The Imperial Camp at Herrath of the Reach, Camp Headquarters
Military Tribune of the Imperial Army, Lerexus Coronicus
Striking winds shook the flaps of the tent as the sun rose on the grassy plains of the southern Reach. The birds sang a song of joy, signaling the early morning wake-up call. Naturally, Lerexus had awoken an hour earlier, due to an old habit of his. Lerexus stood over his planning table, reading, "Phanostrata's Tactical Maneuvers", while simultaneously conducting a single player game of Orcish Warband. There it read, "The enemy may just as easily be perceived to be weak as you are to be strong, vice versa. Manipulate your enemy's perception with small detachments and you may find your target scrambling towards your awaiting larger force." As he read, he moved forward his Footman piece and captured a Horse. Then, the game was over, the Orcish Warlord had been surrounded by the larger force of Imperial pieces. He closed the book and assembled the game back into its container. Once he had finished, he took a moment to enjoy his relatively new command. Almost half a year, Lerexus had spent under the command of General Deridus. Quickly, he learned the general's quirks and instinctively read his character. As time passed on, he continued developing his viewpoint of the general and what he thought the man believed in. To Lerexus, General Oswuff was a loyal Imperial servant, however obviously eccentric. Lerexus viewed him as a worthy commander and a good example of a general. For a moment, he stopped thinking about the general to gaze upon the beauty of the Imperial Banner. "Oh, how I love my Empire", he thought.Meanwhile, an Imperial messenger had just arrived at the Imperial Camp. The man roughly slid off his horse, obviously exhausted from many days of riding. The man requested to be taken to the General's tent. However, General Deridus had not arisen yet. The posted soldiers, promptly took the man to Military Tribune Coronicus' tent instead. The tent guards held open the flaps and allowed the messenger entry. He rushed in quickly, still recovering from his journey. Lerexus steered away from his momentary lapse and directed his attention to the urgent man in front of him. Lerexus asked, "Soldier, what news do you bring?" He followed with, "Be quick, so that you may eat and rest, obviously you rode for many days to deliver this crucial message."The man pulled a letter from his satchel and handed it to Lerexus. Shaken, he told Lerexus, "Tribune, the letter delivered is meant for General Deridus, however, I fear that the content of it may concern even higher authorities."
Lerexus kept his cool and calmly opened the letter. He read over it and realized the importance of the letter. Briefly he looked up, into the eyes of the soldier and told him, "Soldier, you are relieved of duty for the remaining day. Report to the Quartermaster and have yourself cared for. You have greatly served the Empire on this day."
The man's face grew in relief as he nodded his thanks. Out he went, leaving Lerexus with a potentially serious issue before him. There had been reports of disturbances on the southern coast of the Reach. In the same region across from where Emperor Azelian had marched to meet the "marauders" besieging Evermoor. Quickly, Lerexus gathered his equipment and began putting it on. A guard came in to help him strap on his leather under-armor and sword. Lerexus put on his bracers and greaves, then left the tent with his entourage. He sped toward General Deridus' tent, letter in hand. When he finally reached it, he requested audience with the commander.
General Oswuff Deridus' Marquee
General Oswuff Deridus stood on the far side of his strategic map-table. A guard opened the flaps and relayed Tribune Coronicus' request of audience. Oswuff looked up at the guard and bid him to bring the tribune in. The guard nodded and stood back to allow entry to the Marquee. Oswuff looked dead-straight into the tribune's face as he entered, with an eccentric smile on his face. He exclaimed, "Coronicus, why if it isn't my favorite tribune!" Afterwards, laughing heartily for no apparent reason.Lerexus took his helmet off and brought his legs together for a proud salute, helmet held over heart. He replied with clear voice, "General Deridus, I bring a report of disturbances to the south, a day's ride from here, carried by Imperial messenger, to be delivered directly to you." Then he came around the table and presented the letter to Oswuff.
