Grand Army had to offer, and in a hush voice as if to hide it from the waiting ears that were nowhere in sight, he spoke to them, "Lord Goeff, you will take your full two companies of Knights and head north to the Holy city on the lake, in two days. I believe your orders must be clear by now?" The armored man simply nodded his head and he rose from his seat, grabbing his helmet before making a quick bow as he too left the room through mighty wood gates which still stood to the north of the room, leaving the lightly armored younger man and the armored older man alone.

Turning away from the door and facing the older man, the younger and unarmored man grew a look of questioning upon his face ,as if to try and understand the possible motives of the actions seemingly just ordered by the man who was his liege and was still sitting to his left. Yet, the man's worn and weathered face would reveal no such details to the carefully studying eyes of the lightly armored man, and thus the younger man relinquished to his superior stoic foe, and instead released his own bit of commentary on the recent actions as if to pry some sort of information from the man, "Hmm, attacking an unarmed neutral territory..." He kicked his feet up on the table, narrowly missing a pile of books in an act that would have result in a major scolding from the older man who had only left a few minute earlier. The older and armored man simply gave but a small smile in the direction on his young subordinate, and stood much at the same time. Gather his own helmet which had rested off to the side much like that of the previous man, yet wore a radically different design, favoring more so protect from blows in a rounded yet square type of shape, he began to move towards the door, but stopped just as the younger man too rose to feet, turning back to utter something to him, "That doesn't concern us. You must gather one hundred additional auxiliaries from your home nation, and prepare to ride East. We must meet the Young Prince's forces before the half mark of this fortnight." And with that the two exited the room, their own work soon to be begin with a long and tiresome journey ahead of them both

by **Nations United for Conquest** » Sat Mar 10, 2018 11:21 pm

OOC: Continuation of previous post

Pluena-Selakai Border

Second Army of Pluena Base Camp

Two Days Ago

Crown Prince Einar G. Alvar

The camp was a very rough structure, despite the fact that it had been established over a fortnight and a half ago by the forces of the Second Army of Pluena under the command of the Crown Prince, Einar Alavar. It lacked any defining structures such as houses of any sort, mainly owing to the fact that it was primarily set in open ground due to the overall number of soldiers that had been gathered there both of the professional, auxiliary, and freelancing families. Tents were spread out in all manner across the wide open fields of the land's near the border of the mighty Grand Empire and its smaller sister nation to the East of Selakai, both having been gifted their independence from the Acraine Empire following the end of the Grand Struggle and the new era of rebuilding that was soon to follow, though the relations between the two were ever particularly good, given the political situation Pluena had put many of her neighbors in in the past few decades. The rows of tents seemed to stretched on forever at some points, mainly due to the fact most tents were simple barracks tents allowing no more than six soldiers to find refuge with in one with all of their gear supplies and weapons included among their own bodies and bags, many left to sleep in hammocks hanging above the ground instead of a solid bed to which they would call their own. They sat in rows, no more than two meters apart from one another in an almost grid like pattern that was largely lost on anyone who wasn't high above the camp looking down upon them, and even then the likelihood of them getting a good view of the genius was still likely hard to come by. Most of the horses, as the force was cavalry heavy, doing themselves off to the side in a field, opposite of the border in large groups numbering nearly three hundred by the rough estimate of a seasoned professional, when in reality there were about three hundred and fifty, only part of the large force that was currently assembled on those grassy plains between the small white tents, though a majority were not of the official Grand Army, and were that of auxiliary forces borrowed from neighboring Kingdoms, and some of the force was made up of seasoned mercenaries, though a majority of which were positioned further ahead of the main force acting on additional orders, per the request of the King who was overseeing the military operation, much to the morale boost of many of the regular forces stationed there.

The only part of the camp that somewhat resembled established structures could be found in the center of the camp and along the outskirts of the camp, near a large patch of forest with a narrow opening that lay near where about the border started. Much of the land that way was made up of the same thick forests, underdeveloped by the Selakai people whom were much too happy to keep their noses stuck in their magical Tomes, though a corps of about twenty mages carrying wind tome were present with the army, and to keep their suspicious eyes firmly planted on their neighbors to the East whom they viewed as little more than savages. Though they still cast some suspicion on the Grand Empire and its people, no doubt having noticed the assembling of the Crown Prince's own army near their borders, they likely had their hands and eyes full on other issues than the military force gathering outside of their border. The border itself was flanked by a few lines of stick, though in relatively large timbers that had been gathered from the nearby trees and sharped with axes and blades into large spike that now resided near the opening path from the forest to the field and in a large and soft arc around the camp and rows of tents themselves. They would act as a defense if the Selakai decided they wished to get the first licks in on the approaching and assembling army, or at the very least slow down their cavalry giving that of the Second Army of the Grand Empire to equip its own forces and prepare for a battle. Yet the threat of such was very low, most believing those people to not be stupid enough to try such a gamble with the Grand Empire on their home territory, much less if they were on Selakai. Yet, the mages and book worms of that nation still had other problems they would be forced to deal with sooner rather than later. The only other structure in the camp itself that resembled anything close to an established base was the center of the camp. This small circle laying in and surrounded by the rows and rows of white tents in their grid pattern held tents much larger than that of the barracks tents that could be found laying around in the tens if not hundreds all around this center circle. In addition they were positioned in a circle, with an extra large tent laying the middle of them forming an almost star like shape, with one tent point in each direction, north, south, east, and west, having the larger of the five tents in the middle of the four smaller yet still larger than a barracks tent, tents.

This group of tents after all was the hub of the Second Grand Army, its heart if you will, due in part to many reasons that could be seen. The larger tents lying to the South and North of the bigger middle tent were those dedicated to the armories of the Second Army. They held all manner of weapons and other supplies neatly tucked away in crates and other boxes, awaiting use which they would likely get in the days that were to come. Some barrels held hundreds of arrows, their tail feathers till rich and white as if they had never been fired, and most hadn't been fired yet after all, looking as if they had been plucked fresh and affixed that morning. The shafts of the arrows were of a nice light tan color, the grooves of the wood from which they were cut, still easily visible, and the patterns and marking they shared revealing to the trained eye which arrows hd been cut from the same tree and which had not. Down towards the end, still wrapped in a light cloth as to protect them were the heads of the arrows, even through the light cloth easily revealed to be of a smooth grey-ish metal, freshly polished before they had been shipped out as munitions for the Second Grand Army only a fortnight or so ago, yet they still retained their beautiful shine. The Pluenain archers with the Second Army, though smaller in number, at only fifty, would burn through the at least twenty barrels of fresh arrows in only a matter of days. Besides the barrels of arrows stood other assorted weapons of various degrees and shapes. Some barrels held swords that were to be used by the infantry and cavalry alike. There were much few of these, most soldiers in either group already possessing their own sword, though the ones in the barrel were also new like that of their arrow brothers. Their hilts were wrapped in fresh leather, for a strong grip and their blades and hilts looked polish, even those of iron, to a point of where one would of thought they had been forged that day and the shine of them in the sun of the mid day, or even evening, would be enough to simply blind the enemy and force them into surrender. The same was also true for the spears which mainly sat in large shelving type units, unlike their sword and arrow counterparts. These long weapons were the prefered weapon of the Cavalry, but also found plenty of use among the infantry, especially when dealing with cavalry on the battlefield. They too had freshly polished blades that seemed to shine even among the fading light of the afternoon's sky as it bleed out red and yellow, slowing being the transition from evening to dusk, and finally onto night. The only thing missing were Tomes, of which only forty were present in the entire army, two belonging to each of the mages that had accompanied the army. Though strangely there was an ample supply of firewood, among the supplies in the armory.

The other two buildings served mainly for support purposes, one being a mess hall, where the soldiers would line up in large lines for several hours each morning to receive a ration. Normally made up of simple bread and occasionally some meat, it was often more than enough for a majority of the soldiers to make it between meals and even fight if the ocasiona required such. Yet on days of battle there was often more meat and booze to be found among the mess hall, in order to prepare the soldiers for the long and brutal fights that would often follow such meals, and in some unfortunate cases; provide a last joyous meal among their comrades for those would fall in battle that day. The other tent served a much different purpose, being the main field hospital for the army. Here, one could find stories of vulneraries and elixirs stacked up among staves, all waiting to be used should the need for their service arrive. The tent was primarily manned by healers, though one or two of the mages present with the army doubled up putting their skills to work with Staves to heal the more critically wounded members of the Second Army, should even the elixirs fail to help them through their pain. Though by far the most important ten in the middle section was the main one laying at the center of everything. This was of course the main command tent where the Crown Prince and the commanders and captains of the various formations present would take a meeting room to discuss strategy. It was setup in a very similar style to the war room back in the Imperial capital, with a single ong table stretching across the middle of the tent, taking up most of its room, and piles of books and other papers still found themselves littered across the top of the table, listing various things from troops sizes to the amount of supplies each company would require during the upcoming operation. The difference lied in the large map that was hung from the wall of the Tent, seemingly zoomed in on the particular area they were operating in due in part to the work of scouts who had been surveying the area for sometime in order to learn about the optimal positions for their coming plans. Information that both the King and the Crown Prince had taken to heart when mapping out their operational plans. Now a variety of men including the Crown Princess food around the table, some obviously frustrated at the current conditions of what was happening around them.

The Crown Prince himself stood off to the side, yet still at the head of the table, facing away from the large flaps of the ten;s cloth that acted in place of the large doors that were to be found protecting the war room back in the Imperial Capital, guarded by two footmen armed with spears rather than the thick wood that made up the Imperial door. The Prince had a younger face, only being around twenty six years, and although he had been a Knight for much of that time, nearly ten years and had fought in a at least a few battles, his face was far from the leathered and weather looked shared by his father and some of the very captains presently standing around the small table. Though he still carried the same light blue eyes that seem to cut through every man that stood around that table, and not simply through the fact that he was the only son of their King, there were other reasons behind their reactions. Though the prince dressed in similar manner to his comrades and officers around him; a originate set of plate armor complemented by accident mail in the places the plate armor was unable to cover, and lack of a helmet as to allow his unruly blonde hair, not unlike that of his father when the two shared the age, his was set apart by the colors of his armor, unsimilar in the bronze color to his father as it wore a near jet black color much like that of Lord Goeff who was in the north, and the Red cloak he wore under it that create tail flaps in certain places as he walked, giving off the illusion of grandness for the younger lord and Prince. He wore a look of patience on his face, a trait he had no doubt gotten from his father, though perhaps the origins of the trait laying in different ways for poth of the men, and a coming expression despite that of the men around him who wore faces of distress and revealed the pent up anger and restlessness that was likely shared by the men gathered and walked about in their own white tents in the rows and gird of white that lay outside the flaps of the ver tent the officers stood in.

It was an expression exemplified by a lord, a few years younger than the Prince, who wore a powerful looking set of dark plate armor much in the same style of the Prince, though with a sharper look than the perhaps rounded edges of the Prince's armor. He carried a ornate and fancy looking sword, only its hilt showing above the beautiful leather sheath in which it was held much in the same fashion as both the Prince and the many officers, lords and knights, who were gathered around him. His face was of a pale color, slightly creased due to the somewhat annoyed expression he was casting bothin the direction of the young prince and the officers who stood around him, himself being off to the side and somewhat out of the way of the men within the tent. His hair and eyes were the sharpest contrast however, with somewhat unkempt white hair that seemed to match the shade of the King almost perfectly despite the difference in years between the two, and his eyes carried a lighter red tint to them, almost glowing in a way, that sharply opposed the cool blue colors eyes that sat resting in the Prince's own facing revealing nothing to the men who stood around him. He also carried an item lost and missing in a way from all the other men who stood around that table; a small red book he had kept tucked under his arm, easily identifiable to anyone in the Grand Army to even the poorest of peasants as a Tome. A fire tome to be sure of it, the only one present in the army at that time, the other magic users present having been all outfitted with wind tomes per the request of the King who was to oversee the operation and campaign once he arrived with additional auxiliary forces to reinforce the army and allow them to execute their plans to the utmost efficiency. But such an arrival would still be a day off leading to the restlessness that had precedes itself over the camp, including the young lord gripping his tome off to the side of the room.

Yet, for all his disgruntled attitude, at least what one could tell simply by casting the tome clutching young lord a single look, he would not be the one who would be responsible for voicing the first call of protest against the actions of the Prince, though they were very much out of the control of the young boy, as he had no greater authority to begin operations than any man within the army, despite being its commander. Instead one of the man officers, clad in a simple working of plate armor and mail, like most of the light cavalry that was present with the army, some one hundred of the horses grazing in the fields belonged to this section of the army, "My lord, why do we still wait? The men are growing restless, and if your fathers plans have gone the way he predicted, surely our men can advance a little bit." It was then before the Prince even got a chance to open his mouth and no doubt give a response he had given many times before he was cut off by another man. This man wore armor different than the previous man, being of a much heavier fashion with plate armor and mail, much thicker to at that, easily making him identifiable as a Heavy Cavalry commander. His sword and helmet rested on the table to more than a stones toss away from where he stood, his hands planted firmly on the table, "My lord, even allowing the men to simply move about from within the confines of the camp would no only be good for them, but for their morale as well. We have been here over a fortnight and it has taken its toll on the army. Everyman wishes to get into the fight, and can't stand leaving it up to these less desirable soldiers that have been ordered up with us."

At those words spoken by the man, there were many hushed words of agreeance and nods shared among them, including the young lord who had remained at the back. He seemingly wished to be just as eager as the other man around the table to get his hands on some of the glory that last in the battles that were to come, though perhaps there were other reasons that he wished to enter battle that would remain with him and not be shared with anyone else. The respite of cheering and talks did not last long, as the young Prince raised his hand in order to calm the men who were still talking about themselves, and drawing the attention of all the men in the room, including that of the other young lord, to his area, as he poosed himself to speak. His voice was similar to his fathers, come out in a smooth and calming pitch, though not quite as a deep as the older man who was no doubt busy riding on his way to the very camp in which they stood speaking, "I understand the men are restless, as am I. I wish nothing more than to divulge in the glory and excitement of combat alongside all of you." As he paused the room was quickly filled with cheers yet again, this time for the Young Prince who was to lead them into battle in the following days ahead of them. "But, you all must trust in my father's plans, just as I do. He will no doubt arrive shortly with the remainder of our forces, and General Trijo in tandem." There was a look of curiosity, excitement and in the faces of some disgust at the mention of the General who would be leading the Auxiliary forces whom were to assist in battle in the coming days, for a variety of reasons, none of which had to do with the man's skill, as he was legendary within the ranks of the Grand Army, though only being there for a short time of no more than twenty years, when many of the other Generals had been serving since they were young squires. "As such, we must be patient. Our time to strike the enemy will be upon us soon, and when it come we will crush them. Now go to your men, and prepare them. It is likely we will begin the opening maneuvers of the campaign in the early hours when my father arrives." At that there was another round of cheering as the officers filtered out of the tent, walking along the rows of white tents stretching across the plains, each looking for his own field army's sector among the many that existed. As they left, the Crown Prince and Young Lord, they turned their attention towards the East where above the edges of the trees and in the fading light of the evening sky, large plums of black smoke could be seen all across the horizon.

Astya-Eskon Border

Eastern Border

Present Day

Crown Princess Isa T. Kuhn and Company

The eastern borders of the Unified Kingdom better known as the kingdom of Astya to those outside of its borders, was a region primarily made up of rolling landw of grass that had been left untouched since the end of the Grand Struggle, that generally transitioned in the rolling plains that made up the area inhabited by several tribes and lesser kingdoms known to most surrounding countries simply as "The plains" though it was true that there was a structured kingdom of sorts within its borders, the more tribal nature of the lands made it hard to communicate a united front of any in such international matters and thus it was often resolved to simply leave it as it was with the name of the plains. Moving away from these rolling fields of brown and tan grass, back to the lush green fields of Astya you would often hit large patches of thick woods, might trees covering every centimeter of the ground and blocking off most of the light, making them the ideal place to rest when traveling many kilometers in the heat of the sun some afternoons, especially in the warmer summer months that had yet to reach the area, still being a month or so away from soaking the land in sunlight and heat, leaving the current temperature in a mild area that was well suited to traveling, whether by foot or by horse. Through these forest rested an innumerable amount of paths, some officially built by the Kingdom, through lax in their maintenance due to the areas in which they resided, but more commonly by simply paths cut through the forest, only big enough for perhaps a single person to fit through comfortably, but in other cases to winding and narrow it was hard to call them a path at all since the overgrowth made it impossible for horses to pass through such area, and still more so rough on anyone to dared to traverse such on their feet. Such path would likely remain in the hands of the animals who roamed the forests, many of the paths their own doing after all, and the hunters many of whom were from Eskon who found the area particularly nice for hunting large game such as deer or on the rarer of occasions it was possible to bag a large boar of sorts, though one always had to be careful of wolves and coyotes that enjoy hunting through the forest and plains that lay around them, yet it would be rude to say that they were the only type of unbenevolent creature roaming in the thick trees and bushes of the forests and their plains that surrounded them like islands of green on the flowing seas of even more green.

Though the paths didn't always lie empty in this part of the world. Though scarese in settled villages and farms, or any semblance of human civilization besides the crumbling and decaying ruins of mighty forts and castles that had once stood during the Grand Struggle and the many years and decades before hand, destroyed by war and neglect, the paths were still incredibly useful for anyone deciding to travel among the world in relative peace, free from the crowded main streets that lay between the major cities and towns of Astya and her neighbor Eskon, though in the case of the later they were far and few between. It was often you would find many travelers, most of the more scientific class hoping to use these trails, as they were ripe with fauna and flora that one could spend days watching, hoping to learn some mysterious secrets of the nature they experienced every day but understood very little of when you got down to it. It was also popular for the sneaker of merchants and other classes to move people and goods between the cities without one finding out. The secret backroads if you will, like the alleyways where one is told not to go as a child in the cities, but in reality are not so bad once you spend some time exploring them,. though that's not to say one did not have to be careful on such roads. Off away from the settlements of society and the protections of heavily armored knights who watched over the people, it was not uncommon to find less than helpful souls on these back paths. Robbers and Bandits were a main concern, using these roads as perfect ambush points, often for farmers and wealthy merchant who did not known the roads and paths quite as well as they did, even going to far as to arrange celebrate schemes in order to bag whatever poor and helpless sap from out ot town would fall for them; their constant raids often keeping the small communities of villagers who lived out here quiet as to what their plans really were for these wealthy individuals. Often these villages were their own bases of operations in some cases, promising not to raid the village of they cooperated with their schemes or allowed them to live among them. So far from the protection of an established army, their own militias surprising little match for experienced bandits who had seen much combat and were often better armed and armored than these poor villagers, they had no choice but to comply with such demands.

But today the occupiers of the roads that were often not traveled, the one inquisition running from a larger merchant and seafaring port town of the Eskoni Kingdom, down into the Easternmost parts of the Unified Kingdom, and further south towards the Plains and areas around Belkose, were of a different breed than many of the other users of the road. A group of three, two men and a woman only slightly younger than both of them, all within the same age range of their mid to late twenties, all on horse back, were currently passing down the road at a more relaxed speed upon the backs of their horses, two of the travelers looking much more comfortable about the ordeal than the third who rode slightly behind the young woman who sat between the two man in her relative position. They were an odd group to see on the roads of these back parts of the country. The armor of the lead man and even that of his two compatriots who wore obviously less armor though not of a lower quality by any means, simply in terms of quantity, was orient indesign with a command presence and shine that you often would not find in that of Mercenaries or common bandits who roade upon these roads both day and night for a variety of jobs. Yet, they also lacked any sort of supplies or a carriage that would indicate they were farmers or merchants of some type, perhaps making the two men guards and the young lady a Merchant, though it strangely did not seem to fit with the aura that seemed to rise up from the group. The man at the head was interesting in his own right. He rode utop a sturdy and grey horse, much like his own demeanor, which carried several large pieces of plate armor and mail hanging around it, in place with a large blue cloth that seemed to nearly hangt to the ground as the horse walked along the path. It was of a dark blue color, not unlike the very cape the man wore extruding from his own armor, and bore a symbol that was circular in nature though partially blocked by the man's own legs and saddle upon which he sat. The man himself wore a set of plate armor, grey in color with hints of blue made up by his cloak he wore upon his back in an almost cape like manner and the some of the accents found on the armor itself, formed by the applying of metal to the edges of armor, only added to his continued look of power. He wore a head of somewhat ordealy blonde hair, as he lacked a helmet to cover it, and it was flowing ever so slightly in the light breeze that was passing across the path as they rode. He lacked a beard of any kind, yet his face was hard in a stoic expression, seemingly taking in everything there was to see as his head rotated on a swivel around both himself and the woods that enveloped the path decreasing visibility. His eyes were of a dark blue shade that spoke of seriousness and professionalism much like the rest of the man's outfit and demaner. He carried a sword of simple nature tucked into a sheath, with a spear made of some shining metal upon the opposite side of his body and hanging off the horse, accompanied by two long and skinny spears of a light wood with a metal head.

