Fimbulvetr [ATTN:Mystria|Invite Only|FanT]

[Legokiller]

As autumn came to a close, winter had arrived. The light of the sun lowered for the last time as the shroud of blizzards rolled across the South Pole, the mainland of Silverdale, and the Fairy Alliance. The howls of the frostmourne's cold batter the unstable lands. Days of moonless nights cowed the population with fear and ignited long hatred to arise. In the darkest of days, hatred will spark, and the horrors soon came.

They came.

From the depths of the Endless Wastes, they're born from the cold and fueled by hate itself. The neverending conflict of men to the long desire for revenge against those who imprison them, they're the answer: the Children of Garyx. Monsters of ice, and cold-hearted, the monstrous marched through the moonless blizzards. Entire settlements fell silent. Its people are frozen in place in a state of agony and rage. As heralds of the end of the cycle, the Children of Garyx came to bring destruction.

❄️Icy Coast Border, Silverdale❄️

Presidential’s Residence, Emberfell
Fairy Alliance

The howls of winter covered the great tree city of Emberfell. The once happy go lucky celebration of the changing of the season, a pivotal moment in Fairydale culture, was canceled as the Festival Square laid empty. Panic reached the Fairy Alliance as much of the food was bought and stored away. The worst part was the prices were piled higher than its original version, and the Fairy council insisted on strict rations to no ‘luxury foods.’ By that, decent ones beyond pre-packaged fast food to crappy foods.

More and more, the pressure was on to overturn it. Yet, as Venus looked at the window of the whiteout, she became anxious as her battle to push back on such laws became fruitless. That was until she looked at her desk when a messenger passed a letter. Venus shifted her eyes and went to open the envelope.

“You can’t be serious.” Venus gasped as she heard the footsteps of her gothic approach. “Conspiracy… kidnap of Fluffykins… and I’m next?! This can’t be for real. How can the President of Silverdale be captured by Emerald of all people? Emerald is a friend to Fluffykins. Morrigan, do you believe this?”

"It is baffling, yes, but the time has come, President Venus." Morrigan gave a solemn look. "As of now, my little birds told me that the council is moving against us with a not so friendly 'emergency act.' Another piece of article hidden from the public, but they're going to overthrow us."

"Damn those bastards." Venus snorted in anger. "For all my work… They'll remove all of it. I suppose the colonel and the others may be ready… But I'm not sure if we can do this. The world may see us as unjust and tyrannical if we try to overthrow the council. Of course, the council is full of bastards, and we can gain sympathy for our cause."

"The people hate the Council regardless," Morrigan said. "They're corrupted, and the law is against us, Venus. Keep that in mind."

"Why of course."

A crack of gunshots rang through the halls as small cries of fairies and penguins fell in agony. President Venus's eyes widened as she heard the alarm go off. The buzzing noise of fairy soldiers flying into the Presidential Palace! The enforcers of the council came to overthrow the president!

"Come, I have a place we can hide and contact my loyal officers." Venus extended her arm to Morrigan. Morrigan smiled as she grabbed onto Venus' hand. The two magically teleported away into a secure safe house outside the city!

Fairy Civil War

Amid the failed coup, the civilians who loved Venus and lived through the oligarchical tyrants who robbed many freedoms had enough. No more protest. No more riots. All failed time and time again as the powers of the fey councilors madly torment those who oppose them. The Alliance of Fey is over!

Violence burst throughout the city of Emberfell as trees burned. The country split apart as the military took sides. The civilians fought against each other in the streets of the major city. The lines are drawn: those who fight for the president and aim for the republic's reformation against the oligarchical Fairy Council who sought to enrich themselves. Perhaps even for a darker side.

Winter Palace, Snowy Light
Silverdale

The myths of Pandora’s Box echoed throughout the centuries from ancient times. A reminder of the duology. Once open, all the evils escape and are irreversible. But hope is also freed. Riley was Pandora. The box was a collection of evidence on crimes the members of the Dark Snakes, their connections, grand conspiracies for a new ‘empire’, their tactics for effective blackmail, and much more were released upon the nation.