Oswuff took Lerexus into an embrace and bearishly gripped him. He let go of the young tribune, who had grown use to his behavior, and took hold of the letter. Opening it, he too read the contents. Oswuff told Lerexus, "My boy, sit for a chat and perhaps a round of Orcish Warband. There is no other, who I fancy competing with." Smiling, he enticed Lerexus to have a seat at a smaller table meant for breakfast dining. Laid out on the surface was an assembled game of
Orcish Warband. Oswuff pulled his own chair out, sat down, and awaited Lerexus.
Lerexus pulled out his seat and took the Imperial side. A faint smile came to his face as he began to analyze his best options against General Deridus, who he had competed with many times. On his side of the board was the Orcish team. On Oswuff's side was the Imperial team.
Oswuff swiped the board and switched it around so that he would play the Orcish team. However, once again he rotated it so that he would play the Imperial pieces, leaving Lerexus with the Orcish pieces. He wanted to see how the tribune would use different pieces and adapt to their usage. Softly, with a hint of instigation, Oswuff challenged Lerexus, "Let us see how the barbarian warlord fares against the valiant Imperial Army. Yes?"
Lerexus bowed his head acknowledging and aggressively took his first move against the Imperial pieces. He moved one of his Braves forward three spaces. Oswuff responded with a much more solid approach, pushing his Imperial forces together as a unit. One by one they captured each others pieces for over an hour. Lerexus had played his pieces as they were intended and Oswuff as his were. However, nearing game's end, it became evident that Lerexus' strategy had won out over Oswuff's. Now with too few pieces to utilize the true might of a solid, cohesive coalition of pieces, Oswuff's remaining pieces were rendered weak by the aggressive capabilities of Lerexus' Orcish pieces. Finally, Lerexus' pieces tactically rushed in on a full charge to surround the Imperial General, ending the game.
Oswuff laughed brightly after an impactful game of Orcish Warlord. He told Lerexus, "My boy, you are something unique truly. It is possible one day you will have no match, at least on the tabletop." At that moment, an assistant carried breakfast in for the two. Oswuff cleared the table and the servant set down the trays. Together, they began eating and Oswuff continued with his earlier statement. "Now, onto the business of this report. I understand that there are disturbances to the south. I want your thoughts on this."
Lerexus bowed his head respectfully and replied, "General, I think that these disturbances to the south are connected to those marauders besieging Evermoor. I think it best if you were to send me with a detachment of 50 legionnaires of my own unit to assess the situation."
Oswuff took Lerexus' thoughts and expanded upon them, "Very well, I bid you leave as soon as possible. Remember, Coronicus, information offers value in many forms. Be swift and be safe. When you return, we must discuss other matters regarding your position."
Lerexus stood up and pushed his chair in. Hand held over heart he saluted the General and then the Imperial Banner. Promptly, he left the tent and returned to his own.
Military Tribune Lerexus Coronicus' Tent
The guards drew open the flaps of the tent entrance for Lerexus to enter. Inside awaited Lieutenant Vesuvia Drusilla. She smiled brightly at Lerexus and warmly welcomed him, "Welcome back, my shining general!" She held her arms out in embrace as she walked towards him.
Lerexus gently smiled back and said, "Thank you Vesuvia, I appreciate your welcome." He walked forward and received her embrace, holding for a few moments. Then, he let her go and gave her their orders, "General Deridus commands us to the southern coast of the Grove Basin. We are to investigate reports of disturbances in the region, analyze the situation, and if capable, handle the issue."
Vesuvia glowingly smiled, reflecting her love for warfare, especially at the side of her one and only, Lerexus. She asked, "And when will we leave? How many of our finest men shall I assemble?" She was exuberant with joy for this coming mission.
Lerexus replied coolly, "Assemble fifty of our finest men, for we will depart as soon as the men have had time to feed and prepare for the journey. Consult the Quartermaster and ensure that our men will have sufficient provisions for a little over a week's time. When you have concluded this business, meet me at the outreaches of the Imperial Camp and we will begin our journey."