Behind the man wearing the serious expression and commanding and powerful armor, sat a young woman who appeared to be no more than perhaps a year younger than her companion who sat in front of her. She lacked the ornate armor of the man riding in front of her, instead opting for a sort of light plate armor, a single piece of which covered most of her chest, stretching both up and down to protect parts of her stomach and neck area. On on shoulder a few pieces of plate armor could be spotted, likely to protect against any blows that were to be directed there by would be attackers, with some on the vanguards of both of her wrists and additional pieces that protected her shins and knees from ware and any lower blows that an enemy maty have attempted to make in order to disable their foe. Unlike the man in front of her who wore a dark blue cloak under his armor, she instead wore a light green, almost like that of a fine jewel one could see on the necklace of the wealthy or power class of people, tunic that covered her upper body, being long sleeved in nature and stretched just below here waist, in an almost fan or skirt like style, and was eventually meant by a simply pair of pants that were eventually covered near the shines in boots that also served a secondary job of holding her leg armor in place, it only covering the front, and leaving the back open. She too forwent wearing a helmet much like her companion to the front, and instead allowed her long locks of red, near scarlett and pink like that of a freshly cooked salmon to flow down, reaching past her shoulders in a somewhat messy, somewhat ordeally cascade of curls and seemed to twist on an on, perhaps the result of wearing it up for too long and finally allowing to to feel freely in the wind, which may have been to blame for the messy look of her hair. Another similarity she shared with her companion to the front was the use of weapons, a single skinny sword hanging from a sheath around her belt. Though the blade was hidden, the style of the wrist guard and hilt, almost like that of a basket, gave it away as a more ornate sword, perhaps not the best for direct combat, but more than enough to defend oneself from attacks should the need become necessary. Though she lacked the large and imposing spear of her southern position companion, she instead wore an additional piece of clothing; a sash of sorts going around her right shoulder, and dropping down into a large bag, a satchel if you will on the opposite side of her sword. Within she held two books of very different colors, one of a powerful blue, not unlike the cloak worn by her forward companion and his horse, and one of a reddish color, duller than the hair she wore, though it was perhaps better to simply say that the book was of a darker color, giving off the illusion that it was duller than her bright hair. Both books only showed the spines were ornate in their own right, the blue book beating out that of the forward companions armor, and the red book failing to reach such a criteria, were also covered in runes of some sort, easily allowing one to discover the fact they were in fact Tomes, the red one being of some sort of fire, and the blue no doubt being of lighting, giving off the aura of a storm simply by looking at it. Her face was different from that of the man who rode ahead of her, carrying a much calmer look, as if she was enjoying the fields and forests of beautie in which they passed through rather than the man ahead of her who seemed to be all business, her green eyes sizing up and attempting to commit to memory everything that she saw as they passed through.

Behind the young woman, though now nearly abreast with her horse as he came up on her left side was the third companion of the winding and beautiful forest path, another man who appeared to be slightly older than both the lead point man and the young woman by at least a year or two, differing for both of them given their own age difference. Much in the same fashion of the young woman he forwent the large amounts of armor possed by their companion leading the group through the wood, not having the large and powerful pieces of plate armor with their decorative pieces and accents. Yet, his armor was surprisingly less of the young woman who rode in front of him. He wore no large breast plate that covered much of the upper body, instead using a smaller piece that just protected his upper chest and shoulder joints. He seemed to be wearing less armor everywhere, not even having the metal vanguards upon his wrists like that of the young woman. instead opting to roll up the sleeves of his overcoat to that of a short sleeved shirt exposing his forearms and to that end the young man who rode at the forefront of the group, though it had little to do with his position in the group of riders, yet he did posse two plates of armor on either shoulder in a somewhat similar fashion to the young woman in order to protect from such strikes to those points of the shoulder that could easily disable any warrior or person should a hit of that kind connect with the body. He did however, share the leg protection of the young woman, with guards rising from his boots all the way up to his knees, making them extend slightly lower than that of the young woman's own armor, though that was likely up to personal taste than any sort of deeper meaning perhaps involving a fight of some sort. Looking past his armor, he wore a combination of clothing of both the young man and woman who rode in front of him. He appeared to be wearing a long overcoat beneath his armor, blue in color though darker than that of the lead man, it rose up into a collar around his next, though must have been of light material given the climate they were in, and in the opposite direction to lowered to the levels of the young woman's tunic, in which it was well below the waste, if not reaching down towards his knees, certainly giving off the appearance of a cape similar to how the lead man had been wearing his clock. Below the overcoat was a simple shirt of dark read, an almost maroon color that eventually met with a pair of white if not a bit creamy colored, like that of fresh milk that had come from a cow that very morning, pants that much like his companions faded into boots that served the dual purposes as a place for his leg armor to be held into place. Looking back up towards the head, one would find a head of loose, though surprisingly really maroon hair, not unlike the shirt he wore under his overcoat and a pair of brown eyes to compliment them even further. Unlike his companions, his face was rough and weathered, indicating many years of working hard labor, likely as some sort of soldiers, perhaps even a mercenary judging by his garb and current position with that of his companions. Much like the man in front his face was stoic and was watching the many shadows of the trees and bushes around him, though it remained fixed on what was ahead, almost as if he was relying on his peripheral vision. He also followed suit with his companions in the dawning of a weapon upon his body. We carried a large sword, unlike either of the ones carried by his companions, within a sheath planted firmly next to him due to his belt. It was a large and sturdy looking blade, the type used by infantry rather than a rider of any sort, and could easily be wielded with a single hand, though a bit of a task for a normal soldier, or with two, the style seemingly prefered by the man. He also wore an additional weapon, a blade of a strange shape, tucked away behind him in a large sheath of a similarly strange nature, an ornate and ancient looking hilt extended from it, a backup weapon perhaps or something different, the answer being only resolved in the crucible of combat, and even then, it as unlike to be revealed the true nature of the blade. There was also the small addition of a shield draped onto the side of the mount, likely in use for tandem with the mysterious sword around his back, though chances were it could be used either way, depending on his action with the steel sword next to his waist.

As they continued down the forest path, it generally began to change the layout of the path of which they were traveling, most notably in the size of the path, as the greenery around it still remained the same large trees, likely of oak, covered in overgrown of bushes and grass around the edges, which threatened to grow its way over onto the dirt of the road, were it not for the constantly traveling of people and horses across this land it would have surely done so long ago. The difference lay in size of the path that they traveled, as the land eventually began to give away from the flat nature of the plains and into a more hilly areas, the banks on either side of the road began to rise, soon reaching almost half a meter in height of shear rock and earth covered with overgrowth making it hard for one to scale them, despite the size they were as compared to the horses and the riders of the mounts. It was around this time that the ride at the back of the group, though more so in league with the speed and pacing of the middle rider, began to make a maneuver around the middle rider, the young woman, in order to bring his horse along side the young man still leading the group from his grey horse at the lead of the group. Upon reaching the young man he brought his horse up along of the younger man, and without removing his eyes from the road in front of them, nor moving his head in any manner as to secure a better position for speaking, he began to whisper to the young man who know rode to the right of them, the young woman attempting to bring her horse up to speed, but the narrowing path had prevented such. As the older of the two men spoke his voice came out smooth yet gravelly in a deep tone one would expect from a slightly older man, "I'm sure you've noticed the shadows that have been following us for sometime as well." There was no hint of a question in his words, rather they were a direct statement to the man who now rode to his right, and simply gave a light and subtle nod towards his older companion in order to affirm that what he had said was an observation shared between the two.

At this, the older of the two men allowed his horse to fall back slightly behind the younger man, as he was allowing the young woman and her horse to catch up with him in order to retell the news that he had just shared with his younger companion. As the two horses returned to their state of pairing, now increasingly harder to performing due to the increasing narrowing of the path as they approached what looked like a sharp bend in the road, the younger woman turned to him with a look of curiosity upon her face. She wore the same look as before, but her eyes and dimmed to a squinting position and a single eyebrow was raised slightly higher than the other as she await the news the older man would no doubt retell to her any moment, despite his contrasting look that had never ceased to remain the same and he didn't even look up towards the younger woman. He simply continued along, his horse now slightly ahead of the young woman's in order to allow them to continue down the path without one of them ending up being pushed over the side into the thickets of bushes and overgrowth that lay off to the side of the road. He simply turned back towards her and in the same low voice he had used to talk to his younger companion before, related the similar message as shared between the two men, "We're being trailed in the woods." Normally one would look off towards the woods in order to catch sight of whatever shadows had been following them, but such would of surely revealed they were onto them and resulted in a sudden attack they would largely be prepared for, no doubt leading to unnecessary injuries, yet the younger woman was smart enough not to try such a trick and simply looked on towards her older companion as he began to speak to her once again, "They'll likely hit us in the next few seconds at this turn, be ready in case something happens." The younger woman didn't even react to the comment of her older Companion. Her satchel containing the Tomes had already been left open, though not because she had witnessed the shadows pacing and tracking their movements through the woods, but more so because she was well experienced with the woods in which they traveled and assumed such was a likely occurrence to transpire. And no sooner than such words were shared was the faint sound of a tense string being release piercing through the air, though the sound was only caught by the older companion who reached out into the air, miraculously grabbing a small arrow from the air as it crossed across his hand on its way towards his younger female companion, nearly catching her right in the head.

Even as the older companion sat there, a small stream of blood falling in a red and warm waterfall from his left hand and onto the saddle upon which he sat, he had little time for rest or a chance to patch up his hand, of which a small burning sensation was rising, yet he paid no mind to it as he followed suit with his companion and dismounted from his stead, pulling his sword from its sheath with his good hand, it's forged steel blade shining in the midday sun. His companions followed suit, the lead rider of the group and the younger male companion quickly locating his lance from its place upon his stead, its blade and shaft glimmering in the sunlight, as it was made of a lighter colored metal than that of the simply steel sword held in the hands of the older companion, though they both shared the fact that their shields remained upon their horses, due the item being on the opposite side of their dismount and thus to far away to quickly grab for the ensuing fight. The young woman followed the same pattern of her older companions, but with the slight deviation that rather than pull some ornate and sturdy Lance or forged and hardened Sword from her belt, she instead removed the red Tome from within her satchel placing it upon her left hand and awaiting any sudden movements from the trees. The first of the unseen attackers to break their cover foolishly approached the older of the riders with little more than the desire to kill and loot him, two of them rushing forward axes in a single hand, their other free and prepared to deliver a crushing powerful blow should they be given the chance. Yet it was not within the character of the man they were fighting, and rarely found in any man, to simply allow such deadly blows to be delivered upon one's own body, and thus as the two rushed at him a drew his sword to the a striking position. The first of the two men rushed forwards, foolishly in front of his companion, in some effort to deliver the first kill of the day and steal such an honor for himself, but such a move would rather result in his quick demise, for as the Brigand rose his axe to strike down upon the older of the travelers, the man quickly removed his blade from its resting place at his side in a quick upward strike, slicing the man clean through his leather armor and across his entire upper body from his left hip to his right shoulder. The would be attacker stumbled backwards, his axe dropped on the ground and both hands clutching to his chest as blood seeped from its wound. The next man, shocked by the sudden death of his comrade, left himself open to an attack by the man, who quickly took advantage of such, not wasting a second in bringing the blade down upon the other enemies' left shoulder, catching the blade right between the shoulder joint and the man's neck sending him back in a dunkard like stumble, clutching for his throat as he too fell into a pile of his own blood at the feet of the traveling swordsman.

The next two of the shadowy figure would try their luck elsewhere, realizing that trying their luck with the sword wielding traveler was likely to force them into a quick demise, and an end to their careers as bandits and Brigands, though unfortunately for them, they're luck with the other two members of the small convoy would be anything but better. The lead of the two man nearly jumped from the small embankment of the forest that acted like a natural barrier against the forest and road, swinging his axe high above his head as he attempted to bring down the full force of his blow upon the lance wielding traveler who stood closest to the embankment. Unfortunately for the high jumping brigand, the man with the lance was fully ready to deal with the somewhat of a surprise attack, the loud yelling of the man as he jumped largely giving it away. The Brigan's force jump was easily countered by the lance wielding traveler, who simply held up his own lance like a beam which absorbed even the two handed blow from the Brigand's axe like it was nothing, not even forcing the young lance wielding traveler to move back an inch, and even before the Brigand was able to fully realize what was taking place the lance wielding traveler pushed up with his lance effectively throwing the Brigand backward. Yet before the Brigan could even react, he thrust his lance forwards and yanked it back just as quick, placing a large gash in the man's stomach, quickly spilling over into a pile of blood as he rolled around on the ground, speeding up the process of him bleeding to death. The last of the Brigand's to show themselves, was another axe wielding maniac who effective attempted to throw himself at the young woman who had taken up a position in the middle of her two companions and their horses. She easily sidestepped the man with the axe, almost as if it was no effort to her at all, and back hopped her way to a meter or two away from him and began to take up a sturdy stance, her right hand pointed out towards the Brigand and several lines of runes beginning to form around her in almost dull gold like colors. Before the Brigand even had time to readjust himself and figure out what had happened to his seemingly defenseless prey, the words "Arc-Fire!" in a feminine voice graced his ears and as he turned in the direction of the chant he was quickly engulfed in a blast of fire that nearly sent him flying back a few centimeters, ending his life just as quickly as that of the other three who had tried to attack the group of travelers. It was then that yet again the cracking sound of an arrow leaving its home of the bow was heard yet again, and each member of the traveling party, weapons in hand, turned to face the source of the firing fully prepared to have to deal with yet another arrow, except not more than a second later they were greeted by a loud thumping sound of something impacting the ground. As they turned they were greeted with a fifth Brigand, a bow upon his back, sword in hand, and an Arrow sticking out of his eye, laying on the ground dead.

With no shooter in sight, each member of the traveling party turned their attention towards the source of the arrow, a small clump of bushes and trees that lay off to one side of the road in the opposite direct as the first arrow that had been fired resulting the short battle that followed, if you could even call the obvious slaughtered of the Brigands a battle. Yet, as they looked on no source of an arrow being fired could be seen, nor could they hear any footsteps of someone moving around in the brush or trees. Thus, the younger woman traveler decided she would take it upon herself to lure out the mysterious archer who had perhaps saved one of their lives, putting her time back into her satchel she took a step towards the woods which instantly caused the lance wielding traveler to go on guard, but his sword wielding companion simply placed his sword back into its sheath and made his way towards the opposite side of his horse, where he had stored a few vulneraries in a pack; something he would need to help heal up his hand that had been injured during the initial moments of the fight. Meanwhile, the young woman had reached pretty much the edge of the road, where the clean though somewhat messy dirt road met the tangle of overgrowth and trees of the forest and began to call out to the mysterious shooter, "We mean you no harm, and simply wish to thank you for the help you have offered us in this fight." Her lance wielding companion was close behind her, and after a few moments of silence whispered into her ear, "It's likely whomever it was has fled." Though just as he spoke those words, he was interrupted by voice that had appeared seemingly behind them without their notice, in a voice that carried a tinge of sarcasm upon it, "I don't think that's the right choice of words..." Spinning around like a pair of freshly spun tops, the pair found themselves staring face to face with a young man no older than them, and about the same height as the lance wielding traveler who was slightly taller than his female counterpart and tome wielding companion. The man had surprisingly well kept blond hair, though his bangs were slightly long and seemed as if they were falling into his eyes with ever sudden movement of even the light wind that was currently blowing through the small path they stood upon. His eyes were of an equally light shade, possibly a dull grey color to them which seemed to match perfectly with his hair. Unlike the hard face of the lance wielding traveler and the surprised look of the tome wielding companion of his, the young man wore an almost smile, as if he had told a great joke, and seemingly didn't care no one else thought that it was funny. For clothes he was lacking in the armor department as well, possessing nothing more than legs guards of a similar nature to those worn by the Sword wielding traveler who was apparently too busy to intervene in the current situation. In another similarity of the two, he wore a long overcoat as well, of a lighter color of blue than his matching sword wielding counterpart, and avoiding the rolling of sleeves, instead opting for some leather glove. He also wore simple pair of pants which transition into boots like two of the travelers. As for weapons, he had a single bow of an ornate design, seemingly hand crafted from the same type of wood that was all around them, yet with a light tone, hitting that it was from a different tree, and a second bow around his back that was much different, almost seemingly made out of a metal alloy and with a strange blue aura radiating from it.

Upon seeing the looks of confusion spread across the faces of the two full armed people in front of him, although the female traveler had put away her tome, her sword was still easily within reach and possessing no sword of his own aside from a small hunting knife located on his left hip, he was virtually defenseless, yet he began to release a small chuckle at the look of the two travelers, setting them off and confusing them even more. Even more confused and with the newly arrive stranger nearly kealing over with laughter, the young female traveler, weaponless, decided she was the best to at least attempt to break the awkwardness and confusion of the situation she currently found herself in, "Umm...Thank you for helping us back there." She paused for a second as the young man finished up his laughing and began to turn back towards them once again, a more serious look upon his face, though a slight grin still managed to find its way onto his face, obviously still laughing at the seemingly lost joke he had made just earlier. "Wh-" the young female traveler began to speak, only to be cut off by the young man, "It was my pleasure..." he paused as he took a small bow into the direction of the young female traveler and her still at the ready lance wielding companion, "Lady Isa."

As the newly arrived young man rose, having finished his acceptance of thanks from the two travelers, the young female, revealed to be Lady Isa, he was greeted by the shocked face of Isa and the equally shocked but slightly enraged face of the lance wielding traveler, obviously feeling a mix of thoughts and emotions at the words just spoken by the strange new man who had just arrived out of nowhere from the woods. It was again the bow wielding man who would speak yet again, this time directed at the young traveler holding the lance in an awful defensive position, and allowing himself to stand in from of Isa, "Surely you haven't forgotten me, Sir Altero? Or should I call you Anton?" There was a hint of sarcasm on the last comment by the mysterious bowman, a source of sarcasm that was simply lost on the lance wielding traveler now shown to be Sir Anton Altero, the rising commander of Astya and the personal guard of lady Isa of Astya, as Sir Anton quickly maneuver his lance nearer to the neck of the mysterious man and barked out to him, "Who are you? Answer me, or you I may just 'forget' how you helped us just now." The mysterious man, with his hands now high above his head, his wood bow laying on the ground near his feet and his small hunting knife finding its place there as well. The fire in the eyes of Sir Anton was that of burning brimstone, like the fires of hell and a fate worse than the poor Brigand who had been struck with the blast from Isa's Arc-Fire Tome, yet the now hostage bowman showed no fear, and instead cracked a small grin as he began to talk, "I suppose I've had my fun...I am-" He was suddenly cut off by the voice of the Swordsman who had rejoined the group, seemingly done with the repairs to his hand, and stirred by the commotion that was currently happening between his companions, Isa and Anton, and the mysterious bowman they had found, "...Lord Koen, house of Fero. A good friend of mine, surely you remember him, Anton?" It was then almost as if a switch had been turned on in the minds of both Isa and Anton that they began to relax, Anton storing his lance away back on his horse, and the bowman, an one Koen of house Fero, going by Koen, regathering his gear that he had spilled due to Anton's reaction. It was now Koen who spoke once again, "It's been a long time Jerro." He paused looking from the traveling swordsman, now shown to be Jerro Brasch, honorary Knight of Astya, over to the younger Lady Isa, who began to speak to as well, "It has also been quite some time since I have last seen you and Anton as well. Come, there's a small village just up ahead, we can catch up there." And with that the group of three travelers, now four with the addition of Koen, who found himself on the back of Jerro's horse, his own resting at the village up ahead, set out south bound towards the village as the sun over head slowly shifted from midday to afternoon.

by **Higher Japan** » Sun Mar 11, 2018 7:54 am

The United Federation of Holyion, Imperial Palace

The grand federation of Holyion, the bastion to the West and the only thing that stood between Pluena and the north western states. As the final bastion of the west, the entire country had reinforced it's borders in preparation for such an attack by the discretion of 2 of the kings. Part of their land would be forested at the borders before enemies would come upon a massive wall, one meant to stall the enemy while the army regrouped for a counterattack in the case of such. The entire coast was covered with various traps and lamps, acting as secret eyes for the wizards employed by the kings to monitor the entire kingdom itself. At the core of it all, the sea facing capital of Arcarn, the hub of magic and the brain of the entire nation.

On the outskirts of the capital itself, a small carriage convoy slowly moved through the inner gates of the capital as the gates rose up, the light reflecting down from the gates onto the gold and white carriage which shone under the light directly. Following behind was a small contingent of troops, consisting of heroes and dancers, while in the carriage itself a general sat, with the other figures at the other end of it being covered by the drapes inside. "My lord, are you sure about this? To pull so many troops from the capital to the south...would it not be risky?" The general asked, as the 3 kings merely sat there, with Akonia merely bringing a cup of tea to his lips and taking a sip while the 2 other brothers fought as he sighed. "No, our intelligence has suggested that the empire to the south has been making moves of aggression. And recently, with the attempt on Rosa's life I think reinforcing the southern border is a wiser choice." He looked out of the window for a moment. At the current moment, they were passing through the richer parts of the capital, shops lining the street with signs of different logos and names hanging outside of shops. Women and men alike all looking at the finest goods the market has to offer, while merchants went about their daily business, fighting for their own prices and bartering to sell unwanted goods off. However, this was merely the good side of the nation. The one all visitors see when they come through to the nation.