President-Elect Miranda Songbird, who was brought by the Secret Service and the AMTF to the Winter Palace for security reasons, was horrified by the truth. As the news fox girl spoke up, she can tell the headline of ‘Ex-President Cynthia Luvgood was a villain all along!’ That, and riots and mass protests in Snowy Light against the establishment of Luvgood and her associated supporters.

Clips from the video show the resurrection of Garyx, to documentations of her ‘order’ maintained by political assassination to the removal of the Foxkin Oracle Shrine. Said Shrine predicted one of her laws, causing more hardship for the Ratlings to be accurate. Thus Cynthia sent her monsters to silence her. “You see that, folks! Our sweetheart Cynthia played the nation like a violin and revived a Garyx to kill us all! Does one ambition and hubris to become a god with all that magic even deserve it? Even after all the love and friendship, this nation holds dear? No, my friends! She’s a downright traitor.” Summer Rose said.

Miranda jaws dropped on such news. She knew that her neighbors in Silver City had a hard life from such policies, but for this far! She couldn't believe it and only said. "Damn." Miranda's eyes lighten up. Why do this! She can't forgive this! After all, Cynthia might as well have a hand for an assassination attempt on her life! "Why would she do such a thing?"

Vice President, now acting president, Brownie Sugarcube crossed her arms. "Because she is a viper, and played Silverdale for a grandiose scheme. Every incarnation of Luvgood has some mad dream that will inevitably collapse. Now that the chickens come to roost, we can freely break into many red tapes and top secret information that she and her cabal kept safely hidden."

Miranda was both in awe, yet suspicious of how Brownie Sugarcube seemingly has vast knowledge on such a subject! She might even know more… There is something off about her! "Wait, just a second. Before you go into some long-winded explosion dump, aren't you some professional sage on Luvgood or something? After all, you do remind me of a similar superhero back in Silver City who just looks like you."

"Oh! Well, I hope you care to keep a secret, since we may come across each other." Brownie Sugarcube whispered a small magical message for Miranda. She nodded with glee. "Now, don't blow my cover, lass. After years of working right beside a spiteful sweetie Fluffykins, I picked up a lot on Luvgood to much lore passed by our contacts on here. There's much to explain, but we better deal with her crooks and keep the nation together."

In the memorial of Snowy Light, the once-contributed marble statue of Cynthia Luvgood was pulled down by the masses! The ones who once loved her are now against her. As her whereabouts is unknown, the rest of her empire began to shatter apart. From the lowest of scum to the congressmen, and elite members of society that were tied from the evidence from one little ninja were arrested. Even the word of a treacherous general was court martial from an alleged plan to overthrow the government.

As chaos reigns from civil unrest and proper cleansing of society, the cries of the windigos echoed throughout the nationwide blizzards.

Avala Reach Research Station
Icy Coast State, Silverdale

Avala Reach Research Station was at the far end of the peninsula. At the border of Silverdale and territories of ice and mountains beyond, the station was a hub for travelers to many research projects from magical phenomena, ice core studies, and climatology. A network of metallic boxes and attractions, to a grand glassy igloo, was the hallmark of the station itself.

For the last few months to upmost as of recent, the bluish feathered penguin scientist, Gary, realized that the predictions and the data began to match. He was nervous as he can tell that the 'Super Blizzard' or Polar Vortex is real. Not to mention explaining the affair with a Water Master and a bunch of Malgraveans who came to finish up the evacuation. Gray knew he pushed his luck for too far, but he got one piece he needed.

"Long blizzards for days to even months are beyond other recorded snowstorms in the past. The closest is the 70s… and the Civil War." Gary adjusted his glasses. "Which given the news of monster attacks, and the evidence of similar events. That means that the fearmongering is indeed a reality. The monsters will come in this Polar Vortex, and we have little time to lose."

"This is most troublesome, yes." The puffin Malgraven soldier said. "Although I am dismay on why Silverdale didn't engineer a vast defense network to hold against a future threat such as this from happening again."