Vesuvia coyly teased Lerexus, "But when will we get to spend time together, there is no fun in being a Lieutenant when all you are good at is killing." She embraced him deeply one last time and left his tent to complete her tasks.
Meanwhile, Lerexus moved to the map-table and peered over the geographic description of the region they would be venturing into. He found that along the coasts of the Grove Basin, in the region they would be venturing, the landscape is flat and expansive, bound by small cliffsides along the coast. He pondered what might beset them in the region, but quickly put aside such thoughts.
Hours passed and mid-morning beckoned...
Vesuvia approached our drawn horses and rallied men. She gracefully swept herself over and onto the horse. Looking over at Lerexus, she grinned determinedly as her way of letting him know she was ready. Snap, snap. The reins of the horses went and off marched the tribune's unit. For three days, they would march with rests in between at villages along the way, all the while gathering information.
Southern Coast of the Grove Basin, Encounter with Strange 'Marauders'
On the third day, they came upon the most unusual of creatures. Forward scouts reported of beast-like creatures roaming in humanoid fashions. They were described as cat-like creatures and reptilian creatures. These reports somewhat matched the exaggerated accounts of the village folk. These beastfolk conducted themselves in a most crude fashion, yet somehow showed an air of superiority to themselves. Lerexus found them to be great mysteries, which he intended to pursue and analyze. On the same day, the original reports were confirmed and it was determined that these mysterious ones were the marauders causing disturbances on the southern coast. By the evening, Lerexus had found an opportunity to both learn more about the creatures and deal with them. He prepared his unit into groups of 5, maintaining 10 groups total, in close enough proximity to one another around the target camp. He knew that for success against 4:1 odds, he would need to maintain the element of surprise. However, Lerexus also intended to use the element of chaos in the skirmish. When the moon shone down at its brightest and the sentries were at their most vulnerable, the Imperial force would strike.
Ambush of the Strange 'Marauders'
The midnight hour...
Flames sprung up across the enemy camp as arrows dipped in oil and lit with fire hit their tents. The five man units rushed in nearly simultaneously, taking down an enemy at a time. Vicious combat and bloody devils arose from this chaos, in which neither side tentatively won. The marauders had lost a devastating number of their men in the fires and the ensuing chaos, however, unity quickly solidified under an Il'Nagi mage. Within minutes, the Raj soldiers were fighting with full conviction and confidence, showing the real superiority of the beastfolk over the Imperial soldiers. However, the Imperial five man squads managed to hold their own against the stronger and more numerous Raj. Soon, the ambush had reduced the two sides down to a group of one-hundred Akounate scouts, twenty-five of whom were still engaged in reconnaissance tasks far from the ambush, against the remaining 40 Imperial forces.Lerexus looked across the midnight field, familiar to the sight of battle. He led his soldiers best he could, however, his earlier instructions had been solid orders, which did not warrant much follow-up. As he took in the battlefield, he sighted the enemy leaders. A Raj commander, an Il'Nagi mage, and a valiant Raj who had broken from the chaos. Prior to the ambush, Lerexus had designed a tactic, where the five man squads would overwhelm the enemy with the element of surprise, the chaos ensuing from the fire archer support, and the horsemen who would finalize a kill by running the enemy down, once they had been pinned in by the other squad members. Raj after Raj fell to Lerexus' superior advantage and tactics. However, those three leaders prevented a swift victory, which was exactly what the smaller Imperial force required. If the battle endured any longer, soon the five man squads would be too tired to continue these swarm tactics and consequentially fall quickly to Akounate blades.
The Three Pillars of the Enemy Morale
Lerexus called out to Vesuvia over the chaos, "Lieutenant, bring me the head of that reptile when I signal the horn! It seems to be a driving force of their morale and defense. Also, it would seem that reptile is an enemy mage. Be careful, I will see you soon when I have retrieved a head of my own."
Vesuvia grinned ferociously, with the fervor of an Orcish berserker and the determination of a Valyaarian. She rode off to challenge the Il'Nagi mage in single combat.