In truth, if one were to take a few detours they would come to the very heart of the poverty stricken zones. Destroyed and abandoned houses lining the streets as the carriage bumped not from the road, but the bodies that lay upon it. Children were starving and crying, some even killing as anything went fine as long as it was for survival. Despite knowledge of this, his two brothers had feigned ignorance, rather passing through the richer parts individually as Akonia spent more time going around the core of the zone, despite advice from the leader of the War Maidens that his life may be in danger if he were to tread too far in. The city itself was mainly prosperous, with the poverty zones sometimes being locked down by his other brothers for fear of people knowing only for him to open it to show the world that they weren't ashamed of that and that everything was being done to help them. This constantly put him at odds with his other brothers who wanted to look good in material to the other nations in hopes of forging an alliance.

"Of course my king, but I am merely afraid of her response." The general said, looking out the carriage, which now had some people curious and looking at it. The white and gold designed already signified that a monarch would be coming, but no one knew who. "Don't worry, I've already sent her a letter. Ah, we're here. Both of you stop it!" Quickly hitting his brothers on the back of their necks, they fell forward limp as the carriage turned into the entrance. At the front of the grand palace, 10 war maidens, in red segmented armor covering their upper half, while they were in ball gowns in ceremony, while the dresses had leg slits which showed the rest of their red armor. Getting out of the carriage as the general assisted Akonia in stepping out through the steps, the maidens saluted them, rapiers at their side and short double sided voulges on their back as Rosa walked ahead with the Maiden's Rose carried on her back. "Rosa, bring my brothers to the throne room. General, please follow me down to the lower chambers." Walking off, he could vaguely hear his brothers screaming out treason as 2 of the maidens followed him. Coming to the courtyard, he took out a small amulet as he walked up to a massive fountain, one of a woman holding up a scepter to the sky, while a book was held in her other empty arm. The amulet shone slightly as the blindfolded eyes of the woman shone, the scepter raising higher as the statue moved up, revealing a second path through a spiraling set of stairs.

"Careful now, they haven't cleaned it in a while." He mutters, carefully lifting up the sides of his rear cloak as the general followed with him and the maidens down into a spiraling network of caves before coming out of it, leading to a massive meeting room with a round table in the center. Around it, Grand masters sat silent as Akonia took his seat at the head of the table. "Let us commence the 50th session of the war council..."

Back in the palace rooms, the two kings, Hyrania and Arondite merely sat on their throne as they sighed. "It has begun hasn't it, the war council lives once again. Only fate and time shall pave our path of the future now."

by **Miekzhemy** » Sun Mar 11, 2018 6:57 pm

The Grand Empire of Pluena
Cināed Manor

"Ay? Nothing, then? How can you expect to serve if you cannot speak a single word to your superiors?"

The middle-aged woman's voice echoed through the white-haired child's ears. It was soft and calm, but he knew that tone. The other children liked her. They thought she was as gentle as could be. But not he. To him, the woman was not a caretaker...

But a demon...

"..."

"Are you hard of hearing, child?" she said after a pause. Still, the child said nothing, merely standing up straight. His hands were folded neatly behind his back, and his dull grey eyes stared shamefully at the floorboards beneath him. He couldn't tell what made her angrier: the broken plate, or his own reticence?

Then, with the abruptness of a volcano roaring to life, and as pleasant as nails upon a chalk board, she snapped.

"EXPLAIN YOURSELF, YOU LOWBORN WRETCH!"

The child slammed his eyes shut just in time for her palm to strike his left cheek. His face veered to the right and swiftly back into position, the stinging sensation spreading over his face like venom through the bloodstream. But not even a peep or a whimper escaped his lips. Only a heavy but fearful series of breaths through his nose. He fought back the tears welling up in his eyes.

"It's no use, Headmistress," spoke a man's distant voice from behind him. "I fear you'll never get an answer out of the boy. He hasn't spoken a word in days."

The woman slowly stood up, now towering over the child, her irascible scowl looming over him like a vulture. It was a gaze he would never dare to meet with his own eyes.

"No matter. The birch will be his teacher."

Those words cut deeper into him than the sharpest of swords.

"Yes, Headmistress," the same man replied. The child saw the woman take a single step away from him. And in that same instant, he heard a sickening THWACK, followed by an unbearable pain in his back. The force almost knocked him off balance, and incited a gasp from the child. He wasn't even spared a chance to recover before the man struck him again. And then again. And again.

He wanted to scream, but he couldn't. He knew that it would only make the punishment more severe. His knees buckled under the merciless thrashing, and he dropped to the ground on all fours, his face flushing and flowing with tears.

The woman did nothing. And, despite knowing fully well she would not grant him release, he couldn't help but look up at her - an almost pleading glint in his eyes.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Lucas's eyes snapped open to meet a familiar friend: the blank ceiling above his own bed. It took a few moments for him to ease his breathing and for his heart to stop racing. Sweat trickled down his forehead, as if the energy needed to will himself out of that dream was akin to running a marathon in full knight armor. For some reason, his back itched. He eventually sat up in his bed to look out of the small window beside him.

It was still dark outside.

He furrowed his brow and dropped flat on his back again, giving that dastardly ceiling a stern glare. The nerve of the Gods - plaguing him with the same terrible dreams again. All of his hard work and few hours of sleep, and this is how they repay him? The nerve!

'Blast...'

No point in trying to go back to sleep now. But on the bright side, now was the time to get some work done in peace. Lucas heaved himself out of bed and stood up, running a hand through his unkempt snow white hair. His room was simple, to say the least - a bed to sleep in, and a wardrobe for everything else. His fellow servants' rooms were no exception to this uniform policy either. There was no room for anything else, nor was there a need. After all, whatever belonged to them also belonged to their liege. After a quick bath, the young butler dressed himself, styled his hair, and got started with his day before the sun was even up.

The servants' quarters were vastly different from the rest of the house. The moment he stepped out of the wing, his surroundings went from simplistic to luxurious in an instant. Then again, to say the manor was merely extravagant would be an understatement... Or even to call it a manor in the first place. A house of this size and prestige would be second only to Pluena's royal palace! And who was the butler in charge of maintaining this decorum? Him, of course! No doubt a typical peasant would see this place like a dream land, with lavish furniture all around, and countless chandeliers illuminating every room with a series of candles, magically enchanted so that their wax never melts and their wicks never burned out. But with size and complexity came the great responsibility of his chores. And so, Lucas got to work.

The first chore on his to-do list was the laundry. He began with a thorough washing of the countless clothes left in the laundry room. The unwashed were left to soak, and the ones soaked overnight were rinsed. He hung each garment up outside the room to be dried when the sun came up. As for the ones already dried, he ironed, folded and set out the clothes for each of the Cināed Manor's masters, leaving their outfits neatly at their bedside. On his way back, he took notice of a few unsightly flecks of dust and dirt that littered the hallways outside of the young Lady Christina's room. He had no time to figure out how it all got there. To leave such a mess unattended would be disastrous! He did not rest until every inch of that hallway was meticulously mopped and scrubbed dry - with a soft towel, of course, so as to not scratch the finishing.

Lucas then made his way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. But, to his unfathomable shock and dismay, the kitchen was practically in shambles! Not only were the dirty dishes piled up almost to the ceiling, but the counters were a mess of leftover food and ingredients. The dining room table wasn't even set! And worst of all, there was now an appalling scratch in the kitchen's previously unblemished granite countertop!

This simply would NOT do! Unbuckling his cuffs and rolling up the sleeves of his dress shirt, he got to work until the kitchen was as immaculate as the day the house was built. No dish was spared his washcloth, and no silverware was left unpolished. He even took the liberty to fill in the scratch and sand it down to perfection. Only after the room was spotless would he dare to stop cleaning. Now, he could prepare breakfast with his mind at ease.

For the current day of the week, the schedule called for a simple but nonetheless delicious breakfast, consisting primarily of fish, steamed vegetables, bread and warm tea. He also prepared a few fruit dishes to compliment it. However, even that chore came with its own surprises. As Lucas stood at the counter, diligently slicing a series of steamed carrots, he caught sight of a figure in the reflection of his knife. It was...above him?

This again...

As he heard a brief shuffling sound coming from the chandelier above him, Lucas whipped around, knife at the ready.

CLING!

"I applaud your creativity, but you'll have to do better than that," Lucas said, his posh and noble accent complimenting his perpetually unamused glare. He stood with his knife out in a guarding position, the flat side having parried an incoming dagger in its path. Wielding the dagger was a shorter woman with hair almost as white as his own. She was dressed in the typical, albeit prim and proper, garb of a house maid.

"H-how did you see that one coming?" she asked in a puzzled and somewhat shaky tone. She relented, taking a single step back as she lowered her dagger.

"I saw your reflection in my knife."

"Gods...and here I thought I would have finally surprised you..."

"Perhaps, one of these days, you might just succeed. Maybe."

"Mrrgh..." the young maid grumbled, irritably puffing her cheeks. "That's no way to encourage someone to improve!"

"Lucia, did you wake this early just so you could attempt to get the drop on me?"

"Well...part of it..."

"Hrm," Lucas grunted in acknowledgement to her answer. He did not seem too keen on conversation at that point, merely going back to preparing food. Lucia stowed her dagger away in a sheath just above her shoe.

"Oh... Sorry, Lucas. I-I'll get out of your hair if you're...uhm--"

"I will finish the breakfast momentarily," he interrupted. "When the others wake, remember to have the bed linens washed. The newest sheets are currently hanging up to dry."

"You did that much already? The sun is just now coming up!"

"Exactly. You're burning valuable time to work without interruption. You have your own chores. Jump to it."

"Y-yes! Right!"

by **Zjaum** » Mon Mar 12, 2018 12:32 am

The Imperial Daskalarchy of Kovraiya
Yovra Marshes

A thick fog lifted across the quiet marsh. The grasses were all wet with dew, and the smell of rotting foliage was almost pleasant. The air cleared to reveal two battalions of forces. One flew a flag of stark yellow and bright green, decked with sigils of bronze. The other flew no flag all at, cloaked in black and waiting in the distance. The two faced each other, tense but vigilant.

Then one began to sway.

The initial movement was unnoticeable, perceived perhaps only by the subconscious. The army clad in black then moved to negligible amounts. The opposing side in steel mail rubbed their eyes, and some began to experience dizziness. The motion by the opposing side was uniform, and soon the entire battalion staggered to the left and the right. The movement became more and more exaggerated until suddenly- "Vr'broiya!" The black army threw their swords above and beside them, making the army look twice as large as it was. The group extended its line to increase its apparent strength, and mages to the rear with arms raised and extended chanted incantations to enshroud the entire marsh in mysticism. The black-clad warriors were something out of a nightmare, and the steel-bound soldiers shuffled with unease.

The nightmare flooded like a tsunami but quickly rushed in to a specific point in the enemy's defenses, weapons drawn and aimed for a precision cut. In a frenzy, the dark legion pounced on the soldiers' shields. The front line fell over from the impact but the second held their line. In the center of the hubbub, one of the aggressors thought it appropriate to gloat. In a raspy voice, her dark brown dangling over her unnerved foe, she whispered quietly: "Are you scared?"

The soldier regained his composure and retorted: "Mildly, but not much."

Abigail neither expected nor wanted such a lukewarm answer. "Yes" or something to that ilk would have brought about the response "Good, it makes my job that much easier." Likewise, "no" would have prompted "I will teach you to be afraid of me!" But this answer made a mockery of her! She recomposed and pointed her quarterstaff at her opponent's throat. "Now are you afraid of me?!"

"Look, Vrabriya, you aren't willing (and probably not strong enough) to do legitimate damage to me while my neck is covered in chain mail, especially with that quarterstaff."

"Enough!" announced a loud female voice. Abigail turned around her to see that she was the only one still crouched over her rival; the others had already arose and retreated a few feet backwards. The drill was over; the Kovraiyan Verribrai battalion had persevered and held their line, and the Death Lasses had failed in their mission. The drill was over.

That did not, however, mean complete failure. The leaders of both sides surveyed those under them and found the tactic to have worked fairly well for the little amount of effort used and the one-on-one situation at hand. The two sides retreated to their respective camps to debrief. The first comment was directed at Abigail. "Vrabriya, while I admire your enthusiasm, you need to be more aware of your surroundings. You should have noticed when your sisters were backing away; otherwise, someone could have stabbed you in the side and you wouldn't have discovered it until it was too late."

Abigail was mildly defiant. "I needed the additional time to instill fear into the enemy!"

This was a bluff. Abigail knew it, the Death Master knew it, the entire battalion knew it. "I talked with your father last week; he gave me explicit permission to give you double the punishment for disobedience."

"Oh, sorry, yes, it will not happen again!"

"Moving onward, the mages needed to distort the ground instead of the whole environment; the Verribrai commander said that the ground shaking had a significantly more noticeable effect on troop morale. I noticed some disunity in the initial movements; pay attention to the cues, everyone. Last, but not least, you all aimed for the center when I specifically asked for the right side. We will be working on aiming drills next time. That said, the commander stated that this was one of our more successful runs. At the very least, the Selakian bastards will soil their breeches if they see us."

Everyone laughed, knowing full well that "superior to the Selakian military" was not a very high bar. Still, it was better than nothing at all. They chanted their motto and dispersed. The Death Master withheld Abigail to speak with her personally. "Vrabriya, you are as much a political figure as a military figure at this point, so I must share with you news from the merchant scouts."

Abigail shuffled her feet. She was proud of her family name but always felt uncomfortable when addressed as royalty. "Has it gone by my father?"

"We told him as soon as we could, but this information is not a week old," the Death Master said. "There's a reason why we've been drilling more often as of late. We've just received word that the Pluenans have been amassing ludicrous amounts of troops on the Selakian border. If their walls fall, we are undoubtedly next. And we both know how weak the Selakians are."

Abigail shuddered at the thought. The Pluenans descended from a great and mighty empire that ruled the whole continent, or so the legends said. If they thought they could reclaim even a fraction of that power... "Are we going to help the Selakians, then?"

The Death Master paused. "It's going through the Daskalarchs as we speak. I don't think we will; they don't want our help, and we have a much better defensive position through the marshes. We can't waste any of our troops if we wish to win a grand war. In the meantime, Vrabriya, train your subordinates. I wanted to keep you in the loop."

"All right, thank you." Abigail returned to her tent and began her morning routine. Her subordinates in their neighboring tents were equally invigorated and curious. "Well, that was fun!" "I wonder if we're heading back to Vr'broia now." "Hey, Vrabriya, are we allowed to hear what Vara told you?"

Abigail turned her head as she entered the tent. "We are not heading back to the capital; that is all I can say."

Duchy of Selakia
Duchal Palace

The peasant stormed through the the large doors of the king's lofty court, accompanied by several soldiers. "Sire, sire, I have urgent pressing matters!"

The immediate response was obvious. "You cur! Bow down before your duke when you speak, lowlife! Address him as 'Your Majesty!' not merely 'Sire' Guards, why did you not throw this serf out on his heels? Do we not pay you handsomely as it is?!"

The soldiers were not, in fact, paid handsomely, and the matter was pressing enough to disrupt orders. One of them spoke, simultaneously bowed and saluting. "Si- Your Majesty, this peasant was dutifully tending to his crops when he saw a large Pluenan force amassing near our borders. He has traveled for several days to reach you on this matter."

The court was flustered but silent. The duke's advisor pondered whether he should reiterate the soldier's words to the king so that they might bear more weight coming from a man of noble birth, but the duke didn't seem to need them again. "What... what is the state of our army right now?"

"Strong as ever, sire!" boasted a general in the court. "We should be able to handily smash them with our magicians alone, let alone our powerful knights!"
"If... but if they've prepared for war, surely they have something to counter our mages?" posited a noble to the side.
"Preposterous!" announced the general. Still, seeds of doubt were instilled in the court. The duke stroked his chin. "Perhaps, if all else fails, we could reunite with Pluena, as in olden days."
Nods and musings popped up throughout the room, with the inquisitive noble aghast. "You cannot be serious with that suggestion, can you?!"
"Do not question the Duke, young Leobol! Lest we remind you that you yourself are half lowlife!"
The noble grabbed his cloak and left the room. The duke was amiable. "Come, come, now. You cannot be that distraught that he called you a lowlife, can you?"
The duke turned around. "I refuse to share counsel with dotards and cowards!"
The room erupted with commotion, each of Leobol's peers drenched in denial. "How... DARE you!"
Leobol opened the doors and unceremoniously turned around. "I shall seek the aid of the one nation we have left as a friend!"
"And which nation, pray tell, is that?"
"Kovraiya! And maybe, if they are not willing, perhaps Zendle would like to take over and rid us of the stupidity in this court!" With that, he stormed out. What he said was most likely treason, especially name-dropping two most hated rivals, but it felt good to get his emotions off his chest.

He returned to pack his belongings. Thankfully, news from the court was slow, so he wasn't barred from his own household just yet. He put all the necessities he needed in a bag: soap, money, clean socks (for the cold marshes), and bedding to sleep on. He stormed out of his house only to be met by his childhood friend, who was reasonably upset by the new scenario. "Hullo, Leobol! What seems to be ailing you?"
"Hello, Alessia. I am..." He set down his knapsack. "Listen, Alessia. There is something you must know. Very soon, the Pluenans are going to attack Selakia. I need you to be as far away from the action, because I don't want anything to hurt you. At this point, you're the only friend I have left in the entire Duchy, and I don't wish to see you hurt."
"Wull... where are you going?"
"I'm going to contact... why don't you come with me, Lessy? I am going on a diplomatic mission, and I'm sure the Kovraiyans would be happy to have someone as lovely as you are!"
"Ah, you don't mean that, do you?"
"Why, yes, I do! Come along, Alessia! We are going on an adventure!"

by **The Land of Golden Blobfish** » Thu Mar 15, 2018 9:40 pm

Alexander Cināed
____________________________________________________________________________________________

The young lord remained towards the back of the tent as the prince gave his speech, not wanting to join in the crowd of pawns. They were rowdy, disobedient, and most important of all: were below him. He didn’t need to associate himself with these “officers”. To him they were no higher than the common soldier and they certainly acted like it. While spending over a fortnight getting nowhere didn’t hurt anyone, it definitely stirred restlessness among the army. These plebians were itching for a fight, any chance for a brawl. If any of them got their grubby little hands on a bottle of wine, oh, he sighed at the thought.

He remained motionless during the speech, keeping his arms to his side and maintaining his stance, only giving his eyes freedom by glaring at the mass of officers. Once the prince gave his cue, Alexander waited for the rest of the mass to leave before exiting himself, giving the prince a quick nod before he left.

There wasn’t much for the lord to do before the King showed up. He had no men of his own to order around, for he was no commander. In fact, his role in the army was questionable to begin with. Victor Cināed, his father, had sent messengers to the manor a month ago, urging for the young man to hurry to the capital. From there, he was assigned to Prince Einar’s army and set up a position on the Selakia border. He had been given no orders beyond that, presumably because he was no ordinary soldier himself. Alexander was, what some might say, a special unit, a trump card. No ordinary mage could wield the flames of the ancient dragons, no, for those powers were restricted within the bloodline of the Cināed noble family. Azur interitio was a sacred magic and gave his family a natural advantage over every other mage in Astalia. Only the holy weapon tomes could rival its power. And it wouldn’t be long until he held one in his grasp…

After arriving at his personal tent, Alexander had several servants remove his armour. There was no need to be lugging the weight around, especially when they had been sitting around for a fortnight. The lord had only put it on for the meeting and was eager to get back into his own clothes. Putting on some informal attire, the type he would casually wear back at the manor, he made sure his tent was closed before taking a seat at the flimsy desk that had been half-assedly dragged into his quarters.
It was wooden and cheaply made. A neat pile of books sat at one corner while an iron lantern hang from the other. He quickly took out his tome and, with a snap of his fingers, a bright blue flame suddenly emanated from the lantern, lighting the whole tent in an eerie glow. Satisfied, he tucked the tome away and brought out another leather-bound book and delved into it. It was quiet, well, almost quiet. His tent was situated within the far side of the camp, where the other high officials had set up theirs. He was far away enough from the annoying cheers and shouts from the underlings and was able to read in peace. At least, for the moment…

by **The Valyria Empire** » Sun Mar 18, 2018 9:13 pm

The Great Plains

Eastern Plains, Black Eagle Camp

Prince Siegfried and Princess Adelaide Zender

As the sun beat down on the plains, a great gust of wind rolled across the fields. As far as the eye could see, flatland could be seen. The grass flew back in reaction to the wind, like a great wave flew over the plains. Several pots could be heard clanging as the wind pushed into them, followed by a curse from a hungry solider. Situated in this great grass sea was a small camp, with about fifty tents of various blacks, yellows and whites. Scattered through out these tents were small fire pits, with cauldrons hanging over them. The smell of deer was on the tip of everyone's noses. The Black Eagle Knights are a proud knightly order, and were seen often in the plains. While the area rested between two powerful kingdoms the nation was often home to brigands and sometimes a khan or two. The Eagle Knights are sent to defend the people who call the plains their home, from manaketes to small tribes of humans.

On the outskirts of the camp a small dueling arena was set up. Soldiers can come and bet on the winners of the duels. The sound of steel could be heard in the arena, and a small crowd gathered around. This duel was quite the spectacle, the Crown Prince of Zender dueling his younger sister in one on one combat. The duel had been on going for a short while as the two danced around each other. Siegfried, the Crown Prince always on the attack while his sister played on the defense. For every swing Siegfried took his sister, Adelaide dodged each one. A playful laugh could be heard from Adelaide as she zipped past the blade. However, she had fallen into Siegfried's trap as he used his foot to trip her. With a thud, Adelaide took to the ground and Siegfried held his blade to her.