The dark-skinned human Water Master scoffed. "An ice wall is pointless as ice elementals can climb it without any trouble. Beyond such difficulties from different monsters, the politicians didn't see a reason for it after decades of silence. The last war ended with Garyx's defeat, and people believed it. The only ones who monitor ice monsters and Garyx was Princess Snow and the National Guard."

"Either way, I need more time to make hard copies," Gary said.

As the Water Master and the Malgravean left to handle the last of their tasks before keeping the road staff to the airport, Gary made copies of his report to emails. Just in case something disastrous went wrong, and his studies aren't published in time. As he finished the last of his work in less than an hour, the blizzards began fiercely as the magitek radar began to beep—multiple signs of them. Gary stormed out of the building, afraid of his very life, stormed out of the building.

"They're coming!"

With the remainder of the scared scientists, Gary attempted to pack up everything and fled to the airport. As the last of the belongings were taken, massive quakes in the ice began to break apart as the Children of Garyx came.

"By the Great Wing and Avala," Gary looked at the monstrous with terror! A massive ice elemental, towering about two stories high with teeth sharp as tween icicles! The icy lumbering giant of a humanoid cracked out loudly as its arm broke through the lab's metal walls! Even the little resistance left to face the first of the horrors with pistols and rifles only chipped its ice away. The ice elemental advantaged and stomped on all who resisted!

As the penguin scientist, scared as hell, jumped into his snowmobile, he witnessed many of his friends surrounded by smaller ice elementals that burst from the icy ground! Gary did his best to ram and pull out a few! But only a few ponies and penguins made it to the snowmobile four by four as the rest were smashed. Only a quick getaway from the worst! As a monstrous worm-like creature from the ice came to crush and destroy the rest of the outpost.

Avala Reach Research Station, alongside many of the edge towns and outposts, was the first to be consumed by winter. Flocks of refugees trek their way to the coastline for shelter. As they were followed by the hordes of ice monsters, only a temporary respite depended on the military's counter strike.

While the screams of jet fighters, bombers, and airborne infantry flew to face the horde and gun down the first wave… The flocks of creatures were endless. Perhaps even millions of them in number. The worst part... multiple signing of their advance came all across the South Pole, with massive icebergs with monstrous passengers floats alongside the creeping formation of sea ice to the mainland of Silverdale itself...

Fimbulvetr has begun.

[Menelmacar]

Elenpalantír 938
Low Arda Orbit, 150 km above Snowy Light
57 Lairë 31935

it was not, strictly speaking, true that nobody else was monitoring the situation with Garyx and the ice monsters. The Menelmacari had for longer than most nations had yet stood maintained a watch over the whole of the surface of their world. Certainly the sudden, and anomalously severe, winter weather -- even given the typical severity of a Silverdalean winter -- suddenly gripping the nation of Silverdale could not be ignored, nor could the strange fashion in which the storms had arisen; the phenomenon seemed mostly contained to Silverdale, for now. It seemed not to be derived from any normal weather system; the multispectral scanners of the Elenpalantíri detected heightened thaumaturgical energies as well, which correlated with the storms. The magic gathered and manifested and rose, fueling the blizzards the way a warm ocean feeds a hurricane.

The network was a vast array of satellites, in mutually supporting orbits. They were home to a subsapient expert system that was the first line of analysis for the countless yottabytes of data that streamed in an unbroken torrent from their sensor arrays to the Menelmacari intelligence apparatus. The system, while not sapient, was more than intelligent enough to draw connections between the weather, the violence, the scandals hitting the news, the ominous portents during the election campaign, and.... most worrying, older records. Specifically, older records gathered during the previous such.... crisis. There was more than enough to confirm that indeed Garyx had returned and with it a great threat to Silverdale. The entire network shifted, adjusting orbits to tighten the mesh over Silverdale for the duration. Of course, with the snowstorms, visual reconnaissance would be useless, but any number of other spectra were nonetheless available.

Of course, the Elenpalantír expert-system was not capable of being worried. That was the job of the analysts who'd receive the data package neatly done up and red-flagged for their perusal, and the politicians and military officers who would decide what to do about it.