Then, Lerexus called out to a fierce fighter of his, a veteran spearman, who held hundreds of kills under Lerexus and previous commanders. "Edelmir, challenge that valiant Raj who is boosting their morale, and humiliate it before you kill it!"
Edelmir proudly called back, "Aye Tribune Coronicus, soon I shall be back with its blood on my blade!" The man rushed off to the emerging Raj who had attracted Lerexus' attention.
Finally, Lerexus found the enemy Raj commander, who he would be facing. He told himself, "I have to get my hands dirty as well." He kneaded his knees into his horse's sides and roared off to the enemy commander.
A Contest of Sheer Power!
The Il'Nagi Mage struck his spear out into the chest of an Imperial soldier who had let his guard down. The soldier slid off the spear and garbled to death on the wet ground.
Vesuvia rode in and then jumped off her horse into a roll, several feet from the enemy mage. The rest of the five-man squad backed out as they realized their lieutenant intended to engage in single combat. As they did, they roared in support of Vesuvia. She returned the call with a familiar roar of her own from the days of the Far Wastes. The men were stricken with confidence and at the same time fear. They reassembled and added a new member from the field to continue their objective. Now, it was single combat between the Il'Nagi mage and Vesuvia.
The Il'Nagi mage slithered forward swiftly, nearly unexpected.
Vesuvia met it within some distance and they began their bout.
The Il'Nagi, being the quicker of the two, took the opportunity to secrete a paralytic venom on its spearhead. Then it thrust the spear into Vesuvia.
Vesuvia parried the spear from a reasonable distance with her long arming sword. Then, she countered by taking a pace step forward and throwing a backhand swing toward the Il'Nagi.
The Il'Nagi mage slid to Vesuvia's side, avoiding the backhand swing. It followed with a counter of its own, where it pivoted all the way around and swung the spear to strike her right side.
Vesuvia knowing she could not move in time, dropped to her left side and rolled several paces away from the Il'Nagi. She then held her long arming sword out ready in a riposte stance.
The Il'Nagi swiftly slid towards Vesuvia and struck out with its spear at her thighs.
Vesuvia riposted the spear into the ground, however it left her open and distracted.
The Il'Nagi spit its venom at Vesuvia's upper torso with blindingly quick speed.
Vesuvia had been assessing the enemy's combat ability for the majority of this bout, however, now she realized close-combat would be unfeasible against such an enemy. In defense of herself, with no other options, she called upon the Ancestral Wrath of the Phoenix. A suit of bursting flames surrounded her like an armor and she was a beacon across the battlefield. When she called upon that particular skill, it was known that the situation had gotten desperate. Subsequently, the venom had dissolved upon impact or caused the flames to expand. Afterwards, the flames died down and she was no longer using the Wrath.
The Il'Nagi mage remanded itself a good 20 paces, hissing as it went at the intensely hot flames. Then, when it reached a safe distance, it began forseeing an eventuality of encircling flames.
Vesuvia regained her composition and steeled her mind. She then began to view an eventuality of she conjured aspects of the passage into a fireball.
The Il'Nagi finished extracting the spell and casted the spell on the ground near Vesuvia. Immediately, a circle of flames surrounded Vesuvia, large enough for two people. Then, it began slithering forward to enter the ring of fire and finish Vesuvia off.
Vesuvia understood what the snake intended and used her acrobatic skills to vault over the ring of fire. Now, she escaped the ring of fire, but lost the Il'Nagi.
The Il'Nagi witnessing her acrobatics skill, decided to reform its path and utilize the element of surprise. It released the ring of fire as a distraction, while it continued to slither towards Vesuvia from an unknown direction.
Suddenly, the ring of fire fizzled out and dazed Vesuvia in the newfound darkness. In a hit or miss attempt to defend herself, she held out the fireball, shot it off her hand, letting it explode.