"I win, again little sister." Siegfried said with a smile. He placed the tip of the practice blade on her breast plate. "Yield." A small giggle followed Siegfried's declarement. In the background several soldiers grunted as they began to exchange the money they either lost or won.

"Oh, brother. You are too powerful, please don't hurt me!" Adelaide whined, the sarcasm thick in her voice. All the sudden, the blue crystal nestled in her hair braid began to glow. Adelaide's grin widened, and all the sudden her human body transformed in a flash of light. What was once a girl, now stood a dragon! The great beast stood several feet taller than Siegfried and before he could dodge slammed it's foot into him, pinning him to the ground.

"Adelaide, that's not fair! You.... promised n-n-no tr-transforming." Siegfried squeezed out as he tried to breathe.

"Oh I know, but I just wanted to see you squirm a bit." The dragon spoke, a little giggle followed. "Now yield." For a few moments Siegfried tried to squeeze out, but to no avail. After a few moments, he began to slap the ground, declaring Adelaide the winner. "Yes! I win, again!" In another flash of light, Adelaide transformed back into her human form. Siegfried, finally free began to recover his breath. Adelaide walked over and helped her brother to his feet. Once up he looked at Adelaide, and a small smirk grew on his face.

"You're lucky I didn't have a Wyrm-slayer on me, or else you would have regretted transforming." Siegfried said as she helped him out of the arena. The soldiers then began to switch money again, following the surprise victory. The two siblings then made their way back to camp.

Once they had returned to their tent, a maid began to tend to Siegfried's minor wounds. Several bruises covered his chest from where Adelaide had pinned him. After a few minutes of using healing magic, the maid departed to begin making their meals. While this happened, Adelaide could be seen at her small desk writing a letter to a close friend of her's in Astya. Even to this day, Adelaide tried to keep her friendship a secret due to the hostile attitude many Zendlians have towards the Astyai. Once she finished writing, she rolled up the parchment, used her seal on the hot wax to seal the letter. The seal of House Zender, a eagle with an arm holding a sword could be seen on the red wax. Adelaide then stood up and walked over to her messenger eagle, and tied the letter to it's leg before sending it off to deliver the letter.

Finally, Siegfried finished his stretching and took a seat next to his sister. He watched the eagle fly up into the sky alongside her. "You know, if father heard word of this..."

"Father will never hear word of this. I've kept it secret for this long, there's no way he'll find out." Adelaide declared as she retook her seat. She huffed and closed her eyes. "You are such an annoying brother."

"Yes, I am. It's my job." Siegfried as he flicked her right pointy ear, one of her clear signs of being a manakete. "Back to important matters, father has sent us a letter."

"What? Already? What happened?" Adelaide's eye flashed opened, and looked at the unbroken letter on the desk once Siegfried put it down.

"Only one way to find out." Siegfried declared as he broke the seal and unfolded the letter.

...

The Kingdom of Zendle

The capital city of Elba, Castle Konsburg, The Royal Throne Room

King Friedrich III Zender

The grand throne room sat near empty, and silent saved for the flickering of the torches. One man sat alone on the throne, King Friedrich III. To his right stood his greatest adviser, Lord Albert of Emse. The king sat hunched over, a letter in his hands. A letter from the south.

Zendle kept spies in the east, as that was their sphere of influence. Word had spread of a great massing of soldiers from Pluenia but for what purpose and where had yet to reach Zendle. Friedrich began to grumble as he clenched the letter harder.

"We're sitting in the dark, Lord Albert. I either sit on arse, and wait for more info or I send out scouts and trigger an unnecessary war. I swear by the divine dragon, that if Ehnfrid goes anywhere near our sphere of influence I will..." Friedrich cut himself off as he began to curse. "I have no other choice but to wait, I would be fool to send any soldiers south..."

"Your Grace, if I may?" Lord Albert spoke up. The King, forehead on his right hand slight waved his left to allow Albert to speak. "Your Grace, might I suggest we send the Black Eagle Knights? They are already in the plains, and if they ride soon they could reach Pluenia's northern puppet. I have heard of a few manakete reside in small pockets in the south, the Knights could be 'dispatched' to help escort these manakete to the north. The Black Eagle Knights are sworn to ensure the safety of all manakete, are they not?"

Friedrich looked up at the smiling Lord Albert. "Lord Albert, that might just work. Send a letter to my children, they will be my eyes and ears."

"Of course, your grace."

by **Zjaum** » Sun Mar 18, 2018 10:54 pm

Duchy of Selakia

Alessia and Leobol strolled through the streets together. Leobol looked around. The streets were crowded with the usual commotion. So few of them knew of the impending doom to come. Still, it was nice to have his best friend at his side now. She was always nice to him. Perhaps in another time, they could have been lovers, husband and wife if the fates allowed. Blazes, they might be lovers now! They'll be in a completely new country, and there was always a slight tension between them. Now, surely there is nothing to stop them!

He spoke too soon. Out of seemingly nowhere, across the street, a woman with groceries eyed the two down the road. She dropped everything she carried and ran to grab Alessia's arm. "What do you think you're doing, Alessia?! Are you trying to get us all killed?! Quit bothering this noble, and get back to the house! I'm taking you to your uncle's; you are getting a thrashing! I'm so terribly sorry, sir; it will not happen again!" Before Leobol could even open his mouth, the woman and Alessia had passed back into the crowd, in a direction he knew not where. He only knew Alessia's own house. While under any occasion he would have searched the entire city for her, he was on a most urgent mission now. He will be back for her, he promised himself. Now he must save her.

Before leaving on his quest, he stopped by the Duchal Palace and approached the guards. The foremost had a wary but sympathetic eye. "I admire your grit, sir, but I am instructed not to let you through these gates anymore. Sorry about that; I just don't want you to make me lose my head."

"I wouldn't dream of it," stated Leobol, slipping a coin into the soldier's unoccupied hand. "If there is an urgent matter, anything rubs you the wrong way, take your horse and notify me. I will be traveling on the Kovraiyan Merchant's Road. Can I trust you to do that?"

The soldier shrugged. "Well, if something were truly dire, I guess they wouldn't need my duties specifically. I am at your service, sir."

"Not mine. Selakia's," replied Leobol as he began his journey from the palace.

There was only one well-traveled road that travelled to Kovraiya. Selakia make no effort to maintain their side of the road, so what used to be large tiles of stone became a path of jagged, cracked rocks. Leobol regretted not stealing a horse for himself from one of the stables. If he had, though, they likely would have caught and hung him. To make up for the loss of speed, he refused to sleep as much as possible. He was fighting with the reputation of his family and the life of his friend on the line; his fatigue meant nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Then, one morning, the mist was raised, and he found a camp of hundreds. He thought it was a dream; he had to rub his eyes several times to convince him otherwise. The bitter cold welcomed him, and soon a small squad of seven spears met him. He barely awake enough to notice, much less form a coherent salute. "Hail, Kov... raiyans. I... apologize, I am very tired, so I may not... give you... a reasonable hello." Despite his strength, he slumped to the ground and began to sleep.

He awoke to a company of two females and two males, all dressed in military attire. They were chatting quietly to themselves, but the conversation seemed casual. All the important talk was well over; he was probably knocked out for hours. He took a brief moment to regain his composure and realize the situation. "I am dreadfully sorry, sirs and madams of Kovraiya. I have been traveling day and night without sleep to get here."

"No worries. What's your business, Selakian?" snapped one of the females.

"I have heard reports that Pluenan forces have amassed at our borders. We are woefully unprepared, and..." Stating that the leadership was incompetent would surely turn them off of any offer to help. He might have gone too far as it stood. "We request your military aid in exchange for an alliance. I am willing to give nearly any terms."

One of the men piped up. "I would love to give them some resistance before they touch our borders, but our marshlands are much more defensible. We're better prepared for this environment, and we're sure your men would make welcome additions. I personally recommend that Selakia withdraws their troops back here so we can make the most use out of them."

While to Leobol that made perfect sense, he couldn't quite reveal that he actually had no bargaining power, let alone sway over the Selakian military. Let no one doubt his wit, though. "I would welcome that, but we already have our own defenses and artillery, which could easily be turned against us if lost. Besides, we've already deployed."

The general went back to musing, and the other girl, in long dark brown hair and bronzed skin, addressed him. "Does... do you have intelligence as to the army's composition? Any secrets they have that might be useful to us? Sorry." It was clear that she was brought along in a sort of educational position, and the more sure woman beside her give her a nod. "My colleague brings up a good point. If we aren't clear of the enemy's power and tactics, we must rely on our certainties. As much as I'd hate to say it, we may have to sacrifice your duchy to gain a better understanding of our new rival."

Before the Selakian could make a logical defense of his illogical country, a third woman appeared through the tent flaps. "There is another Selakian, this time mounted. He tells me that he has a message for a... Lord Uyiroya?"

"Ulikonia," Leobol answered with haste. "Please let him through; I asked him to bring me any urgent news of the front."
The council, equally as concerned, left the tent to meet this newcomer. The guardsman dismounted and bowed before the young lord. "Sire, the war is upon us!"
Leobol was stunned. He knew he didn't have much time, but this soon? "How are our defenses holding?"
"Even worse, sire! The duke has decided to sally forth with his forces and confront the Pluenans head-on!"
Leobol turned around hesitantly. The mouths of the entire council were agape. As they should have been; the duke had clearly lost his mind. "So... we started the war?"
"Yes, sire! Our army is in their territory as we speak!"

"Well, this changes things," chirped the harsh woman. "We aren't interested in throwing our troops away, especially for a dotard's misplaced ambitions. You can stay under our protection, if you'd like. Your displaced people will need a sound leader when this is all done."

Leobol paused. With such a move, Selakia was a nation without an army. Alessia and her entire family were at risk, and who knows what savagery would be done to the common folk? "Please, councilmen, a beg of you! The Pluenans will have their way with my people! My nation is in desperate need of a savior, and we have been your faithful trading partners for countless years!"

Each of the councilmen could easily count the number of years when they had trade relations with Selakia, but his moral argument got through. The younger councilwoman raised her hand. "I will lead my platoon and assist with moving the citizens out of Selakia."

Her mentor gave her a look. "Vrabriya, you are an asset in and of yourself. We cannot afford to lose you, let alone your entire platoon."

"You mentioned that we should know our enemy's strategy if we are to fight them. I doubt that our scouts are trained for eyeing tactics. I can get a first-hand perspective."

"I cannot fault that logic. Even though our scouts probably could find patterns, they will need all the assistance they can get. Very well. Retrieve the scouts and any willing citizens back to our camp. We will enhance our fortifications and await your return."

Leobol jumped for joy in his heart but simply made a brief bow to the young noblewoman. "I cannot thank you enough."

The Selakians had barely time to eat before the platoon was ready for deployment. Leobol left the mess hall and shook the hand of the girl. "I believe they called you... Vuabria?"

The girl laughed. "I have heard that foreigners have trouble pronouncing my name. Please, call me Abigail!"

"All right, then, Abigail. Have you ever been to Selakia?"

"I've never been outside of Vovraiya. I am very willing, though, to see your petty kingdom. Come, let us strike fear into the hearts of our enemies!"

by **Nations United for Conquest** » Thu Mar 22, 2018 1:29 pm

Eastern-Astya

Small Border

Present Day

Crown Princess Isa T. Kuhn and Company

As the group of travelers now four in total with the recent edition of the slightly older man, though perhaps no older than Jerro, who was at current riding in the rear much the same as he before, came through the woods and were yet again bathed in the light of the afternoon sun, which was at the time significantly colder than it had been just an hour to so past, much of it having to do with the heat of battle no doubt, and began to take in the sight of a small and cozy village which lay in front of them just down the path and around a small bend from where their horse currently trodden upon a small overlook. As they approached closer, more and more of the details of the small village began to filter into their view, covered in a golden light of the early afternoon sky, accenting the colors in their full and unique glory. At current they were passing along a narrow dirt path, barely large enough for three horses to past through, though it was unliking the small village needed a path wider than such, if they even had more than three horses in the entire place, not of course counting the horse of the newly added companion Koen who relayed that his own stead was still safely within the confines of the village. To either side of the party and along the long less narrow path were intricate fields of crops, planted on either side in organized rows. Light brown in color, they provide a good contrast to the tall grasses that stretched out elsewhere, and were of a rich green color, also lacking the organized manner of the crops, as they were wild and untamed giving way to the scene of a large ocean of grasses swaying back and forth in the wind, with the brown stocks of the farmers crops acting as a sandy shore to construct the ever rolling waves of green that seemed to stretch out for kilometers on end without and ending in visible sight. Yet, these long patches of crops were not the only objects to be found along the path. No, small houses, those no doubt of the verb farmers that tended the fields in which they were passing through lay scattered about in seemingly no clear order, likely simple being built in the place best suited for the size of the farm of which they owned and worked day on and day out. The houses of these farmers themselves were simple in nature, posing a uniform stone based, made up of countless pieces of rick that had been carried from some far off place to build a steady base, Rising up from them stood the walls of the houser, large beams of wood and paneling no doubt made from the trees of the forest which surrounded the village and farms on all sides. Thatch made from the same trees also found its place as the roofs of the building, giving off a shaggy color that resembled that of the crops that were growing, though it was plain to see that many of the roofs were in desperate need of repairs, likely before the rainy season once again came and threatened to drown those who lived within the houses.

Past the long rolling fields of the brown crops, the green oceans of wild grasses and trees that accented them and the small houses that were dotted across both, like small boats upon a great sea, sat the main attraction of the whole place; the small village. And it was to be a fair quite small even for a village in that area of the country or to be frank anywhere on the continent. It was a small farming village and likely did not spend much time interacting with others, most likely being too far away to have any sort of communication to begin with, though it was unlikely it bothered many who lived in the town and enjoyed the peace of life in the countryside. Only around ten or so buildings could be made out of the image of the village, and it looked as if an hour stroll could easily land a person from one side of the town to the other, with little thought, as only a single road crossed in and out of the tow, one end pointing towards the West and the other, which the group of travelers were currently upon, facing out towards the East in the direction of the plains. Though if one were to full explore the village itself it would likely take more than an hour, as each building was different, and could likely posse its own set of adventures for any who would walk inside. Closest to the direction in which the group was traveling was a simply a small cluster of houses not unlike those that were dotting the countryside where the farms and their large fields of brown crops and even more rolling green grasses lay, each house having the same stone foundation, though they appeared to be weathered and cracking, only displaying a weak creamy color, rather than the white and grey the stones likely had when they were first laid down years and years ago by the original settlers of the town's many generations ago. Looking up they would see the same support beams of might wooden poles, taken from the forest around them much in the same manner of the farm houses, and these two required some attention as they rose straight up cracks could be seen in the wood, and while in some places mortar had been applied in an attempt to patch them, it simply seemed to only make the cracks grow larger in size and deeper in depth. The roofs were in no better shape, as were the walls, both of which were devoid of their color due to many days of storming and rain and a lack of attention to their finer details and conditions, though that was less on the people who lived in such house and more upon the condition of which the inhabitants likely dealt with due to their living conditions.,

Moving through these small grouping of houses it was strange to find that many seemed to be empty, their blind closed and not a candle or should to be seen within them or wandering around, though it was midday after all and many were no doubt hard at work at whatever station they called they job, it being a weekday and most still working, after all. Past these old and worn down buildings, the market center of the village came into view in all of its glory. It was the center of the town and place where the farmers and manufacturers would meet to trade and move around their goods, perhaps even sometimes having the luck of a stumboling merchant to pass through and greet them on their travels and relay tales of what was happening around Astalia and Astya to the largely uninformed villagers. Stands full of every good imaginable sat around, everything from the crops of apples and corn freshly harvested from the farms nearby, to the loaves of bread freshly baked by the local bakery, the steam still rising off of them, other stand held tools like rakes and hoes no doubt casted by the blacksmith who was attempting to sell them off to the farmer who needed them to complete their work in the fields. Elsewhere smaller goods could be seen as well, such a small cobblered stand, new shoes displayed in small wooden boxes, still polished, likely having been that morning by the gentleman who ran the shop and sold the shoes, though they weren't the only item of clothing to be found in the market square as tunics, pants, belts, and furrs could be seen hanging from any of the small little market stands that were scattered all over the place in a large semi circle, preventing any sort of movement from the north, east or west of the squaring, forcing the south side to be the only way to enter, and largely to avoid too much foot traffic moving through the area as people passed by the place on the main street of the town. Yet, for all the fresh goods not a single soul was to be seen moving about, and the business of the town squares on middays was seemingly lost in the small village. Perhaps, because they were much too busy with work to man their own stands, or haperhaps other reasons had called their attention elsewhere, forcing them to leave they station in the way upon which they had been found by the newly arrived group of travelers.

Elsewhere the group passed through the remained of the town, quickly heading towards the western side of town where their new companion had said his horse had been resting. They passed by the town bakery, a large building, two stories tall, placing it on the same level as many of the houses in the town, a common sight due to many workers simply living in the same area as they worker, which no doubt saved money and space when it came to practicality, but severely limited the amount of space within their own houses, limiting this style largely to the independent ones of the village rather than the larger families that would no doubt be found in the normal two story houses of the village. On the other side, the north side of the main street and just across the way from bakery sat the town's own pub. Not exactly a common sight for a town so small, but likely not one that was overlooked by the villages residents who no doubt spent a fair amount of time in the place, and likely caused it to be one of the more successful business among the town in which they were riding, yet it again possessed no people within its walls and actually looked much more beaten up than the other buildings in town so far, with the roof posing a much larger hole upon its eastern facing side and the walls much more dreary and run down, though such things were likely due to other factors, as the building itself did not seem that old as compared to the others which were present in the town, the main indicator being the large church upon which they were quickly approaching. It was by far the largest building in the whole town, stretching up to three stories tall and perhaps even higher if one counted the steeple and bell tower that hung high in the sky, casting a long shadow across the town, despite the sun only being a bit past its high noon point in the sky, and dwarving the other buildings. It likely provided a large view in every direction around the town, perhaps even allowing one to gaze upon the very edges of the plains which lay further to the east were the green rolling grasses turned to a dusty tan color for miles upon end, due to the flatness of the ground in eastern Astya. Even the large hills and embankments of the forests which had possessed a small threat to the travelers no more than an hour ago could easily be overlooked by such a tower. Though it seemed the church was quite beat up as well. The roof possessed by the far the largest hole of any building in the town, with a sizeable chunk, likely even able to fit a full grown o through, was in the middle of the roof, facing the south side, and splinters of the roofs framework could be seen coming up from the center of the hole as well. Elsewhere the blinds of the windows, used to keep the heat of the sun away when it reached its early morning and late afternoon positions had been completely ripped off in some places and thrown around in all direction on the ground surrounding the church, as had the large doors that had once stood proud and mighty upon the hinges of the church's front entrance. Even the stain glass of some windows had been broken into tiny little colorful shards, like a rainbow had been broken over the churches arc and the pieces lay scattered among the ground. Something had no doubt happened to the church that was different from the simple ware and tear that was shown among the many other houses and buildings within the village, and was no doubt not some simply result of passing time and many storms, or even perhaps a larger storm as the rest of the village would have no doubt felt its effects as well, yet they didn't show them.

As the group approached closer to the church, noises could be made out in a faint volume echoing from within the walls of the church, the loss of windows, doors and even shutters being the resulting reason of which the group were able to hear the noises emanating from the church. At first the sounds were of a low noise, barely audible above the soft breeze which was blowing through the town, but as they inched closer and closer, they were soon able to make out the noise more clearly, even over the sound of their horse's own feet battering down on the dust and surprisingly well kept, though perhaps simply well traveled, dirt road, and it soon became clear to every member of the group the source of the noises of which they were hearing coming from the church; screaming and moaning. At first it seemed almost like a shock to the group, not fully believing the sounds they had just heard were in the fact the ones that were coming from the church, hoping and wishing to believe it was simply the wind playing tricks upon their ears as it dancing around the many bends and corners of the buildings around them or perhaps the rustling of leaves in the wind, or even that of their own breathing, yet as they drew closer and closer they knew their ears had not deceived them and they were in fact hearing the moans and screams of other people. And where there were moans and screams there were no doubt injured people, likely the reason the town was seemingly abandoned throughout most of the places they had traveled through thus far, though the exact reason why continued to elude the, the voices of the injured and dying only adding into that confusion. Perhaps if they were to enter the church they would be able to find answers that they seeked, but before they could even dismount their horses and approach the now open entrance, having lost its doors to the yard, they were greeted by the sound of boots smacking hard and fast among the stone floor of the church, their owner still unseen but no doubt not far away from the mouth of the church of which they had frozen in place before. No sooner than sound was being registered did the form of a small girl poke throw her body into the opening of the door, her legs spread and her hands stretched out in either direction, she panted as she stood in place. She wore a long white outfit, party dress and part cloak that extend all the way from her neck, upon her arms, and down past her waist and towards her knees where it fanned out in an almost skirt like style. It was accented by a long light blue piece of cloth, resembling a scarf in nature, but lacking the definition and size of a scarf, that fell from her behind her neck, down her shoulders, and found itself resting at the nearly the ends of her robe, which were covered themselves with a gold like material, almost resembling that of the armor Anton wore, but lacking in the actual metalix glow and rather simply mirroring its color. Upon her head and hair rested a similarly styled hat, carrying the same white color and rising up almost like a pentagram, where it was accented by a dark blue, not unlike that of the overcoat which Jerro wore over his tunic and under his armor. She lacked armor of any kind herself, instead having a small satchel not unlike the one Isa wore at her own side, upon the young girls left hip and holding a staff in her other hand. The staff was made of what seemed like a metal, though the exact composition was hard to tell, and stretched about up to her waist if she were to have rested it upon the group, having a small point at one end and gradually rising up to a disc like shape on the other end, which currently faced upwards towards the large arc of the church doorway where the large doors had once stood, and posed as small green colored stone within it, though it was not clear like crystal and was instead cloudy like one would expect of a rock. Moving from what she wore, she claimed a head of redish hair upon her head, though lighter in color than that of isa's which appeared scarlet, the young girls hair could be something more akin to that of a strawberry blonde, and was cut just above her shoulders on all sides of her head, a contrast to the longer hair of Isa which flowed down the Princess' back at time being. The young girls eyes were of a brown color, lighter than the somewhat marrone color of Jerro's own hair, and resting in an almost wood like color that resembled the bark of the trees all around them, though some would say they were mud color. At current they wore a look of tiredness which betrayed the stern and powerful look the rest of her face was trying to expressed towards the newly arrived group of travelers which had just arrived upon her doorstep.