[Dyste]

Within the private chambers of the King of Dyste, there were a few empty envelopes stacked up against a wall. Each one had a label aside it, some clearly showing the names of specific individuals, while others had more simple markings, like the names of other nations. One of these marked envelopes suddenly was filled with a hastily-written letter, addressed to the king.

Your Majesty,

As your humble servant, I bring news from the Silverdalean front. While it has only just reached the ears of the public, the special investigative team you have tasked to look into the goings-on of the election have come up with dire news. I assure you that my team are still looking into the effects that have come as a result of Cynthia Luvgood’s actions, but as far as Garyx goes, Silverdale will need all the help it can get in order to defend the people and save the land. I know that Dyste can at times be wary of being involved in conflicts outside of their borders, but the Dragon Sea Alliance is more than a trade agreement, it was made for situations such as this, from the days where my sister-in-arms Marron and your daughter fought together to protect our lands. I will trust your wisdom and judgement on the matter, my liege.

Faithfully yours,
Hinoka Dragonlover

The king himself read this short but concise message in his study, letting out a long sigh as he finished. Tyroth Blackfang had been a warrior by trade, but he generally had little love of war, finding it a good way to end lives and cause destruction. That said, this was hardly some territorial dispute or causing subjugation, one of their oldest allies was being invaded from monsters thought long gone. No, this was no time to stand on the sidelines and act like this didn’t affect them; they needed to act.

Of course, this was a constitutional monarchy, and as such Tyroth sent another note to the Prime Minister, Winstara Gnomeknicker, using a different envelope marked ‘Prime Minister’s Office’. “Heh… if this was a few centuries back… perhaps I would have gone personally to fight this Garyx.” Tyroth said to no one in particular, with a hint of nostalgia in his voice. “Then again, knowing my daughter she might go anyways regardless of what I say…” Most of the matters of exactly what to send was now in Parliament’s hands now, but in spite of trying to take a back seat to matters to allow the new Prime Minister to do his job without his interference, the king’s word still held considerable sway, enough to be able to potentially allow Dyste to be more involved, and quicker than normal too. Perhaps this was a benefit to the likes of Winstara; without the longevity of some other species, the kobold was able to work faster than many Dystans would.

As for Tyroth himself, he had more letters to send; whether Dyste sent official help or not, there were still some groups the retired adventurer could call upon in times like this...

[Legokiller]

Collabed with Dyste

Valitora, Dyste

The mysterious Yuki Onna Jiggle teleported the band of Princess Snow from Silverdale to arrive at the entrance of the Parliament of Dyste in an important mission. Time was in short supply for the living ice alicorn as her duties will drive her to go elsewhere, perhaps disappear for a time, for a period with her allies to dive deeper into the root of the war. With her trusted first knight Glacia, a new cattlekin knight, and approval from the local Ambassador to help with diplomatic efforts in Dyste, she came over as fast as she could.

Glacia Invernos had only been to Dyste on a few occasions, but she was aware of the Hall of Knowledge, the primary Parliament Building of Dyste. “A lot has changed since your isolation, Your Highness,” the arctic elf said, “But this shouldn’t be too different from your experiences with our own Congress. Linzi and I will be here to support you, so don’t worry…”

The arched building was formerly the Royal Library, and there were still signs of its former status, the lobby having bookshelves by the reception desk. There were paints of famous Dystan events on the walls, including Tyroth’s famous cage rescue, Princess Tynah fighting in an arena with a pink-haired catkin, and the defense of Dyste from Imperial Warships. A blue-scaled kobold sat at the receptionist’s desk, looking over the newcomers with curiosity.

“Aye!” Linzi, the straight long white haired cow lady replied. “You can depend on me. If things become eventful like with the president, my training would surely come in handy.”

“Thank you. Although I doubt this will transpire into similar events as before.” Snow admitted. She was somewhat amused by the depictions of Tynah and Flora at one of the paintings, as the two ended up causing some trouble in the Ice Kingdom arena that called for her presence. But enough nostigala of the past. The Princess is still around, and may have greatly matured.