The Il'Nagi mage was nearly been upon her when she let the fireball burst. The impact ruptured the snake's side and blasted off its arm. In an unintelligible language, a cry was heard followed by a call to action. The beast slithered away nursing it's wound, while it neared the end.
The war cries of the nearest Raj's captured the sound of the battlefield as they ran to protect their comrade. Many fell to five-man squads as they ran, a number close to seven or eight, however a good three or four Rajs made it to their dying Il'Nagi's side. It whispered to them with it's dying breaths, boosting their craze for fighting. Soon, they were charging at the wounded Vesuvia.
Vesuvia stood solidly, mentally shaken at the grotesque mass that was her hand. A finger or two had been blasted off and it was a bloody mess. She tried to compose herself and within a few moments of deep breathing, she managed to do so. Luckily, it had not been her sword hand that had been injured. She gripped her sword tightly and looked up at the charging Rajs with a new feeling of intimidation and desperation surrounding her, a new aura of ferocity.
The Rajs momentarily halted in fear of the woman who looked to be more vicious than any beast of war they had ever witnessed. However, it was quickly passed as they continued their charge once again, until they surrounded her.
She steadied herself and held her sword ready to parry sword blows.
The first Raj stepped a half-pace forward and swung overhead with a devastating amount of force.
Vesuvia met its motion with 2 paces forward and caught its sword arm by the wrist. She countered with slicing off the cat's arm.
The Raj hissed in pain and dropped to the ground, dying within moments from blood loss.
The second and third opponents simultaneously rushed Vesuvia, with a thrust and a side-cut.
Vesuvia pivoted away from the side-cut and swung the dismembered arm onto the thrust, deflecting it into the ground.
The Raj with its sword stuck in the ground, abandoned its weapon, instead choosing to use its claws in an overhead slashing motion. The other Raj, who had missed his side-cut had exposed its right side momentarily as it attempted to recover to its defensive stance.
Vesuvia took advantage of the exposed Raj, moved forward a half-pace and drove her sword into its shoulder. However, in her neglect of the unarmed Raj, she took a heavy blow to her backside. Her armor had been dented inwards by the towering Raj, causing her major discomfort as the metal dug into the leather. When the blow connected, it also gave her extra momentum in thrusting through the other Raj.
The remaining Raj, stepped forward a pace and followed up again with another devastating blow, this time a thrust into her lower back. The ironclaws of the Raj, accompanied by the great momentum of the motion, had dug past both layers of armor and met flesh.
Vesuvia cried out in pain, making a critical mistake in pivoting around. However, with the claws of the beast fully anchored into her lower back, she threw it off balance and onto the ground.
By chance, the beast landed on top of the sword stuck in the ground. The impact had directly broken its spine and relieved it of the anchor it had in Vesuvia's lower back. Like a cross, the Raj laid splayed out, fully paralyzed.
Vesuvia's vision blurred as the multitude of wounds had caused major blood loss. She wavered until she could find her sword still stuck in the other Raj. She pulled it out and gripped it with both hands. With a single downward thrust, she ended the wretched Raj, putting it out of its misery. Then, she searched for the Il'Nagi, even though her vision was blurring greatly and she could barely see. Putting her fingers to her mouth, she whistled for her horse. The war beast strode up and allowed her a steady perch to ride from. Within a moment, she found the dead Il'Nagi somewhat removed from where they had fought. She slid off her horse and removed its head. Then she strapped its head to the saddle of her horse, as she clambered over onto it. From there, she rode across the battlefield, to find a highly elevation position to display it from.
Warriors of the Valiant and Tested!