Yet, as her eyes studied the group, first the roughness of Jerro who stood furthest from her and towards the east of the doorway, Koen hidden behind his form and only being indicated by the bow which seemingly crossed over the sword that hung as Jerro's back her eyes began to change to a look of confusion, the clothing and armor of the man confusing her, as likely did his stoic face with his marrune colored eyes staring back at her through a weather face. She then began to shift her eyes towards the other members of the party, first Isa who wore her own question expression as she gazed upon the firmly planted young girl. Her eyes were of a blue that contrast strongly to that of the younger girls own dull brown eyes, though she lacked the harden gaze that Jerro's had given the young girl, only throwing the young girl further off when it came to this strange new group of travelers, Isa's entire demeanor and expression being completely different from that of her rough looking companion. Further past Isa stood, or rather sat the impressing a daunting figure of Anton, still fully dressed in his Knights Armor which seemed to mirror that of the young girls own garb upon which she wore, though he too gave off a questioning expression, though with a harder gaze, not quite that of Jerro, but a middle ground between Jerro and Isa, though his face remained calm as well, likely thinking the girl to be no threat, as she was likely none to the well trained and in the case of Jerro and Koen, seasoned travelers and fighters which sat upon their mounts. Though, as the young girl's eyes sat upon Anton, her look of sternness began to fade to one of almost relief, which now resulted in the confused looks passing onto the members of the travelers, with the exception of Jerro who's face remained the same as it had in an almost off setting way. As the girl began to lower her arms to her side, her staff's bottom end now resting firmly in the ground and cover to her satchel being closed up once again, the young girl now spoke, "Who are you?"

Her tone came out as one that was questioning but not in the sense of suspicion, instead holding a feeling that was hard to describe and faithly land onto the travelers. It was not of suspicion, but seemed to be almost thankful in nature, a strange expression to be emulated by someone meeting strangers for the first time, well armed one's at that, though perhaps the young girl's own situation was to be the cause of for the manner of which she spoke. Now seeing the girl as no threat to them, and hoping to not startle her, as he eyes had been wild no more than a few moments ago, not with crazy but with stress and near hopelessness, the travelers began to dismount from their horses, weapons still at the ready as the situation was still unknown to them, including the newly arrived Koen, who upon seeing the girl the two exchanged a quick nod towards each other a smile began to cross the face of the young girl as her eyes shifted back from Koen to the other members of the travelers, and her shoulder began to relax as well, as if a large burden of stress and anxiety had just been lifted from her shoulders with the arrival of Koen, the two no doubt having met early at some point due to Koen having visited the town, yet he seemed just as oblivious to the situation as did his other companion of which he was traveling, yet he would still be the first to answer the young girl's question that had been posed to them no more than a moment earlier. "This is Sir Anton, Knight of Astya..." He pointed towards his slightly young companion dressed in the suit of armor, whom bowed at the young girl as Koen spoke, causing her face to give way to slight bit of reddening and fluster, likely never having met a Knight before or known of their customs. Karen then pointed towards the rougher and slightly older looking man who was now at his own side, "This is Sir Jerro, Kn-" He was quickly cut off by Jerro, who's deeper and stronger voice caused the girl to slightly move back a bit, likely being caught off guard, probably expect his voice to be much gravelier, "Honorary Knight of Astya" "And the Héros Sans Nation." The young girl's eyes now popped a slight bit, though she was unflustered, as she now studied the man more closely. Perhaps the tales of his deeds in the war and after had even reached this small out of the way village, or perhaps he had been there before, it was hard to know. "And finally," Koen spoke with a hint of pride, "This is Lady Isa of Astya." The girl was now fully taken aback at the mention of her country's own Princess having arrived in their small backwater town, her eyes going wide and the hairs on her arms, the parts of which were exposed, easily visible as they rose.

It was now Koen who spoke again, this time with a more serious tone in his voice, though it was easy to see he was at least getting some enjoyment out of the young girl's reaction towards the revelation of the Princess' identity, but it was clear he also meant to get down to business as soon as possible, no doubt his companions wishing the same, "Thea, what happened here while I was gone?" The young girl, now revealed to be of the name Thea, quickly regained her composure, nodding first a couple times as she likely tried to gather her thoughts back after all that had happened, both before the arrival of the group of travelers and now following the revelations they brought with them, or rather than Koen had brought with him upon his return, "Sometime after you left to go hunting we were attacked..." She now began to lead the group of dismounted traveler's further into the church where it was clear to see she was not lying. Most men, but some women too lay upon the benches of the church, normally used for praying were now the resting beds of the wounded. Cuts and gashes were upon the torsos and lower bodies of almost every man present, likely every man in the village, and already some had died. Those who hadn't were rapidly being treated by the women, most of whom carried vulneries to the men's injuries, but most were likely not far from death as the church was short staffed and not prepared to deal with such a thing. As they approached closer to the altar, were the most injured seemed to lay, the young girl, her eyes now downcast a bit, began to speak once again to the travelers, "Bandits and Brigands came from the woods, only around ten or so, but they were demanding all sorts of things..." She paused for a moment to stop and help an older women who was fumbling around with some medicine as she tried to apply it, before returning and picking the story back up once again, "They usually come in smaller numbers and are turned away by the Mayor...but this time there were many more, and they began to attack the market. Our Mayor, Sir Horst, was able to route them with some of the men in the village, but as you can see we suffered heavily for it." By this time they had reached the altar where an older man, who seemed to be wearing armor, unlike that of the other injured, knelt next to an injured man with a younger boy, young than Thea, but dressed much the same and was in the process of using his Staff, like that of Thea's to help heal the man's wounds, but it was clear he was till in pain. "Now" Thea began a final time, "They swear they are to return and wipe our village of the map..." Her eyes turned away towards the windows of the church, of which she could see the forest in the distance and the dark shapes of the trees shadows casted about the fields of grass.

This time it was Isa, who had been quiet for the entire time they had arrived in the village, not began to speak up, addressing the young girl in hopes of raising her spirits, as it was evident they were down, much like every other soul in the entire church and subsequently town for that matter, "Is-Is there anything that we can do to help?" She now reached out placing a hand on the girl's shoulder, though she was only slighter short then herself, and likely close to the same age, perhaps being around twenty three or four, compared to Isa's age of Twenty Five. Yet, it was not Thea who would be the first to answer Isa's question and would instead be the younger boy who had just finished helping patch up the more injuries man who they had seen upon arriving within the church itself. His voice came out with a mix of anger and pleading, another strange combination of tones, but at least this time the group of travelers could better understand the situation in which they were currently engage and ultimately better understand where the boy's own emotions were coming from, "You could help us fight off the Bandits!" With tears nearly in his eyes, though it was hard to tell if they were from the fact that perhaps he had found savoirs for his town or rather for the simply fact that he was beginning to reach his limits with the current situation. Before anyone had a chance to answer, the booming voice of the older man who was now resting upon a chair, his injuries to his arms and torso, even under his armor quite visible, spoke in a calm and powerful manner, though his voice was hoarse from the days events, "Fronso, we can't simply pull random strangers into our towns struggles." He now turned towards the group of four travelers, and Thea who had assembled before hand and began to speak towards them now, though there was a hint of regret upon his words, "I must apologies for Fronso. He's qui-" He was suddenly cut off by the voice of Isa, her composure now regained after witnessing the scenes around her, "Excuse my interruption." She began, nodding towards her companions who responded in kind, "But we are more than willing to assist you in the defense of your town." Both the boy's and the man's eyes were suddenly lit up with shock and surprise at the suggest of the newly arrived travelers, and it was easy to see a great burden had been lifted from the shoulders of the older man, who no doubt understood that his town had little chance of survival, were the bandits to return in full strength and would no doubt say a little prayer for his stroke of luck. Not in front of the travelers or anyone else for that matter. It was now Koen who spoke up, instantly being recognized by both the man and boy who had seemingly gone without noticing him beforehand, likely being overshadowed by the rough looking Jerro and the armored Anton who grabbed the attention of most in the room, "My friend" He gestured towards Jerro, "Can begin scouting out the town and working of viable defenses. Anton and Milady, will be more than happy to help you with your injured here." All members of the party gave a nod, though Anton seemed a little uncomfortable being held responsible for working on the injured, no doubt prefering to scout the town's defensive positions, but he knew he was likely better off with Isa. And with that the group departed to begin their work.

North of Pluena

The Ancient Holy City

Present Day

Lord Goeff and Supporting Forces

The Ancient Holy city was a name befitting of the city that held such a prestigious name, having been built over a few hundred years ago it was one of the oldests buildings in the post Grand Struggle Era, being built only a few decades after the last Dragon had been felled by the might of the legendary heroes, and the combined forces of the human kingdoms, it certainly showed its age with architecture not shared by any other town or city in any of the currently standing kingdoms, unless one was to visit the ruins of the old days still present in these kingdoms. Much of the stone that was used was of a solid white color, perhaps of marble, indicating the city was built in the olden days when such materials were more commonly found and could be produced for structures that were as large as the ancient city, as many buildings even castles lacked such fine stone to make up their foundation let alone the walls of the many buildings of the Ancient Holy City. They also lacked the thatched doors founds in the common houses of many cities and towns, with each roof being of a square style that easily allowed one to walk upon its roof and made it quite stable from any damage, though that was not to say it was a completely stone city as there were many buildings which held wooden parts of them, mainly in the interior structure and supports which allowed the houses to rise up to the heights they had, a wonder they had not fallen in the past hundred years or so of storms and weather was anyone's guess, though it would be unfair to say they were not decently maintained by those who called the city their home. Elsewhere through the winding streets and steps of stone, the city was upon a hill in a literal sense and many staircases had to be erected to simply allow one to walk about the city in any direction they please, as many levels of the city seemed to have popped and risen straight up gthr ground like that of a cliff, rather than the smooth and rolling hills that one would perhaps find in the Eastern and Southern areas of Astya or the Plains area of the continent. These were instead quite sharp, rising easily aboved the height of man in many places though some were small and required only a single step to allow a person to comfortable move from one area of the steps to another. Sometimes houses were even built upon these areas allowing them to be multiple stories while being no taller than perhaps their neighbors who were on higher or lower ground than they were, though such house required a lot of steps, most seemed to enjoy this, with almost every house containing a large balcony hanging off of at least one side, if not more of the house, provide ample room for one to stand and walk around upon such, to gaze out towards the city around them. Frequently such would be accompanied by large vines that grew from the ground all the way up to the balconies and sometimes the roof of a house giving off an even more ancient feeling to the city.

Though that was not to say that all the city was made up of were houses, on houses only made up a small percentage of the city, most being big enough to house to two or more families and likely designed with such a specific mission in mind anyways, they were positioned off the to edges of the holy city, forming an almost wall of block houses that stretched around the entire city effectively walking it off, the sides being to sharp and steept to allow a simple army to climb and the unevenness of the ground making such even hard to accomplish should one wish it, though many in the city were unafraid of such attacks, even with the Pluenians to their south, given their stance of neutrality and all but a fw no real valuable asset to be given to any force which decided to occupy the city. What they did possess, however, were countless libraries. Large and imposing buildings with many smaller towers and large domed roofs stood around the city in all manners of places. Some smaller ones could be found off to the sides of the city near the walls of houses, if one were to travel down the winding side streets in this part of the city, it was likely you would stumble upon one sooner or later, though they were nothing in comparison to those of the inner city. Past the marketplaces, which two were filled with books of all kinds in addition to other goods such as food and clothes, it was a popular place after all and thus a hot spot for merchants, as the city required most of its supplies from these merchants and surrounding nations anyways, there was the inner reaches of the city, where four grand libraries, bigger than the rest and on a scale that could rival that of Zendle and Astya capital castles. They were ornate in designed with grand domes surrounded by countless towers, walkways and bridges that created a maze of pathways within the buildings themselves, and allowed for one to travel form library to library without every having to leave the one they were in the streets below, a fact that was especially helpful at current, as storm clouds gathering in the South indicated a good use of the overhangs of the Libraries walkways were to come in handy. The libraries themselves held all manners of books along numerous bookshelves that seemed to rise all the way into the domed roofs above, and stretch endlessly along the large and cool white walls of the libraries themselves. It was hard to find a day that these might and grand building were not full to the brim with all manner of learned and unlearned men and women hoping to search out a particular answer to a question or puzzle or simple enjoying a read to pass the time. Though most fit into the category of the former, many of the cities native and visiting occupations being mages traveling from across the continent to gather the knowledge they seeked here in these mighty libraries. Just as Praya was home to the sword, and at that the most trained swordsman in the world, the Ancient Holy City was the magic equivalent where all the most talented mages had studied at one point or another.

And just like everyday, it was plain to see how this reflected upon the inhabitants of the world, as even with dark clouds of storm and rain gathering in the background they continued to go about their business, some trading in the markets or simply enjoying a late afternoon stroll, though most were found simply sitting under a tree or upon a bench reading a book of sort sort, whether it be about ancient times and magic or new skills and styles they could apply to whatever they had learned, they engrossed in these books and seemingly unaware of anything that could happen about the. Though one thing that was different was the lack of a satchel, upon most of the men and women who walked around with their noses buried deep in their own books, the trademark of a mage of any status was the satchel in which they carried their tomes, often their only source of defense or in some cases offense, though for a mage the two often blended together into simply fighting, unlike the sword and shield that many light and heavy infantry would be seen using. It was due to the notion that the Ancient Holy City, was to be a land without weapons as it was purely dedicated to peace and the study of magic and other artforms of similar nature, or different nature depending on who you asked about what they were doing, denoting that those who carried weapons were required to leave them outside of the city as not to disturb the peace, making the people within the city woefully unprepared for any attack that was to come. Thus was why the many in the city were confused as the large clouds of blackness slowly rolled across the city and began to block out the sun that had just been bathing the city in the orange yellow glow of the late afternoon sky, and was instead replaced with that of grey and darkness. Though despite such many simply went about their business, moving towards their own houses, libraries or a simply overhanging where they could rest and read until the storm passed over them and the sun once again blessed them with their light, but such an event was likely to never reach many in the city. The first sign was a loud thumping noise that began to come from the clouds as they completely their engulfment of the city. It was not the sound of thunder or rain falling on the ground but rather as if something were being slapped against a hard surface repeatedly, or in this case air as it seemed to be coming from the sky, dull at first but gradually growing in such an intensity that many outside had fully turned their attention to the sky in hopes of spotting the source of the strange noises that were raining down on them instead of actual rain.

It was then the loud thumping of an object being slammed upon a harder object, having grown to an intensity which threatened to drown out any attempted of conversation as it had grown close enough and to a volume of that level that a loud ear piercing scream came out across the sky, not quite that of a human but rather of some beast, which instinctively caused the citizens and visitors of the Holy City, hom were still outside to have the hair on the back of their necks stand up, it only grew worse as more and more of the blood curdling screams began to cut through the air like that of a mob or choir of demons in the sky. Many of those in the street, feelingly, stood in place gapping at the strange and startling sounds in the sky, as they only grew louder only to suddenly stop and be replaced by the sound of thumping once again, only this time it grew louder and stronger in intensity, almost as if it whatever had caused such a sound were moving closer towards those were about in the town, some of whom were smart enough to run away, while most simply stood their, either to scared or awe stricken to move their legs in any direction and instead obligated to instead brave the storm of whatever was coming there way. Though for those who stood still, they were rewarded with a strange sight in the sky, as some patches soon began to change from the dark grey of the clouds into all manner of colors, stretching from crimson reds to light blues, dark greens and many colors in between, began to appear slowly, with only one or two and then quickly and exponential grew to where over fifty of the strangely colored object could be seen in the sky hurtling down towards the citizens below, whom only know realized what was upon them and turned to run towards the cover of their houses, only it was far too late for them, and they could not be spared from the intal actions of these strange colorful objections, which now swooped down with large wings, the revealed source of the earlier thumping sound, and began to attack those in their sight. The large beasts were quite large in shape, easily larger than a house or ox, though smaller in size than that of a house; they carried to large wings on either side of the short bodies in the place of hands, and had to large feet that stretched down to the ground, but were pulled close while in flight. Out from the back of their short biodies, grew a long tails that eventually narrowed to a point and was easily longer than the rest of the body and head put together; the head of the beast itself sat at the end of a long neck that had been curled back a bit like that of a snake rising to strike. It wore similar features to a snake with a large pointed head, though not as flat as that of a snake, that opened up into a large mouth filled with sharp teeth, like that of a mouth full of knives, and a long tongue similar to a snake but much fatter to boot as well. The entire body of the beast was covered in scales, with larger ones upon the top in colors that varied from beasts to beast, yet all carried the same small grey scales on their undersides, which allowed them to remain unseen with the clouds overhead.

As the mighty beast swooped down upon the unsuspecting but now largely panicking group of citizens caught outside in the large open areas around the interior square of the city, some were unlucky enough to be caught in the jaws of the mighty beasts which quickly ripped them in half with their powerful and sharp teeth, tossing the upper halves of the bodies all over the place, creating large trails and arcs of blood all across the once white and pristine stone of the Ancient Holy City, and sending even more people in chaos and panic. Yet, most of the destruction done by the strange and mysterious beasts was the result of those whom were riding upon their back in ornate and carefully constructed saddles that allowed the rider to stay firmly planted upon the beast's back even as it flew at high speeds and in crazy patterns, and allowed them to brings forth their lances and swords and they dove into the masses of people, quickly digging their blades in the backs of the fleeing citizens before rising back up into the sky to search out for their next victim, though others hovered high in the sky and just above the houses and libraries of the ancient city, tossing down javalines like lighting bolts from the sky upon the citizens who attempted to flee from the newly arrived riders, as well as allowithing them to toss torches engulfed in flames into the many houses and smaller libraries of the ancient city burning everyone who was trapped or hiding inside and flushing those who were still alive into the open only to be stricken down by a javelin or lance from one of the riders circle around the city. Yet, as they torched and slaughtered all of those in the city, they stayed away from damaging the inner square and it's grand libraries, possibly reserving them for later, as it would no doubt be the final stronghold from any left in the city or more likely they held some other goal from the library, as was hinted by an older man of the rider, a long beard, weather face and powerful armor striking him as a tall and intimidating for, much older than his companions and seated upon a Crimson Beast, dismounted from his stead, only taking with him his word, opting to leave his lance and javelines behind as he entered into the largest of the grand libraries, positioned off to the north end of the square and slightly separated from the other buildings around it. Upon entering he paused for a moment, catching sight of a young girl, much younger than him, perhaps in her mid twenties, around twenty six perhaps, and strangely dressed in armor; a rarity among those in the ancient city easily making her out as a visitor rather than a native, yet he simply continued on his way towards the inner reaches of the library, leaving the younger girl to run out the way he had come.

Lady Della V. Kirio

The inner reaches of the grand libraries of the Ancient Holy City, were certainly a sight to behold. Within the largest, the Northern library of the four that made up the grand walls of buildings surrounding the inner square of the holy city, actually requiring one to pass through the southernmost library if they wished to even enter in the inner squares open plaza, were a great number of books on all manner of subjects from ancient history, all the way up to cook books if one were to look hard enough through the many walls upon walls of books, some requiring large ladders to reach to the upper levels if one did not wish to use an almost innumerable amount of steps on the stairs to reach these upper most areas of the book shelves at which point one would be able to use the many cat walks and passageways in order to move from one area to the next in search of book that they wished to find, all arranged in a carefully selected order in order to allow the ease of which for a person to find the book they had been searching for. Yet, they did not simply hold books, as the Valkyrie, those who on paper at least, owned and controlled the Holy City, were collects of many different things, and if one were to simply throw a gaze around the room they would find any number of painting depicting famous scenes from throughout the history of the continent and all its different kingdoms. Looking back towards the entrance of the Grand Library, at least on the ground floor, one could find a tapestry that depicted a massive battle from the Grand Struggle; Dragons seen around the borders of the image in all manners of colors from bright reds to dull and pale blues were seen converging on a small group of men and women huddled together in a ricule upon the plains, each holding a weapon, that even at the far end of the room could been that were unique. One such man held a longer blade in both hands, a blue glow coming from it and warding away the Dragons in their path, elsewhere a larger man with a grand axe could be seen fending off an attacking Dragons by crushing in it's skull. In another area, a bowman and mage could be seen creating a fury of lighting type projectiles towards their dragon enemies, with a storm raging above them, other places you could see fire and wind being used to force back the Dragons. It was a true example of the tales told about those times, as a battle like that was almost sure never to have happened. The closest thing being the killing of a Divine Dragon in what is now the lake not far from the holy city, where it was known at least three of the legendary heroes had gathered into order to combat it, but who exactly was there was lost to time. Additional battles could be seen among the smaller portarts hanging around the building, but that single painting was the vocal point.