Snow moved to the receptionist’s desk, and whipped out a small gesture of a spell that she spoke in ROYAL SILVERDALEAN. A little loud as she bounced over, and spoke to the kobold in Kobosh. <”Excuse me, but I am here for my appointment for the parliament to hear my case.”>

The kobold seemed rather surprised at Snow’s surprising grasp of Kobosh, the dialect of Draconic most kobolds used. Most people who wished to speak with kobolds used Draconic itself rather than its dialect. <”Oh, big tramples dragons!”> Getting a direct translation could at time lead to odd situations like that. <”So you’re from Silverdale, right? They have been waiting for you inside!” By all means, enter!”> The little reptilian opened up the door into the main hallway.

As was expected of Dystans, the hallways were quite large and roomy, letting the large alicorn move easily among them as they made their way to the wooden doors leading to the Sage’s Chambers. Its name was a callback to a time when the Sages of Dyste were largely to ones to advise the King on matters; even to this day some Sages kept positions in Parliament, with the first Prime Minister being among their ranks. Of course, the current one was quite the different tale. “Are you ready, Your Highness?” Glacia asked Snow. “They should be receptive to you; Dyste has always had a fondness for the Silverdalean Royal Family, and we’ve been allies for centuries.”

“T-that's correct, Ser Glacia.” Snow awkwardly acknowledged. “I have met their heroes, Blanca, and many of the royal family a long time ago. I chronicle its history well, and my library has such notes. But… Sorry, if that sounds like gloating over some of my achievements. I hope that in present times, our relationship is on par with Dyste.” Snow then nodded. “I am, yes.”

“I’m kinda jealous you got to meet Sailor Chione during her early years,” Glacia giggled; the famous magical warrior was one of the knight’s personal heroes and role models. “But then let’s go in…” she opened the doors to the Sage’s Chambers…

The large room was filled with seats of various forms, mostly filled by Draconids but there were also elves, orcs, kobolds, tanagers and others among the Dystan Parliament. There appeared to be a spot sectioned off near the doorway fitting for the alicorn princess to sit, and opposite her was a white-scaled kobold in a black suit.

The kobold spoke up with a welcoming tone, this one speaking in Mystrian Common, “Greetings, Princess Snow! I trust your trip was safe? I am Winstara Gnomekicker, Prime Minister of Dyste. My apologies if you expected to meet with His Majesty first, but rest assured, he is wishing to speak with you afterwards. That said, before that, I believe you have something you wish to speak to with us.”

“My travel was safe from my icy home Mr. Gnomekicker.” Princess Snow replied. “Now, I wish to have a moment of your full attention in regards to the current crisis within my homelands at this hour. A request of aid to my home country, as the events transpire is beyond my capabilities to protect the land.”

“I see…” In spite of being among the smaller figures in the room, far shorter than the Princess, the kobold’s voice carried a presence nonetheless. “So tell us, Your Highness, what is this crisis about?”

Princess Snow gave the small kobold a look, and tried to lower herself at eye level. “This crisis is merely a series of events by Garyx to bring vengeance upon her sisters, the Four Seasonal Goddesses, who created the land of Silverdale and imprison her within an Icy Tomb. Every cycle, an attempt to bring destruction is brought about by actors who fell into their spite to attack the land. To name a few: King Charlatan who was misguided used his magic to freeze the many for his new penguin empire during the Imperial War, to King Blackclover who attempted to ‘evolve’ by mad destruction in the Silverdalean Civil War. As of recent, it is the echoes from that Civil War, and President Cythnia’s desire to bring this about to achieve its goal. These three actors attempted to use their ambition from Garyx, but chaos and death of winter cannot be tamed.”

Princess Snow then added. “ The crisis varietes in size and destruction… But I fear that my visions of Garyx’s avatar… My chains to keep her imprisoned have weakened to allow her to be reborn in full force. It became deadly for this to continue, and now Garyx’s power became far too powerful and her minions from afar to ones created can outdo any work to pacify it. Even those who aim to become gods from the shadows are doomed to collapse, as Dyste can already see everything the Dark Snakes built crumbles away. If Silverdale falls to Garyx, our homeland will be frozen away and our people will flee across the world. Yet, I fear that Garyx’s completion of her revenge will bring no solstice as she is a mere monster, and will be fueled by the hatred and resentment from the rest of Mysteria. Thus, she’ll come for the rest of Mystria until nothing's left to destroy.”