Edelmir held his spear in his right hand, halfway up the length, and an Imperial shield in the other. His breathing was steady in and out and through his nose as he ran towards the emerging Raj leader. He understood what his commander had tasked him with, this was not simply a mission to kill, but also a mission to wound. He would have to wound the enemy morale as greatly as possible when interlocked in combat with their new Raj champion. During this battle, Edelmir had already faced a few Rajs and emerged victorious. He understood how they worked for the most part, he thought. Quick and agile, they would likely try to overrun him and then swiftly put him to his death with superior strength. However, this was not Edelmir's death, he had a purpose in life and that was to serve the Empire. For him, serving the Empire meant he was essentially protecting himself and any he cared for. Within a minute, he had reached the champion, soon to be forgotten to history.The Raj champion pulled its long curved blade from the chest of an unfortunate Imperial who's comrades were already struck down by the enemy minutes ago. An unknown call came from the cat-like beast, which garnered roars of approval from the surrounding Rajs. It looked directly at the approaching Imperial veteran, Edelmir, and sneered viciously as though it were taunting him.
Edelmir laughed gruffly as he thought about the different ways he would hurt the beast. By this point, he had reached somewhat over spear distance of the Raj champion and awaited his move. He even went so far as to taunt it by lightly tapping his spear on the shield.
The Raj hissed ferociously at Edelmir and zig zagged towards Edelmir as to avoid the spear's reach.
Edelmir held his spear steady not intending to open an opportunity of weakness for his target. Then he gripped the spear a little higher on the shaft and held his shield firmly while moving forward.
The cat had reached its sword's reach with Edelmir and swung a side-cut as it moved to Edelmir's right side.
Edelmir pivoted on his right foot to maintain defense against the cat and then took the side-cut on his shield. He could feel the power of the beast, yet knew he was still only toying with him.
The Raj champion continued with a flurry of attacks, which seemed to come almost blindingly towards Edelmir. It began with an overhead cut, then a counterclockwise spin cut, followed by a pommel strike to the upper torso, and finally a backhand swing. Despite this flurry of attacks and despite the intensity and power behind each impact, never did the Raj tire.
Each time, Edelmir took the hit on his shield and felt the reverberations through the entirety of his arm. Finally, he found an opportunity. Edelmir paced forward twice, now at a half-pace distance, and returned all the impact received with a devastating shield bash.
The Raj met contact with the shield right in its chest. The Raj had been flung a distance, sword flung from hand, and several ribs cracked under the impact. Struggling on the ground, it heaved in pain, gasping for air, finally managing to get up and break from its daze. The Raj reached down and retrieved a dead soldier's sword and readied himself.
Several onlooking soldiers stood shocked at the display, both in fear and angst over what had just happened. At first, the Imperial had seemed to be losing to the Raj champion, yet somehow the Reachman had conjured an inner strength to balance the fight. Imperial soldiers found hope and inspiration in this turn of the tides for Edelmir, while Raj soldiers felt the urge to interrupt the bout and overwhelm Edelmir. Nontheless, all sides stayed engaged in their own combat, allowing the two to continue unhinged.
Edelmir moved forward, now having upset the battle, ready to seriously fight the Raj.
The Raj had tested its enemy and understood the circumstances. It found that the Imperial was no trifling man and that a serious bout would be fought here. It too moved forward, although this time much more surreptitiously than before.
Edelmir analyzed his opponent and determined that the Raj would henceforth fight seriously. He maintained his spear's distance from the Raj and waited for him to approach.
The Raj knew that it held the disadvantage in reach, but had the advantage in speed and power. It moved forward and goaded the spearhead to strike.
Edelmir fell for the Raj's test and thrust forward, leaving the Raj and path to move past the spear. Quickly, he began pulling the spear back to match a new distance, while pacing backwards.
The Raj continued moving past the spearhead and was within striking distance now. It used both hands and gripped the sword to take off the spearhead section of the shaft.
Edelmir, sensing the Raj's intentions, threw the spear onto the ground and rushed forward.
The Raj, quickly readjusted his stance and brought the sword down on the now unarmed Edelmir's shield.
The blow created a quaking reverberation accompanied by a detestable ringing sound that sent Edelmir onto his knee. After receiving the blow, he transitioned to a shield roll right into the Raj.
The quick cat sidestepped the futile attempts by Edelmir and ran towards his new position.