The painting itself had already gathered the attention of several of the younger members that had been occupying the middle of the library, though no more than perhaps twelve or thirteen years of age, they had likely read a story about one or more of the heroes at some point and had been drawn to the painting as it was no doubt mentioned in whatever book they had been reading, and in truth many around the room had looked up from their books in order to catch a glimpse of the grand painting, despite whatever book they could be reading having a completely different topic; it just had that kind of pull over people. Except for one such person in the room, a somewhat older girl than the boys who were gapping at the picture, perhaps in her mid twenties around twenty six, a fair estimate, sat reading a book at one if the many tables scattered about the room, her face deep within the book as if she did not wish to miss a single word of what was being said, perhaps due to the book being an epic of some sort, though in reality it was quite easy to tell the content of the book by the large letters which spelled out "cooking" on the front cover in a large black text. The young girl was dressed differently than that of the other people in the library whom mainly wore robes of mages and priests, as she wore light blue tunic which came up towards her neck and went down past her waist in a small skirt like pattern. She wore a pair of similarly color pants which came up from a pair of large boots which themselves stretched up past her knees. Though in an addition that separated her even further from the other members of readers which were situated in the confines of the library, she wore armor as well, with a single breast plate of a silver color covering her upper chest, almost to her neck where it cut off to revel in the inner tunic nice and tightly around her neck. On each shoulder she held a single shoulder pad of the same silver colored metal that stretched down ust past her shoulder and finally a part of skin guards on the front of her boats which stretched all the way up from the tops of her feet to her knees where she had additional armor as well. It was finally accented by two light vanguard branches on both of her arms and a helmet with wings coming off the sides that rested upon the table besides her, though she would normally wear it. Her eyes were of a dull light blue color, not unlike that of the tunic which she wore under her armor and were deeply absorbed in the book she was certainly reading, apparently wishing to absorb every detail of it. Her face to was fair in color and of a light complexion, making her for a very beautiful facial complex from both up close and afar, thought for the moment her face was blank as she was still fixated on the book at had. Her hair was equally fair, with a rich brown color, almost like that of a deep chestnut wood color, and was currently tide in a long braid behind her head which stretched down past her shoulder, and likely was quite long when not tied up.

Her quiet read, however, was to be interrupted by the crashing sounds of breaking glass and screaming people, having been saved from the loud thumping of the beast's wings and their blood curdling screams due to the thick walls of the library in which she was currently resting. Looking up from her book she able to catch the sight of many of the same people who had once been calling reading and studying art, stumbling over one another as they ran inside to the deeper areas of the library, some of them already bleeding across the once clean stone floors from wounds they had received outside. The young girl wasted no time in reacting to the situation at hand and after dropping the book she was reading on the table, she hurried out of the small reading nook she had buried herself in and returned to the main area of the library where she was able to take in the full scene of what was happening outside, through using the large windows which were found near the entrance of the building. Outside she could see a light rain had begun to fall about the city, as dark clouds had begun to serial over head and were now releasing their down poor upon the city, but that was not the cause of the massive distress found around the inner square of the city and it's libraries. Looking to the sky, the real culprit was revealed to her as she watched the mighty beasts circling over head dive down towards the civilians and impale them with lances or slice them open with swords, still other were cut down randomly as they rand by lances that were falling all over the place like the bolts of god were descending upon the citizen below. The young girl was taken aback for a moment, never expecting to witness something like this in her life, but quickly understood what needed to be done, yet as she had no weapon she could not enter into the fray of the fight, not that a ground soldier would do much good against those in the sky, and thus she elected she must leave and return with help, only to be stopped dead in her tracks as she approached the front door. There standing in the opening, having just entered was an older man, his armor and face and shear size intimidating to the younger girl. The two simply stood in place for a few moments, exchanging glances with one another, the man's eyes cutting into her with a hard gaze and her trying her best to return it, but likely to no avail, until the man finally turned from her and headed off deeper into the library with a seemingly important goal to achieve leaving the unarmed younger girl to slip out the front door and make a beeline from the shadows.

One way or another the young girl had managed to escape the ensuing assault by the hovering and hunting beasts that were still terrorizing the city, and as she looked back from the wood in which she no stood, she could see the flames of smoke rising from the south where she had once been reading just like every other day she had spent in the city over the past week, though she knew it was too late to go back for them even if she wanted to. Instead she continued further into the forest, eventually coming across a small opening among the thick woods that seemed to stretch on infinitely in all directions towards and away from the holy city which now lay, on the path to ruin, in the south of the small opening. It was here the young girl reached was able to search among the rocks and bushes and come across a set of two weapons, wrapped in cloth and hidden away from any searching or wandering eyes; one of which was a small short object, easily able to be held in a single hand by the young girl, and obviously in the shape of a sword, something that was only confirmed as she unwrapped it to reveal a well polished blade of a cold and grey material, sharpened on both sides to a fine point, though light when she placed it within it's sheath which had been resting on the right side of her waist in a belt that was just above the small skirtish pattern of her tunic and also held in place to small piece of armor which protected the sides of her upper legs. The other weapon was much larger in length with large rod making up most of it, followed by a well crafted and sharp end, easily revealed to be a lance of the same material of the sword, and somewhat equally light, or perhaps the young girl was simply skilled enough, to easily lift it as she moved towards the very edge of the clearing. It was here a third item, or rather object was to be revealed. Tied up to a small tree was what at first glance appeared to simply be a white horse, its coat magnificent even in the dull conditions of the rainy day which hovered above them, and threatened to turn into a full blown storm should the winds have picked up at that time, though upon closer inspection it was revealed something was far different about this horse. Looking towards the middle of the horse, where the saddle rested, it could be seen that two large wings, white as the horse and covered in feathers were pressed hard against the beast and it coward from the rain and attempted to dodge rain drops under the branches of the tree to which it had been tied. Though upon seeing the young girl return, it quickly rose to its feet, shaking back and forth and the young girl untied it and began to climb upon its might back, her lance now resting upon the side of the beast in a hold specially positioned in the saddle, like that of a horses, but with a slight modification. As she climbed aboard the young girl spoke in a calming and sweat voice towards the beast's ear, "Come on, Annika, we've got to get north." There was a quick protest from the beast, obviously weary of travel in such condition, as was the young girl upon the beast's back, but a quick petting reassured the beast as it nearly sprung into the air, and began to speed north towards the lake, a look of seriousness upon the face of young girl, through her eyes gave way to a sense of worry.

by **Nations United for Conquest** » Thu Mar 22, 2018 1:30 pm

Continuation of previous post

Pluena-Selakia Border

Pluenain Second Army

Present Day

Emperor Ehnfrid Alvar III

The arrival of the king and the auxiliary forces lead by General Triijo had the expected effect on the restless army that had been camping out near the Selakai border from the past few weeks, in which it caused a general upstir of activity among the men who had been doing nothing but daily drills for sometime and their commanders many of whom had been itching for a fight since the end of the Northern wars some ten or so years ago, hoping this new war would bring yet another chance for new or expanded glory and for them to truly make a name for themselves in the Grand Army. As such, even in the early morning hours, as the first carts full of Prayan auxiliary forces rolled into the camp, lead by the General ande King on horse back, the camp was alive with activity; units were forming up into their marching lines already and the officers of each regiment were in full battle armor, not just the simple chest plate many had worn over the past few weeks, if even at all, while they await the envintable order to move out in their intended positions and begin fighting for themselves and for their empire and emperor. By the time the carts were slowly gathering up, about four of them intotal were there, each holding twenty five of the Prayan Auxiliaries, largely hand picked by the general of the forces, Triijo, a man who was a infamous in the military as were is actions before joining, and it wasn't hard to find some of the more level headed members in the army who respected and looked up to the man, even though he was still quite young when it came to generals. But then again the Pluena military was split fairly evenly between generals of skill and that of name, though most were seasoned only a few being placed among the rank through their connection in the courts, but the Prayan General was hand picked by the Emperor, effectively making him untouchable to all but the most stubborn of traditionalist generals. Even so, the men put on a grand show for the arriving king, with nearly the entire force already assembled amd prepared to march by the time he dismounted from his horse and began to approach them, the only exception to the lineups being the horse bound cavalry who were busy preparing their steads of the march and ensuing battle, and the mages who were already ahead of the main force, for reason that hadn't been revealed.

As the King approached the group, he was quickly greeted by bows from all the generals, and hand shakes from those that he knew personally among the army that had been assembled before him, and even the footsoldiers, who were still several tens of meters away from their king, still cheered, their morals skyrocketing and the woes of sitting on their asses for nearly a month were suddenly gone, as the thought of fighting alongside their king gave them all a sense of pride and joy that few could contain and they're officers tried to rein in the men who had begun to jump around and clap for the Emperor rather than simply sit and wait for the order to march, one that would come soon enough. Yet, the newest of the arrived Generals, Triijo, simply avoided the mess of the nobles and generals who had gathered around the Emperor, despite having made a connection with at least a few, mainly the younger and older ones who were free of the indoctrination of the Empire's military and were happy enough to treat the man as an equal or even above them. He instead tended to his men, visiting each wagon and making sure his men were in top shape, as they had been riding for over a week towards their destination, almost without rests in the later stages as they rushed to meet the deadline for their arrival. It had seemed the current plan of the campaign had been carefully thought out and planned by the Emperor, with everything falling into place as the older man had intended, yet in the last few days they had rushed considerably, as if the man had received news that he deemed important enough to rush his men, though to be fair he was kind enough to provide them with wagon, some might have debated if that was better than walking, as most of the men in the wagons were tired of their long trek. But the sight of their general, his robed outfit and sword hanging from his side, and a look of determination on his face gave them all enough to steel their resolve as he assured them they were no doubt important to the battle--what other purpose could the Emperor have for delaying their arrival by so many days?--and that the time to show the Pluenians their true skill would be upon them today. And soon enough the order was given for the caravan of troops to move out once again, this time the Prayan would be out in front and be followed by the remainder of the army with a thirty minute delay. The Emperor barely had spoken a word to the General about it, but it was established between the two that he and his men already knew the plan that was to be assigned to them.

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Twenty Minutes Later

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With the caravan of Prayan Auxiliary forces long out of the way, their General on horseback and the four carts that were hauling the men fully out of view, having disappeared over the winding road that lead towards a forest that could just be made out in the horizon, it was time for the main body of troops to move out towards their intended positions and begin the setup once they arrived, yet the plans were largely unknown at the time of departure, the Emperor still refusing to speak a word of the plans, as if he was still editing them at the very moment they were riding out towards the place the Emperor intended for the battle between the Second Army and whatever forces the Selakains could muster to combat them. Though it was at least known among the men and officers present that whatever area they were heading to wouldn't change, as the Emperor had no doubt planned for such a place far in advance and intended for it to be the place where they would fight, as it was the only explanation for why they waited so long to move, and at the sametime no doubt gave up whatever element of surprise the3y would have over the Selakaian forces should they had just invaded outright, but it was beyond the wildest dreams of any man there to outright question and in some cases even privately question the strategic decisions of the Emperor. The man was considered one of the best of his era, and even the best among those in Pluena when it came to strategy, his ideas had won the second and third northern wars in a matter of weeks when the first one under somewhat competent generals had taken over several months to capitulate a single nation. The Emperor was a man of patients in everything but the fight, as for all his strategic mind set, it was known among those who were close to him, such as the General, though not in a friendly way as the Emperor may have liked, and those he had fought with in the North Wars, that the man despised combat, and although a skilled fighter, nearly unrivaled in his skills with the axe, and never wished to fight a fight for longer than was required. Thus he aimed his strategies at desives battles, and cared little for the constant skirmishes that were often associated with battle in many of the other wars, such as the Third Zendle-Astya war, though that was of course a much different conflict than what he had previously fought in. And thus all the men in the army whom were marching besides him trusted his word, and knew if he was behind the strategies of the Campaign there was nearly no chance they would lose, and thus they silently and happily followed him down the long and winding dirt path that would ultimately lead them to their destination and too battle.

Yet, that didn't mean that some people were without question, as in any operation of any scale people always felt it necessary to ask questions about what they didn't understand, and it was of course a good way to pass the time. The first to posse such a request was a young officer, clothed in the same dark armor that was polished to the point of shining, like lighting against the dark skies of a thunderstorm, with short blonde hair being caught up in the wind. He wore a single sword around his waist, hanging to the left of his waist, a shield that rested upon the same side of his horse, incase the need arises that he would be forced to use it, as after all the sword was short, only designed for single handed combat and the boy, though actually of twenty four, did not look like the type of person who would be found using two swords at once, as almost none in the army would. He had maneuvered his brown horse alongside that of the Crown Prince, who was wearing a similar outfit to the boy, except he had exchanged his normal sword for that of one with a green colored hilt, a gift from his father upon his arrival to the armies camp only a few minutes prior to their march. As the two horses came to rest abreast to one another the younger of the two boys leaned over as to allow his words to be heard by the Crown Prince over the sound of several hundred horses and feet marching upon the ground behind them, "Hey, Einar." The casual tone of the boy was overlooked by the Prince who seemed to care less about such formalities, "Who was that strange man with the Emperor?"

"I'm not exactly sure..." Came the reply of the young Crown Prince, nearly yelling in order to force his voice above the sound of all the marching feet behind them, and to overcome the hoarse raspy sound of his tired voice, having gotten little sleep in the past day or so with the arrival of his father hot on his mind and that of every mind in the army, as nearly everything was expected to be perfect for the Emperor's arrival and as commander of the army the young Crown Prince was at the center of that whirlwind of a tempest of questions and requests. "I've only seen him a few times around the Castle. I believe he is General Triijo. He seemed to prefer staying in outside of the Capitals walls and lives off in the woods, if I recall correctly from what my father has told me." No sooner that the boy had finished came the reply from his young companion whose face now showed a look of shock upon it, not believing such a thing could be true of a general, let alone anyone who is invited to stay in the capital much less the castle by the Emperor himself, "He lives in the woods? You're kidding right? Just who is this guy?" The Crown Prince was only able to give a slight shrug, as the form of an older man than both himself and his younger companion came over to bring his horse up abreast to that of the younger boy, at which point both let out a bit of a happy cry at seeing the older man, "Sir Sven!!" Both boys nearly clammed at once towards the newly arrived man who gave off a hardy laugh. He wore armor in the same manner as both of the boys, and had been a personal mentor to both when they were young squires many years ago, and had kept a close relationship with both even after, having been personally selected by the Crown Prince to serve in his army for the upcoming Campaign, a role the man took up happily. Now abreast with the younger boy he began to speak to them, "General Triijo, is certainly an interesting Character. One of the finest swordsman I've ever seen. His men call him Kensei, and he has been serving us since the Prayan War." Now both boys shot a look of confusion at the older man, the Crown Prince speaking first, "Kensei? Why do they call him that?" The older man let out a sign as he adjusted himself in the saddle of his horse. He was tired from long nights of planning as was the Crown Prince, due to being his chief advisor. As he spoke he nearly yawned at the beginning of his sentence, "Apparently Kensei means something akin to [a]Holy Swordsman[/i] or Sword Saint in their language. During the war, he was successfully able to hold off most of the Pluena army, killing over hundred men in a single day of combat. He was eventually forced to surrender, however, in exchange for the safety of his men. Though it also seems, from what the Prayan Auxiliaries have told me, that he has never lost a duel in his life, even against older opponents." Both boys now stood in shock at words of their mentor and friend, as over a hundred men in a single day was something unheard of in any military, and even though the exact details were unknown, it was unlikely he fought them in simple open fields like that they marched through, it was still amazing. THe closest they had ever heard of that was- "His strikes are incredibly to watch." Continued the older man, "Sometimes you don't even see him draw. They do say the only man who has a shot at matching his skill, as no one could match that man's speed, is Héros Sans Nation, but he disappeared three years ago..." Both boys again looked across toward each other and then forwards towards the woods where the Prayan Auxiliary force was supposed to be, rows of trees now coming to view, wondering if they'd get a chance to see the Kensei's skills in action

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Several Minutes Later

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After what seemed like only a very short time of riding, and in fact it had largely been under and hour of riding, they finally arrived in the place that was to be there location for the ensuing battle according to the Emperor who had spent many a night leaning over a dimly lit map and comparing reports of scouts in order to pick this location as the perfect place for their battle with the marching Selakain army to take place. It was a simple place that looked, from a simple glance, no different than any other place they had passed through. A single narrow dirt path led through the fields of green grasses waving in the wind like a large and forever flowing ocean of grass and nature, with a tree pockets of forests within about twenty meters or so to where the Prayan Auxiliaries had ditched their convoy waggons and disappeared to some unknown location that was simply out of view, yet the Emperor seemed unphased as he simply gazed out towards the two small pockets of forest that stood on either side of the road. It was here one would notice that these were not just simply pockets of wood and undergrowth and were in fact two small hills that rose up from the ground with trees growing all around them effectively forming two large walls on either side of the pathway that would effectively prevent any sort of Cavalry from crossing, preventing out flanking maneuvers anywhere around the trees, by either side, effectively limiting the role of cavalry by both side of the ensuing battle, yet the Emperor seemed to pay no mind to this and he began to order his troops into their position. The twenty or so mages that had been hanging back with the group were ordered to stay in the back rear guard, as was the typical role of mages in combat; to act as supporting troops with their high powered and long range attacks, as they suffered greatly in the more close combat oriented world of the frontlines of combat. The light and heavy infantry began to march out towards their assigned positions, now being shown a map by the Emperor who seemed eager to get ready, as scouts had reported the approaching Selakain army to only be an hour or so march away from the current position of the second army. Strangely enough as the men began to filter out towards their positions, they began to align themselves in a triangle formation rather than that of a typical line, as was common with many formations of troops of the day. The pass between the two hills was only about wide enough for two columns of men, or about two hundred soldiers, yet instead of placing their heavy infantry as an anchor, it was instead filled with three companies of light infantry, one of them Northern Auxiliaries in the front, with the other two half wedge behind the lead colum and the the other men, mainly heavy infantry in a "V" formation wedges behind the others and shielded from the view of any approaching force by the large hills of which they stood behind. The cavalry, broken into three groups of company sized formation began to spread out, two were positioned about half way through the infantry line and the third was position on the left side of the infantry line. Now all there was to do, was wait for the arrival of the Selakaian Forces.

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About an Hour Later

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The report from the scout that had been sent ahead of the main force were almost spot on accurate, as no sooner than perhaps an hour or so later, maybe over an hour if one was really keeping time, and some counting would have told you ten minutes over, the first signs of the Selakain force began to show themselves to the awaiting Pluenian forces, whom were still holding their positions near the mouth of the hills fast and strong as when they had arrived, with the same vigour and morale inspired energy as when they had first met with their kind upon their arrival. Still, their officers wasted no time making sure the flags of their nation were still flying high and that every man was at the read, sword or lance in hand and read to fight. Most of the light infantry in the leading company possessed swords, with a few lance wielding soldiers dispersed seemingly random, but in fact quite ingenious among them, with the other two lines following suit. It was only the back lines, hidden from view and made up of heavy infantry that held might lances along with their grand shields, although some haliberders could be seen, again, tactical laced among the men, near about the third line of the five line deep company that they current stood in. The heavy cavalry on the sides, and the light cavalry on the light side, held lances as well, though most held smaller shields, due to be on horseback, and swords as a secondary weapon, should it be required. The Selakaian forces were assembled in a similar manner, with cavalry leading the charge of the forces, with lighter infantry following behind. Further back stood a large force of mages, nearly half of the Selakain force, as they were a nation of mages after all, and a much greater variety of times than the simple wind tomes held by the Pluenian mages who still held the redguard overlooking the battle with the King, who had decided to avoiding entering the battle for a variety of reasons, the least of which was his health or safety, as he'd much rather fight than simply watch the battle rage on. But then again, he was also about to have a full view of his plan coming into action around the unsuspecting Selakain forces who were quickly descending upon his forces as he watched.

Just as the Emperor had predicted and in a large part relied upon, the Selakaian forces, upon seeing what they assumed was simply a scouting ort advanced part of Pluenian soldiers, quickly rushed forward and prepared to die battle with the awaiting Pluenians, largely leaving a gap between the horse mounted forces and the mages which followed behind them. The Selakia were a proud people, as they had a right to be, having produced some of the best mages the continent of Astalia had seen throughout the last few hundred years, and even before then the territory had produced fine magic warrior for the Acraine Empire, yet it was a double bladed sword, as many in the nation found themselves thinking they were superior to their neighbors, especially those which resided to their Eastern borders, and whom they likely would have invaded first had it not been for the build up the Pluenian forces, yet it was just as the Emperor had hoped, with the hot headed military leaders of the Selakai assuming they could catch the Pluenain force off guard if they attacked before they could fully mobilize, someone avoiding the fact the army had been there for a longer period than was typically associated with that of an army preparing to invade, especially one of the Pluenain size. Yet, they Emperor was forced to gamble on such a fact in order to give his spies within the nation the chance to get info on when the Selakaian force would be attacking prior to the attack itself arriving, and indeed they had given him the proper information allowing him to now execute his plans for them as he saw fit. And as he watched the lead elements of the Selakaian force, mainly that of cavalry both light and heavy followed by infantry, with their mages still strolling behind he was able to smile at the marvelous work he had prepared and his plan that was currently coming to fruition. As the lead elements of both armies clashed, it was obvious to see that the Pluenians were at a disadvantage. Their light infantry, only armed with swords and a few spears were being decimated by the power and skill of the Selakaian riders with their long lances, and their light and heavy infantry which had begun to increase pressure on the flanks as the cavalry crashed down the middle of the Pluenian lines hoping to break them, and in fact after only a few minutes of battle the Pluenian lines began to give way. The overwhelming power of the Selakian lead elements were forcing back the Pluenian lead elements who seemingly quickly began to retreat, the lead three companies falling back in what appeared to be disarray as the three companies merged into a single line of men moving backwards, the Selakain Cavalry and infantry taking advantage of this and pushing forwards into the seemingly disarrayed line that seems to only be bent further and furth back away from the forces of the charging Pluenians.

Yet such a move was their first, and most devastating mistake on the behalf of the woefully overzealous and large arrogant Selakaian forces who would be doing battle on that day, as they had failed to fully realize, while in their defense in the heat of battle, the true intentions of the Pluenian forces who were currently retreating and being pursued by the Selakain forces. Though while truthfully the Pluenians were falling back away from the front, they were not in fact retreating in any sense of the imagination, and the bent and seemingly disorganized movements of the three retreating companies was in fact a well planned and choreographed moved on the behalf of the Pluenian forces, for while the lead three companies fading into a single line that began to bend, so to did the heavy infantry that was found on either side of the retreating line, hidden behind the overgrown hills and fading away into a large line as were the three companies of light infantry. By the time that the first Selakaian soldiers were realizing what was happening it was already too late for them; the seemingly retreating Pluenaian forces had been drawing the Selakain cavalry and infantry into a semi circle shape that now began to close in on them, as the retreating light infantry instead turned to hold its ground as the heavy infantry on their flanks began to move in of the Selakian cavalry and infantry hittin them from all sides, the Cavalry taking the worse of the blunt damage having been cornered by both heavy infantry who refused to budge and by their own light and heavy infantry who sat behind them. Though that was not to say that the infantry of the Selakain force did not take some blunt of the damage, due to the fact that as the semicircle of Pluenian soldiers collapsed around them, their flanks were left wide open to the heavy cavalry of the Pluenian force which removed itself from behind the heavy infantry and rode towards the rear of the Pluenian force, where they were able to catch the Selakaian infantry in open ground as they were forced either in the walls of heavy Pluenian infantry or the fast moving lances of the Pluenian heavy cavalry which ripped apart of the Selakain infantry that had been caught out in the open, slowly allowing the heavy infantry of the Pluenian army to close in on the ends of the Selakain force, surrounding much of the force, and leaving the stragglers to be cut down by repeating charges of heavy cavalry, the infantry within the circle would slowly be crushed by the Heavy and Light infantry moving in on all sides in a circle of lances and swords, leaving them to where to go but down into the ground.

That was not to say that the mages who were traveling further behind the main force of Cavalry and Infantry were to be spared from the onslaught that was currently ravaging their comrades in arms, but they would have to deal with a different type of threat than the encirclement that was taking place right in front of their eyes their comrades were quickly engulfed by spears and lances coming from all directions. The attack on the mages came no later than the first charges by the Pluenian cavalry into the rear areas of the Selakaian infantry that was at current being destroyed by the cavalry and heavy infantry of the Pluenaian encirclement. As the mages reach the very edges of the area that had once been the forward positions on the Pluenian light infantry before they fell back into the trap their comrades had laid for the Selakaian forces, they were met with a similar attack coming at them from two sides at once, much like their comrades, only these enemies were pouring out from the embankments of the forests in large droves of about fifty on either side, with no clear formulation, as many were simply spread out and running back and forth quickly in order to make themselves a harder target for the mages, who still held the advantage at range; an advantage they were quickly losing to the fastly approaching forces. The enemy forces themselves were comprised of both men and women dressed in similar manner as to one another, each wearing a long over coat that fell at their waist in the front, and trailed behind them like long tails in an almost cape like manner behind them, with a heavier fabric that provided their only source of protection, since they carried no armor upon their bodies in any area, with the sleeves long, but in most cases had been rolled up above the elbow of the wearer for better mobility. They wore a singular belt across their waist which held their overcoats, though they largely resembled robes of some type, close to their bodies, with a single curves sheath hanging from their belt on the opposite side of which they would draw their blades from, though most had already, currently holding them in all manner of position, some off to the side in a single hand, while other held it with both hands above their head or pointed towards the enemy as they ran headlong towards the awaiting mages. Aside from their robes, they wore simple, loose fitting pants that found themselves tucked nicely into simply boots on their feet. As they approached the mages they soon came under the barrage of heavy magic attacks from wind to fire, lighting and in some cases the occasional dark magic shot rang out at them, but most were simply dodged by the light and quick moving swordsmen and women, who were rapidly closing the distance towards their enemies. The speed soon paid off as the lighter swordsmen and women, revealed to be the earlier missing Prayan Auxiliaries, collided with their magic wielding enemies, easily cutting through them, as the mages wore little armor, in a series of single of double swipes as they moved from enemy to enemy.

Coming in the middle of the the path between the two forces, not wishing to lend himself to either the North or Southern attacking flanks of attacking Prayan Auxiliaries, ran a single man, much older than a lot of the currently fighting Prayan Auxiliaries, though dressed differently from them as well. His hair was wild and seemingly unkempt, unlike the much cleaner cut and short styles of the other Prayan Axillaris who ran to and fro from enemy to enemy slicing down the largely defenseless images with ease, and his outfit was different too, opting for a long robe that was much lighter than that of the overcoats many of the auxiliaries wore, and it stretched down almost past his knees in both in the front and back of his body. Rather than a tight leather belt, he instead wore a simply cloth one loosely tied together that held two swords upon the left side of his body, rather than the traditional singular blade held by all the of currently fighting Prayan Auxiliaries. And as the man ran towards the mages from their Western Flank, his hair flying back in the wind, threatening to cover his eyes in some places, despite being held back in a loose ponytail type bun behind his head, his sword remained safely tucked in its sheath, his hand instead resting on the hilt of the longer of the two blades. As he neared the group of mages, now significantly lower than before, they appeared completely oblivious to the oncoming Prayan Auxillary who was fast coming towards their position. As the man approached the closest mage to him, he quickly place his hand on the hilt of the blade and pulled it through with such speed the only indication of the blade being drawn was a faint silver flash in a horizontal pattern from the left to right as the first mage in front of him fell. Now soon did he turn his attention on the next nearest, racing towards him and bringing a flash of silver down the man's right shoulder and then to his hip with both hands, bouncing to the next man a diagonal swipe with both hands from the left hip to right shoulder put yet another mages out of the fight. Nearly throwing himself over top of an incoming arc of fire past him, scorching the very edges of his robe, he brought his sword down with a two handed strike upon the man's middle chest, before moving towards a one handed horizontal strike across another mages stomach, causing him to peel open like an orange. With the man, General Triijo, added into the fight, the remaining mages were quickly cut down by the combined hundred man force of Prayan Auxiliaries; their skills with the sword easily demonstrated to both the Selakians, though many were dead, and the Pluenians alike. With the battle finished Satoru, simply striked down with his sword, splattering the blood off the blade and onto the ground, before placing it back within its sheath at his side. With that the Selakian force had been defeated in little more than an hour, and lay in a bloody mess all around the small little impasse that had become the battleground for the day.

by **Nations United for Conquest** » Thu Mar 22, 2018 1:31 pm

Continuation of previous post

Eastern-Astya

Small Border

Present Day

Crown Princess Isa T. Kuhn and Company

The journey that the group of travelers had taken part in and the recent events surrounding it with the bandit and brigand attack on the small narrow path that lead into the small village in which they currently took refuge, and the events that would unfold upon their arrival had taken quite the toll on the group of travelers, especially the younger Isa, who was suffering both from lack of sleep and the side effects of using a powerful Tome such as arcfire despite her skills as a mage and magic user. Thus it was not long after they had begun to lend their hands to helping the injured members of the small village, along with Anton and the newly introduced Thea, that the stress and fatigue began to take their toll, not helped by the fact that she had had little to eat since breakfast that morning and it was fast approaching mid afternoon as signalled by the changing position of the sun which began to flutter from its normal yellow and orange glow to one of reddish orange as it began to sink lower into the sky and the shadows of the town and church grew longer and longer, that Isa was eventually half forced by Anton, who ended up carrying her in the end, to a small bedroom in the mayors manner, as provided by him where she would rest. Though her rest was short lived and after only about an hour or so of sleeping she was awoken by her own hunger pains, having been easily over ten hours since her last meals and the time growing by the minute, she was lucky enough to awake to a small meal placed next to her bed rest on a small table of wood, no doubt drafted from the same forest that surrounded the village on all sides, not of course counting the long and rolling fields of greenery and crops that were on the outer flanks of the village as well. The plate was small in nature, and provided very little in terms of grandeur or well taste and colors, but it was more than enough for the tired and hungry Princess, though it was doubtful she would have complained had the conditions been different, it was free food after all, though in part could be seen as her payment for helping with the injured and her promise to assist the village with the Brigand and Bandits when they returned to the city, though Anton had predicted it would not be till much closer to dusk that such an attack would happen, as was common of the lower life bandits. The plate itself was little more than a small fried fish on a stick, likely caught that day and cooked up just before arriving on her plate, even being a bit warm to the touch, allowing her to predict it had been made under an hour or so again. Next to it was a freshly picked red apple, though some darker bruises could be seen near the the bottom, perhaps it had been dropped on its way to town, thought it was far from inedible; and finally a single slice of bread next to a mug of cider was placed for her, though off to the side was a small kettle near a fireplace, likely the work of Anton assuming she would prefer the tea over cider. She would drink both.

Looking around the room in which she say she could see it was reasonably sized, certainly not the Mayor's own room, though it was a decent enough little guest room that was likely used in the event someone from a neighboring town was to pay a visit to the Mayor, or perhaps a friend from days past stopped by unexpected and could not secure a room anywhere else, as the small town lacked an inn of any sort, not even the pub posing one, as the town likely did not need such. The bed in which she had just rose from was of a wooden design, though simple in overall nature, being little more than a simple frame of a few log tied together and small sack of hay to be used as a mattress for which she slept on, it being the warmer part of the day, she had little more than a light brown blanket, both in color and weight, to cover her body, finding much of her clothes still intact with the removal of her armor, it having been placed off the side of the bed, as had her satchel of tomes and sword, likely the work of Anton who had brought her to the house. Take a gaze around the room it was found to be largely empty, the bed off to the left wall away from the door with the fire place that held the tea kettle on the opposite side, the right, and a small table that was no bigger than to allow perhaps one or two people to sit on either side, pressed up against the wall, opposite of the door, and in just the right position to allow for the light from the windows across the from the door to come in and light up the table, making it easy for one to write without the need of a lamp or candles. It was the only purpose the young Princess could see for the table, as all it help was a small ink and quill along with two stacks of books and a mess of clean papers thrown about the top part, no doubt indicating she had taken refuge in the room that was likely used by the Mayor in his spare time for writing of some sort, though if it was reports or simply for his own pleasure it would be hard to tell without peaking within the books, but she managed to hold her curiosity close to her heart as she rose from the bed. Grabbing the skewered and cooked fish, along with the mug of water, still cool from the well, perhaps indicating it had been one of the last things provided to her to go with her meal, she made her way over towards the table, taking a seat and beginning to scribble out a message upon one of the unused pieces of paper upon the table.

Dear Heidi,

It is enjoyable to hear from you once again, especially on such a long journey. As you known Anton is not the best to speak to with certain subjects, though I do enjoy his company all the same. I must also apologize for the delay of my letters as well, as I have had little time with all the riding I had been doing throughout the Eastern Borders of my country. Anton insists that we make as quick a time as possible, and though a bother, I am sure he simply means well. No doubt worried about me as always, though now that I think about it, he reminds me of the stories you tell about you own brother sometimes.

But I must say I am happy to hear of your reunion with your brother, Sir Siegfried, and the travels you two have been taking together. You always used to talk about him back when we were studying at the Castle, and I can see from your words alone that being with him again has brought you great joy. It almost makes me wish I had a brother of my own! But I believe Anton is more than enough in that department for myself…I look forward to hearing more of your journey, and I too wish to spend time catching up in person. It will be wonderful to see how much you’ve grown in these past five years!

- Your Dear Friend, Isa

She had just finished signing off the bottom of the letter, when there was the sudden sound of footsteps, or rather boots due to the large thumping sound they made across the hardwood floors of the Mayor's Manner, began to echo down the hallways just outside of the room in which Isa was currently sitting, stopping just at her door and instead being replaced with the rhythmic pattern of one rasping their knuckles on the wood of the door, instinctively causing Isa to turn in her seat, now facing the door, and call out in a calm voice that sounded refreshed from her long nap in the bed, "Come in." It was the simple reply that she gave, and no soon did she speak then did the form of a young man, a slight bit taller than her upright, and quite a bit taller than her due to the height different of how they were currently standing. As more of the young man's form passed through the door, it became quite clear to the young Princess that it was in fact the form of Lord Koen, though he much prefered simply "Koen" that had just entered into her room, and as the sun generally filtered out to reveal more of his features, it was clear to see his trademark wide smile rested upon his face, likely happy to see her in such high spirits after the exhausted look she had been trying to hide since they arrived in the village. As he moved closer to where she was sitting, and eventually pulled out a chair of his own to sit across from her, she couldn't help but wonder How can a friend of Sir Jerro be so cheary?, though she then remembered the two had been apart for sometime, and that she knew very little about either of them, having only met the young lord a few times prior to the day, and they were fairly spaced out. Now resting in the chair across from her, he finally seemed comfortable enough to begin speaking, "You look well rested, Lady Isa." A warm tone accompanied his voice, and was replied to with a simple nod from the Crown Princess sitting across from him, likely assuming he had some sort of news to share with her.

Though, rather than continue on with their conversation, the young lord instead looked down towards the table, seemingly intrigued by whatever the young Princess had begun to write down on the piece of paper, sending a slight burst of color through her cheeks as she remembered just how personal the letter was, if somehow she was even able to forget, and turned away from the paper to stare out the window towards the edges of town, where she caught of glimpse of Anton and Jerro moving what seemed like a wagon of sorts in order to prepare some sort of defenses. All around in the dying light of the late afternoon sun she was able to see spikes and barricades of all sorts had been set up by the two young men, along with the help of the Mayor and some of the less injured men and women from within the church. No doubt they were more than well prepared for the fight that would likely be coming shortly, which seemed to be the reason that the young lord across from her was able to slip by and join her in the small room of the Mayor's Manner. After what seemed like almost an hour of waiting the young lord finally began to speak towards his younger companion across the table from himself, his voice carrying a curious tone to it, "You sure do mention Sir Anton quite a bit in this letter..." He trailed off as he turned his attention to the young Princess who was still turned away from him at the moment. She didn't even bother to turn to answer him, her eyes still fixated on the other two young men who were lifting other piles of wood to and fro from the church in massive piles; their strength astounding the Young Princess as she began to answer, "Well, he did spend a lot of time with us when she stayed her. And..." There was a slight paused on the side of the young Princess, "He has been my friend for many years, and I often spend time with him." "Hmm" Came the almost singular reply from the young lord, followed by a long paused before he eventually finished it up with "Is that so..."

He then leaped off his thought as mind seemingly caught another interesting detail in the letter and he began to study it more closely before letting out a slight laugh, which caught the young Princess off guard forcing her attention back towards him, "Sir Siegfried...Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time..." The sudden sentence now fully caught the attention of the young Princess who flashed her friend the young lord a look of bewilderment in her eyes, as if she did not believe the words that had been spoken by the slightly older man. After a few seconds of pause, the young lord fully enjoying the reaction of his young female companion, the young Princess finally began to speak, "You've met Sir Seigfried?" Came the almost weak reply and question by the young Princess whom at first only received a simple nod from the young lord but was eventually treated to a reply, "Yes, and Sir Jerro as well, though I'm not sure if he remembers meeting him..." The additions of new facts, including that the mostly quiet and stoic Jerro, whom was known to have a distaste for nobles, though he never quite explained why, Isa being one of the few exceptions as well as her father, had met with the son of the Zendle King, and the Crown Prince at that. She nearly burst out towards the young lord, "What? Sir Jerro did? How did this happen?" At the excitement the young lord let out a small chuckle and then a deep sigh, as he had likely not gone over the story in sometime, though he didn't seem to be depressed at retelling it, "Well, it happened not to long after Sir Jerro and I met during the third Zendle-Astya War. As you know, Sir Jerro managed to capture a sizable Zendle force of over two hundred men, after defeating over thirty single handedly, in the village of which I was the lord of. Thus when the remaining Zendle forces surrendered to Jerro, I met with their leader, who turned out to be none other than the Crown Prince." He paused for a moment, as if still attempting to recall the events of over fifteen years ago in his head, "The Crown Prince seemed very fixated on Jerro for some reason. And though he wouldn't explain I assumed it had to do with him cutting down thirty and more of his men, yet I was unable to tell him anything-not even his name-as we had yet to speak at that point. I doubt Jerro remembers much of it either, as the two didn't seem to talk." As he finished the young Princess simply sat there in wonder, trying to make sense of the story that had just been retold to her, never imagining Lord Koen and Sir Jerro would have met the Brother of her good friend, before she even had the chance. It was then that the young Lord stood up as if he had remembered something just then, earning the attention once again of the young Princess, "That reminds me, Sir Anton wished my to tell you it is likely nearing the time of battle. We can send your letter with my hawk on the way to the church."

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Several Minutes Later

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Over the past few hours, Sir Anton and Sir Jerro had worked tirelessly with the other members of the village, those who could still walk and move objects, mainly wagons and logs, to set up the defenses of the village in a way which would play to the strenghts of all fighters involved, including the young Thea, whom after much protest had managed to convince both the Mayor, who was now much too weak to help defend anything but the entrance to the church, and the members of the travelers party to allow her to fight alongside them, as she could use Anima magic, and to help heal them in the heat of combat, something they were severely lacking, and with both Jerro and Koen on her side, she was allowed to join in the fight, being placed at the rear of the group with Princess Isa, who had elected to stick with her Tomes rather than fight with her rapier, a choose supported greatly by herself and Anton a like, who likely felt she'd be safer there, even if they were simply just Brigands and far from any organized force. As such with their defenses, they had built a wall around all edges of the town, allow the Brigands to only attack from the Western entrance, though while near the church, putting the lives of some of the more injured in danger, it also allowed the large tower to be used as a overwatch position by the young lord Koen, whom with his metallic bow in hand, the blue colored bow safely wrapped and tied to his back near his quiver of arrows, giving him a full view of the forest in front of them, where they knew the Brigands would be forced to attack from, and allowing the wide open field of grasses between the two, the woods and village, to be a shooting ground for the Hawkeyed young lord. Down on the ground, near the entrance to the Western part of town, and closests to the church, stood Jerro, wearing the same armor he had before, though unlike the others who had their weapons at the ready, his long two handed steel sword remained firmly held in its sheath on his left hip, his armed crossed and a serious look on his face as he squinted against the sun to make out any forms that may have been passing through the underbrush. He was also well within shouting range of Lord Koen whom was to provide scouting reports in addition to fire control from his place in the tower should the need have arised for him to do so. To the left of Jerro and furthest from the church, stood the form of Anton, his silver colored armor and gold metal highlights, reflecting the late afternoon sun in a way that seemed to make his almost glow, despite the dust that was swirling about them as a result of the slight wind that had picked up, perhaps indicating a storm was heading their way from the south. Like his companions, with the exception of Jerro, he too held his weapon at the ready, it of course being his lightly colored lance, that also sparkled and shined in such a way it nearly threatened to blind anyone foolish enough to look directly at its blade, and his sword was kept at his side, much like Isa's, should the need arise for him to draw it, though it was unlikely. He had also forgone the use of his horse, at the suggest of Koen, whom said it would be much easier to defend along side Jerro if they were both on foot, though he wished to be riding upon his stead at the moment, just for the extra power and strength it would provide him in combat.

And thus, for what felt like nearly an hour or so, the group of the travelers now once again fighters, stood in ready positions awaiting for the first signs of enemies to appear from the edges of the woodlines, as the now orange ball of fire that was the sun sunk ever lower into the sky and dared to pass behind the trees to the west and bath the small village in darkness, that would ultimately result in a hard time for both the defenders and attacks who's ranges would be cut down significantly in the even of a fight in the darkness. As they stood watching and waiting, Lady Isa was about to call for the lighting of candles and torches when suddenly the voice of Lord Koen broke through the relative quiet of the defenders of the village, "I can see objects moving in the distance just past the edge of the tree line."