Edelmir recovered from the roll and brought his shield arm back, while running towards the Raj.
The Raj nearly reached Edelmir and thrusted his sword towards Edelmir's upper torso. At the same time he prepared his left handclaws for a strike.
Edelmir side-stepped the Raj and brought the shield down onto the Raj's forearm.
The Raj's forearm splintered under the impact of Edelmir's shield, but his left handclaws connected with Edelmir's upper left arm. The Raj's eyes rolled up into its head momentarily as it nearly fainted. However, after several moments it regained semi-consciousness long enough to bring itself together.
Edelmir screamed in agony as his shield arm had been all but ripped off. He stumbled several paces backwards until he had fallen on his backside. After which, he began to lose consciousness and soon enough was nearing death.
The Raj, shaking greatly with every step, walked towards the unconscious Edelmir and prepared to end him and the duel. Suddenly, its head departed from its shoulders and flew through the midnight sky.
In the blood and gory fog of battle, only a few on each side had managed to witness the unknown horseman gallop past and take the Raj champion's life. Those of the Akounate noticed the Il'Nagi head strapped to the side of the saddle, while Imperial soldiers imagined the feeling of an intense determination of fire. For the Akounate forces, the effect was devastating. They only recognized one such Il'Nagi face, that being the one of their company mage. The Imperials took the sighting with great inspiration and a massive boost in morale. It seemed to them, whoever this unknown rider was, they favored the Imperial side and they had defeated two enemy commanders. However, disregarding both accounts, the matter was certain, the Raj champion had fallen to the unknown rider and soon the skirmish would end as well.
Tactics win the Battle, Action seizes the Victory!
Lerexus gently galloped towards the enemy commander, a towering Raj who seemed to be cutting down Imperials with nothing more than his claws, power, and momentum. He dismounted his horse and drew his steel sword. Holding it in one hand, he began conjuring a fireball from an eventuality in the other.
The enemy commander had taken notice of him now and determined by Lerexus' equipment that he must be the Imperial commander. Ignoring all other threats, the Raj began walking towards Lerexus, slashing away any foe that might stand in his way.
Lerexus, when sure the Raj had gotten within sufficient distance, threw his fireball toward the Raj's feet. When the fireball launched, he began conjuring a short-burst of lightning right after.
The towering beast, instead of rolling away from the fireball as to avoid impact, jumped through the air, landing a few feet from Lerexus. It brought its arm back and prepared a slash from over its shoulder.
Lerexus had analyzed the Raj and knew that he would have jumped into the air to avoid the fireball or rolled away, which would risk impact with it. However, he had not been prepared for the giant Raj to be so agile and acrobatic. His lightning spell was not yet ready, so he prepared to deflect the Raj's blow.
The Raj brought his arm down, biting his ironclaws into the steel metal of Lerexus' sword. Quickly after, he prepared a second attack with his other arm.
Lerexus was pushed down to one knee by the force of the blow. However, by this time his spell was ready. He aimed for the Raj's left thigh, intending to maim it.
The Raj brought his other arm down too quickly and Lerexus' spell was diverted from hitting its leg. It then paced backwards a bit to avoid another close encounter.
The impact of the second blow directly hit Lerexus' left pauldron, denting the metal, sending him into the ground, and dropping his sword. He rolled on his stomach several times to the left and slowly managed to get up, sore from the hits.
The Raj seeing that Lerexus was now regaining himself, rushed forward to beat him down again.
Lerexus kept his mind solid and composed himself against the encroaching giant. Steadying his body, he began to envision an eventuality of implosions and made the connection with the Raj's body.
The Raj reached Lerexus, dug into an aggressive stance, and began a flurry of slashes and jabs, numbering four in total: underhand fist, overhand slash, side slash, and lastly a frontal palm thrust.
Lerexus using his agile advantage sidestepped and dodged each attack as it came, while mentally continuing his charging of the spell. Finally, the entropy spell was ready and he aimed it at the Raj's upper chest.