"How many do you see?" Came a booming voice from near the church, it of course belonging to Sir Jerro who even with the new information in hand refused to remove his gaze from the stationery place it was in, as if believing the enemy Brigands would be able to see such a change at the good fifty meters or so that were between the town and closest edges of the wood line. Soon enough a loud reply from the church's tower came and rained down upon the defenders standing below, "I count about twenty five moving shadow. I'd take a shot, but I'm afraid to spoke them and ruin the fun." It was an attempt at humor to perhaps alleviate some of the suspense and tenses of the fact that they were now outnumbered five to one, if you even counted the younger Thea as a fighter, he Anima magic skills likely only developed to the point of self defense, let alone actual combat. Normally such Brigands would be little concern, each being completely outskilled by the fighters who were currently in charge of defending the village from the Brigands, but the sheer number ment it was possible they could be distracted and eventually over run, leading to all sorts of problems for the forces, which only became more evident as the first members of the attacking party rose from their positions in the undergrowth of the forest and set out to meet the defenders in the town.

Although still a ways away and largely hidden, except for their belts up, by the tall grasses that surrounded the Western side; the farm lands all being on the Eastern side of town leaving the west to be the area of which raw materials such as rock and stone were to be gathered, it was clear to see that these Brigands weren't the same group of lowly fighters that they had encountered on the narrow dirt path to the village only hours before hand to the battle. These Brigands carried both axes and swords, mainly short one handed version when it came toi latter and nothing resembling the long sword of which Jerro still held in his sheath, and some even wore patches of light armor, no where near the quality of the armor Anton or even Jerro and Lord Koen wore, but still enough that it was a significant step up from the poor leather armor that they had been wearing beforehand during the initial battles. This was no doubt the main force of the whatever group, unnamed by the villagers, that had been attacking both the group of travelers and the villagers themselves over the past few days of occurrence. As they moved through the underbrush, it was easy to see they had tactics as well, though they were largely spoiled by Lord Koen in the church tower whom repeatedly called out their formation, as they walked in alternating patterns of five, with varying depths, like that of the ragged teeth on a saw blade used for cutting wood or stone, with a single, much larger and more armored man bringing up the rear with a large two handed axe, like the one's one would often seen on the fields of war, no doubt the commander of the force in which they were dealing. As the force approached it was easy to see Isa and especially the younger Thea tense up a slight bit, though the two anchors of defense; Jerro and Sir Anton, remained still and unwavering like the statues they seemingly were impersonating, Jerro still refusing to draw his sword from his sheath, as if he had a plan for how he would react to the attack, or perhaps something sat wrong with him when it came to the battle, it was hard to tell. It was also possible it could be a result of the cut on his left hand, that while healing was still raw and largely prevented him from wielding his large sword with both hands, though it seemed little of a bother to him, likely he had been in a similar situation beforehand.

It was then, as the first wave of five Brigands, two of which were wielding short swords and the other three wielding axes with bows upon their backs, that the voice of Koen suddenly broke through the air once again. He had been calling out the movements of the enemy for sometime as they slowly approached, apparently in no rush to destroy the village, when his head suddenly snapped to the south, and he began to stare out towards the distance, as if something had caught his eye, though what it was was seemingly lost to everyone else who could not make it out. Then, suddenly his voice echoed out a call of a strange nature, "I see...I see a flier?! " The tone of his voice revealed him to be almost as shocked as his companions who were below, yet with the enemy so close to their line they had little time to turn their head to search for the mysterious flier that had apparently just entered the stage. Instead, Jerro simply called back to his friend in the tower, "Are you sure, Koen? Can't just be a bird." Though he could not see the reaction of his friend in the tower, he was sure that Klord Koen was no doubt shaking his head in disagreement with both his eyes and the words of his friend on the ground as he called back once again, "Nope, its a flier..." There was a quick pause, "And it looks like it's making a beeline for the middle of the Brigan Formation?!"

Though still unable to turn his head from the approaching enemy that was now within a few meters of himself and Sir Anton, sure enough his friend in the tower had not been lying, as no more than few seconds later the large white form of a Pegasus crossed his line of sight, coming in low just above the rooftops of the houses and building in the town, with the end of the riders long lance reflecting in the evening sun, and further lighting up the large wings of the beasts, that had been folded back as the beast dived down towards the nearest enemy, then folding back into what seemed like sails of a boat in order to slow itself, as the end of the riders lance pierced into the unprotected back of one of the Brigands wandering through the tall grass. Then, just as quickly as it had dived down, it began to flutter back up, the rider remove the end of the lance at the last second with perfect precision in order to slice open the wound on the back of the Brigand's left shoulder, and throw the man down on his back. As it filtered up in the air, it soon became the target of the now aggravated Brigands who took to attempting to pot arrows at the low flying beast and it's rider, though both managed to dodge with extreme agility, it was becoming clear they were running out of room to attack, and that the beast's movements were becoming sloppier, perhaps due to over work, as Koen had seen the beasts approaching past the horizon and forests from the south. Then, almost as though on the same wavelength, both Anton and Jerro began to surge forwards into the mess of the tall grass in order to put pressure on the Brigand and allow the rider to maneuver safely wherever they wished, with Lord Koen providing support in the form of counter firing against the Brigands own archers, to devastating effect. Sir Anton was the first to make contact with the enemy in the bushes, driving the end of his lance deep into the lower back of an enemy Brigand with the full force of his momentum as he came to full stop, and then in the same move withdrawing it from the man's back and swinging it around in a large arc to catch an unsuspecting brigand archer right across the neck. Jerro met the enemy only a second later, drawing his two handed sword from its sheath he effortlessly brought it across his body in a horizontal line that threatened to slice in half the enemy Brigand who had caught it in his stomach, then wasting no time brought it up from the right hip of the next Brigan all the way to the man's left shoulder, slicing the leather plate armor the man wore in half, falling to the ground almost as quickly as the man himself. Then the next enemy rushed towards Jerro's position only to be caught in a similar slicing strike, this time in the opposite direction from the shoulder to the hip, with Jerro turning in the next moment to catch the falling blade of an enemy Brigand, only for the Brigand in question to catch an arrow directly to the side of the head, causing him to slump off of Jerro's blade and onto the ground. It was then Sir Anton watched as the mysterious rider of the winged beast swooped down in front of him, feeling yet another enemy in the same style as before, and causing a rush of wind to blow his hair in all direction as the beast once again returned to the sky. Anton now watched, through the waving blades of grass, is Jerro made a beeline straight for the commander of the Brigand force, and in the distance he could hear shouts of Fire and Arcfire as Thea and Isa cut down the stragglers heading for the church, Anton opting to continue cutting down the remaining Brigands in order to free Jerro up for the task of assaulting the large Brigand Commander, and finally allowing the mysterious rider to land.

As Jerro approached the very edge of the field, where the waves of grass yet again broke on the shorelines of the forest, he was greeted by a more complete look at the large man who had been pointed out by Koen as the leader of the Brigands, only a few minutes prior to the ensuing battle. The man himself was large in size, posing broad shoulder and well toned muscles that were stained dark tan, likely as a result of the man lacking a shirt of any kind and having spent a great deal of time in the sun, as was expected of a Brigand that was constantly out ravaging small villages like the one they were currently defending. The only clothing he did wear, as he lacked armor of any sort except for leather bands in place of where vanguards of armor plating would usually be found on someone like Isa or Sir Anton, was a pair of pants and boot that both looked equally old and tarnished with large chunks of cloth missing in most places. The man's hair, as one would expect was a mess of strands, somewhat butched with a knife in order to make them look at least somewhat uniform and short, as well as a small red piece of cloth wrapped around his forehead, though it was hard to tell if it was simply red from coloring or perhaps blood, the latter of which might have made more sense from an outside perspective looking in at the man. His face was equally worn, possessing a weather and dried leather type look that seemed like it would crack as he smiled as the appearance of Jerro in front of him, the man's squinting and creased eyelids revealing a pair of wild green eyes that were seemingly looking past Jerro. Now standing just at the end of the range of his sword, Jerro clutched it in his good right hand, bringing it to a low position as he crouched with his left arm cradled below his right and facing the opposite direct he awaited the movements of the man who had rested his own axe upon his shoulder with his right hand and left both on the shaft of the weapon. Both men stared down at each other, the Brigand Boss like in his late thirties if not early forties, placing him as much older than Jerro who was of Twenty Eight, yet as the man lifted his axe to bring it down upon Jerro, he managed to do so with great speed and power, yet not quite fast enough for Jerro brought his blade up in his single right hand slightly quicker and managed to parry the older man's blow off the side. Though he was slightly surprised to find as he brought his sword back down in order to slive the man across his unprotected chest, where many scars were already visible, the man regained his stance and with both hands on the shaft managed to block the blow similar to how Anton had commonly done so, causing both of the men to press their strength against one another, before each back hopped away, returning to square one of their fight. At such an event, the older man chuckled to himself, likely having been sometime since an opponent had matched his strength, especially one so young, though he seemed unaware the boy's own strength surpassed his own, he now took the offensive, swinging his mighty axe down with both hands as Jerro charged him once again. Yet, instead of simply parrying the man's blow like he had before, Jerro side stepped the man's blow and with a small spinning move found himself behind the larger man where, after reforming his stance, plunged the end of his sword into the man's lower back and then pulled it back out in a small diagonal move that left his right arm across his body and his blade nearly touching it's sheath. As the older man clutched towards his wound, Jerro wasted no time in grabbing the hilt of his blade with both hands, though it caused some discomfort, and swung with all his force across the man's back, that even with a hurt hand, threatened to uproot the man from the ground, though rather he simply fell face first into the ground, dead and spilling blood across the once green grasses. With the man defeated, and Anton having finished clearing the rest of the Brigan, Jerro simply brought down his sword in a swinging motion, sending a spray of blood across the still green grass before returning his blade to its sheath and beginning to walk back towards the others in the small village.

----------

With the battle now complete and the Brigand having been defeated, it was finally safe for the seemingly tired, though still strong, rider and the strange beast upon which they rode to land in the small entrance way that had once been the defending line between the village and bandits. All around the entrance way and near the church lay the bodies of around ten or so Brigands, some of which had arrows sticking out of them, as per the work of Koen who had just climbed down from his perch in the church's tower only a few minutes ago, while others showed obvious burn marks; a result of the combined fire power of both Isa and Thea, the latter of which seemed especially intrigued to see what her training with the tomes had finally amounted to, while also being amazed at the power of Isa's own fire magic and the skill of which she used it against the Brigands. Though by far the most interesting object in the whole seen was the rider, now revealed to have been riding upon a Pegasus, the beast itself completely white with exception of a light blue cloth that lay over its back and the saddle upon which the rider sat. The rider in question, was soon revealed to be a younger girl, perhaps around Isa's only age, making her younger than Koen and Jerro by about two years, Anton by one, and a few older than Thea, who was especially amazed at seeing the beast, likely only having seen them in books or heard about them in stories from the Mayor or the people in town who had been lucky enough to see one. The rider, despite having just been in combat, was still quite beautiful, the last rays of sun catching off of her paler skin and causing her eyes, though while dull in color, to sparkly as well in the sun's finally light, as well as accenting her already dark brown hair, that was seemingly quite nice despite having been put through what looked like hours of flying followed up by intense fighting, as shown by the tired expression on her face. As she was helped down from her stead by Sir Anton, her face almost immediately lit up upon seeing the face of the young knight, though he was still a little late to whatever connection the two had. Much like Thea her face and eyes grew wider as she laid her gaze upon Lady Isa who was quickly approaching with Thea to check for possible wounds, her eyes showing a look of relief and worry all at the same time.

As she was checked for injuries, and revealed to have none except for that of serious fatigue, both her and her mount alike, she finally managed to spit out a set of words, still sweet sounding despite the soreness and dryness of her throat as she spoke them, "Sir Anton it is good to see you again, you as well Lady Isa." She paused for a moment catching her breath as she took a large mouthful of water from a mug that Thea had fetched from the well not to far from where the group was currently standing, "I am Lady Della Kirio of Astya's Ariel Knights...I bring ne-" She began to cough once again as she took another deep sip from the mug, her breath heavy and now requiring a bit of support from Thea, whom she rested her left arm upon in order to giver herself balance, though she showed every intention of standing on her own. After a few moments of recovering she was able to speak again, "I bring news about Pluena..." Every one of the Travelers faces peaked at the mention of Pluena, the mysterious nation had been hiding their plans well from Astyai spies in the nations, likely indicating something big was coming up, "They have raided and burned the holy city, and seems they have marched East as well..." She continued, causing the faces of all the travelers, even that of Thea who likely knew little about Pluena or what was going on in the greater word, to suddenly become blank with shock, except for that of Jerro who's remained stoic and Koen, who despite being on the other side of the continent seemingly suspected something like that would happen.

"I must...I must get to Gesno..." The young rider, Della continued to stumble upon her words and attempted to use Thea as a push off point in order to climb aboard her mount once against, only to be stopped by Jerro who had placed a firm grip, not quite enough to hurt her but just enough to stop her, who then spoke out to her in a calm voice, "No, it's too reckless in your condition." The young girl, seemingly understanding the words of Jerro, mentally at least, still attempted to protest and force her way onto her mount, but was much too weak to even begin to try and overcome the iron grip Jerro had placed on her forearm. Next it would be Sir Anton who would speak towards the younger woman, helping Jerro to catch and stabilizer her as she nearly fell, attempting to climb back down, "We can send word by hawk. For now you need to rest, as we must head south with great haste tomorrow." There was a series of nods among the group of fighters surrounding the newly arrived girl and her mount, even that of Thea who seemingly believed she would be accompanying them on their march southernly in the morning, towards Belkose and the Plains. As the girl finally gave up her protest, and was allowing herself to be lead towards the manner that would be the home of all the travelers during their stay in the town, by Thea, Lady Isa spoke parting words to the now nearly collapsed Della, "Thank you for bring me this message, you've done well." And with that the rest of the travelers made their way back to towards the manor, Jerro now having to help Thea support Della as they walked down the dirt main road through town, Della's white mount following close behind them, tired, but obviously worried for her owner and partner.

by **House Dayne of Star fall** » Thu Apr 12, 2018 4:57 pm

World's End, Valkyrie
The Present Day

Ser Arthur Brite | The Knight of Night's Beginning

Arthur stood on the Cliffs of the World. He looked out across the sea. All he could see was the blue of the ocean. Dusk was in his hand, blade sitting on his shoulder. He was contemplating his life, thinking about how it had gone, and how little he had accomplished in the scheme of things. But he looked up, stared at the horizon. He would make a name for himself. He would make sure everyone heard the legend of Ser Arthur.

He stood there for what felt like hours, but then he felt a hand on his shoulder. He didn’t turn, but instead waited for his Uncle to talk, “Arthur, I’m proud of you, of what you have become. You are one of the best swordsman I have ever known. But be careful. You have trained all your life, but you have never experienced a real war.”

“I know Uncle, that is why I’m leaving. I need training, I will make glory of our family I promise. Keep Father and Saph alright. I trust you.”
“I will Arthur, I promise, but make sure you come back, and not in a chest full of bones. You are the heir to World’s End. Eventually we will need you.”

Arthur flashes back to the first time he ever left long from World’s End…

Arthur stood there, tourney sword in hand other behind his back, he was 16, his birthday. Only days before he was set to embark to Praya and begin his full training into mastery of the sword. His Uncle stood before him, smile on his face, hand behind his back, other holding a sword. We both circled each other, both holding swords out in front of them, both daring the other to make the first move.

The only sign his uncle gave of his attack was a slight movement in his weight, then his sword swung, he twirled it, feinted left, before making a hard-cut right. My sword met up to meet him, clang of steel was heard throughout the court yard. With the first clash of steel we both took our hands from behind our back. Both of us now twice as dangerous. Once again, the Fireweave swiped, this time a savage overhead cut hoping to knock me off balance. I met up with my left wrist, the steel of his sword meeting the gilded steel of one of my wrist braces. The only armor I wore on my entire body. His cut is enough to force me back. A small smile appeared once again on his face.

“Come on Arthur, you can do better than that.”

I gritted my teeth, drew a parrying dagger. Bringing a full smile to his face, he puts both hands on his longsword. The fight turned into a whirl. A dance of steel, men at ones with their weapons. Parry, feign left, attack right, retreat. In the end, his uncle exposed himself too much, too strong an attack, his longsword entangled in Arthur’s parrying dagger. He ripped the sword from his uncle’s hand and swept his legs out from under him in the same movement. Now he finally smiled back, sheathed his sword, and offered his hand down.

Arthur came back to the present…

Arthur’s uncle had bestowed Dusk on him after that. It was the first time he had beat the Fireweave in full combat.

He stopped looking off into the horizon and turned towards the castle. It looked like a great stone beast perched on the cliff like the dragons of old. He walked towards the gate, meeting his father and sister, asking them if they would come with him to port, but both had responsibilities holding them from being able to watch me sail off. The caravan was preparing to travel to Selakai. The Selakains were looking for any help they could get to defend themselves from the much larger nation of Pluena. He would come out of this conflict no longer a boy. He would forge his legend in the fire, or he would succumb to the flames. He stared at Dusk, laid across his lap as he sat in the royal carriage. His closest friend, James of House Davvonson sat by his side. A ward of his family from the age of 10 until 16, he often returns to World’s End. But now he would be sailing with Arthur too Selakai.

Arthur looked at him, “Let us forge a new Dawn, let us put ourselves in the history books, like the dragon slayers of old. I know we will. I’ve seen it in my dreams.”

by **Zjaum** » Tue Apr 17, 2018 12:40 pm

Everra, Selakia: The Lords' Capital

The adventurers arrived at the eastern gates of Selakia to find them unguarded. The duke must have been too confident about their plan to leave a backup strategy. Oh well, all the better for them and their troops. It might have been considered a second invasion otherwise. The two heroes chuckled at the thought as they marched into Everra.

Everra was a city of stone, mixed with old trees. Vrabriya surveyed the scene in relative awe. This was her first time in a foreign land, but all she thought was of how great the lumber would be that could come from those trees if they were simply cut down. Replaced with new ones, of course. Perhaps the ancient trees might even make for some good firewood, if they are too frail to support houses and such buildings. T'bra, she could probably make a small fire and burn the whole capital down, from the way the trees were so close together. That was everything of note, though. The stone was medieval and not quite impressive, and much of the construction was showing signs of decay. If this was what the outside world had to offer, perhaps they would be better served as vassals of Kovraiya.

Leobol was happy to be home, but things felt... off, as if the entire capital was on the brink of falling into despair. He took a deep breath, adapting to the new state of life. He cleared his mind and took in all around him. There was a smell of burnt bread; apparently the good bakers had all been conscripted. There were more women and children out and about, probably for similar reasons. From a distance on the other end of the city, he heard a faint murmur. The commotion spread towards him as it began to envelop the town. In the short span of a few minutes, everyone was scurrying this way and that. A thousand of them swarmed outward, making sure to keep their distance from the small band of Kovraiyan militants. He searched through the commotion for anyone with authority, to see if he could get answers. A lone soldier, albeit with a bottle of wine in his hand, was the best he found. "Excuse, me, sir! What has happened?"

The soldier looked at him with forlorn eyes. "We were slaughtered like cattle. Our commanders foolishly sent us to our deaths, and I am the only one I know who survived." He looked at the armed Amazons in front of him. "Flee while you can, good women. Selakia is lost."

There were a few murmurs amongst the Death Lasses, but their leader stood firm. The Selakian, however was panicked; he needed to ensure Alessia's safety. He looked around before addressing Vrabriya: "I will be back shortly; there is something to which I must attend."

Vrabriya was faced with her first military decision. On the one hand, her mission was incomplete. She would return with no information on their Pluenan foe, only with a thousand refugees, which Kovraiya could not handle. On the other hand, if she were to complete her duty, she and her band of thirty would be the only defense against an army of at least hundreds if not thousands. What little of their tactics she acquired would not be applicable to army-on-army warfare.

Still, she would not fail in her duty. The stone walls of Everra were still intact, albeit unmanned. It was theoretically possible to fend off an enemy from such a bastion, and her women will at least give the citizens of Selakia the chance to flee into the countryside. "Everyone, man the western gate! We will do what we can for the people who rely on us! Vr'broia!"

"Vr'broia!" cried the Lasses under her command. They moved single file through the ocean of fleeing civilians westward. Few if any knew the way, but they were bound to find it eventually.

Leobol found Alessia's house and neighborhood nearly empty, but he heard her voice. It was crying. He opened the door and sallied forth to find his friend. Alessia, upon seeing him, embraced him and began to explain. "I couldn't abandon you when you came back, so I hid myself away. My family left without me, and I thought you wouldn't come back, and I was afraid that I would die alone! I am so happy to see you!"

"And I you, friend. Come, I have brought a small number of reinforcements. You'll be safe with them." The two left their small house towards the group, just barely catching sight of them as they headed to the western wall. Leobol was perplexed, and partly angry. "Wait! Where are you going? You're supposed to be protecting the ones who flee! The city is lost!"

One Lass returned his cry for help. "This is our commander's orders. We will complete them or die in our failure."

Leobol hesitated. The townsfolk who fled the city would surely be slain by the invaders without support or organization, Alessia included. Folly as Vrabriya's choice was, it was still better to remain with them. He followed silently, hoping he would not soon regret his decision.

Tales of Astalia [Fantasy|IC|Open]

Tales of Astalia [Fantasy|IC|Open]

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