Over a few moments, the Raj felt a sudden connection between itself and the small Imperial man. Then, in an instantaneous moment, the Raj grabbed at its chest as miniature internal implosions began rupturing the blood vessels in the left side of its chest.
Throughout the action of the spell, Lerexus had felt his magicka draining out. He was tapped out of Sight usage and could feel a debilitating migraine coming on. He had to end this quickly, but now had no magic nor weapon to finish the Raj. However, Lerexus still had his wits for the most part and saw that attacking the Raj's new wound would give the best effort. So, Lerexus brought his leg up and extended it into the Raj's chest as hard as he could.
The Raj, distracted by the entropy effects, did not notice Lerexus' followup, so the kick made direct contact with its chest. It caused even greater pain, which shook the Raj from his lapse of ignorance. The Raj grabbed Lerexus' leg while in contact with his chest and began swinging him around in a circular motion.
Lerexus was left defenseless in this situation and tried to become dead weight for the Raj. Despite his efforts, or rather no effort, Lerexus was soon swinging in the air. Then the swinging stopped and Lerexus was dropped to the ground.
The Raj had suffered a massive heart-attack after its weakened heart was overexerted, which caused a series of valve bursts. The gigantic beast fell over onto its side and died in that moment.
Lerexus got up and said quietly to himself, "Thank you, Wise Aimbelle of the Keep." He proceeded to cut the enemy commander's head off with his steel dagger and place it in a sack. Then he found his sword and whistled for his horse. Lerexus mounted his horse and then pulled a horn from the saddlebag, signaling for Vesuvia and Edelmir to rejoin him.
A Great End That Marks a Great Beginning
After some minutes, Vesuvia had returned to the rendezvous point. She had the head of the enemy mage strapped to her saddle, yet she looked worse than the dead beast.
Lerexus, despite his growing migraine, looked in fear of Vesuvia's condition. Never had she been so egregiously wounded. He called out to her, "Lieutenant, you must retire-" The debilitating migraine began, overwhelming his mind and thoughts. "You must-", he tried again. They overwhelmed him so greatly he slumped to the neck of his horse and held on for dear life.
An accompanying soldier called out, "Sir! We will handle Lieutenant Drusilla." He rushed forward to help the battle-worn Valyaarian down from her horse. The other soldier began to administer first aid to the heavily wounded lieutenant.
For several hours, the debilitating migraine continued and slowed until Lerexus had regained his functions.
Lerexus awoke and looked dazedly around him, the soldiers were tending to his dearest Vesuvia and the battle seemed to have drawn to an end long ago. Finally he managed to ask, "What is the battle situation report?"
The sleep-deprived soldier replied, "Sir, the ambush was a success, however losses were severe. Of the fifty men that were in this unit, 27 survived, 17 of which are wounded. Of the 200 enemy forces engaged, only 8 have survived or been discovered. The rest routed or have been lost from accounts. The enemy has fully surrendered and we have secured control over them. Two messengers have already been sent back to the Imperial Camp to relay the message of our success." He took a moment to breath and continued, "Furthermore, your orders to capture the enemy heads were also successes, however Sergeant Edelmir succumbed to his wounds after grievously maiming the Raj champion. Lieutenant Drusilla succeeded in her mission, however suffered massive blood loss and nearly died. There are also rumours that an unknown rider with a snake-head strapped to their saddle took the Raj champion's head as they were about to finish off the dying Edelmir. I believe that would fit Lieutenant Drusilla's description."
Lerexus exhaled in great relief. He then said, "We fought an impossible battle last midnight, prepare the men for return to the Imperial Camp. It's time for them to get real help and relief."
The messenger saluted Lerexus and left to go prepare the unit. Soon after, they departed, with the strange prisoners in line. Lerexus had given implicit orders not to tease or make contact with the prisoners whatsoever for their own safety. Within a few days, they would reach Imperial Camp, however the journey would not be without fault.
TO BE CONTINUED...