“So how do we know any of this is actually true!?” A red-scaled Draconid from another side of the room spoke up. “It could easily be the ramblings of a princess said to have visions…”

“No,” Winstara shook his head, “We have been gathering intel of our own with a joint effort between some of our forces and Silverdaleans.” He was talking about the efforts of Clan Dragonlover, though he did not speak of them directly, as they typically did not speak of them during meetings directly. “I believe we can trust Princess Snow here in what she says. I know that many of you are wary of getting involved in outside conflicts, but this concerns the Dragon Sea Alliance, and all of Mystria. I say we have to act.”

“So if we do,” A blue-scaled Draconid nearby the Prime Minister spoke up; this was Kyla Waterscale, the Sage of War and Minister of Defense. “What sort of assistance would you desire from us?”

“I merely request from Dyste to uphold the Dragon Sea Alliance with Silverdale, and provide as much support as possible. If military aid is undesirable amongst your people, I recommend Dyste to provide humanitarian aid such as medication, healers, food, and supplies to fight the cold. This winter will prolong, and deny growing sessions for our people to cultivate crops. The monster attacks will create a hazardous environment for aquaculture and fishing as well.” Snow said.

“I believe some military aid can be provided,” Kyla remarked, “Although we must discuss among ourselves just how much we can offer at this time, rest assured that you will get support in that regard. As far as food and supplies go…”

“Well, that’s more my field,” A large, burly Bovinian spoke up, giving a wink to Linzi, “Dyste has been blessed by Gugalanna to have fertile fields and is able to produce food in great quantities. We always share with the Dragon Sea Alliance, and we will be able to offer more in these times. Dyste also has one of the strongest fisheries in the land as well.”

“And last but not least,” Winstara said, “If need be, we can accept residents to a degree. Of course, all that will be moot if we cannot stop Garyx.”

“Your generous aid will save many lives in the days ahead.” Princess Snow said. “As for myself, I shall continue my duty, and see forth with the Mystic Order to turn the tide.”

“We will of course have to discuss exactly how much we shall be able to provide,” Winstara spoke, “But rest assured that we will offer what we can. Thank you for taking the time to visit us, Princess Snow. I hope that next time we can meet under less dire circumstances.”

Princess Snow gave one last bow. “Until our fates cross once more, farewell Prime Minister Winstara Gnomekicker.”

The Silverdalean delegation left the Sage’s Chambers, causing Glacia to sigh in relief, “Phew, political talk does scare me sometimes… probably why I never sought to become President. Either way, you did well, Your Highness,” she gave the princess a hug; arctic elves were known to be an affectionate sort. “I know the Mystic Order will appreciate the help,” Glacia herself being a squadron leader for them.

Princess Snow returned the hug. “They would for sure.” Snow then frowned. “Although our work will become more challenging in the future beyond the ring of political affairs.” Princess Snow was rather silent by choice in such discussions as it can bring more unfruitful to undesirable outcomes if she was careless. Hence, she attended a few matters worth the safety of the people than mere gossip.

“Well, before we leave, the Prime Minister mentioned meeting with King Tyroth, but given the circumstances, do we even have time… hm?” Glacia noticed one of the doors in the hallway had Princess Snow’s name on the front of it. Peering inside, it appeared to be a normal office, “... what is going on?”

“... Maybe that is the location where King Tyroth awaits us. We have some time.” Princess Snow said as she approaches the door.

Glacia tried to open the door, but couldn’t, and neither could Linzi; it appeared that only the princess’s hoof was able to open the door, and when they entered, they found themselves not in the office they saw, but instead the study of the king in Castle Dyste! “It has been some time, Princess Snow,” a familiar voice said from the chair. “My apologies for taking a little shortcut there, but it is a way I find to have easier access to people from Parliament. I trust you are doing well?”

Princess Snow gave a light nod from the sudden teleportation! Granted, it wasn’t anything that surprising for the princess as she went to another place from a doorway! Not the place looks like a killer illusion. “I, I am doing well, Tyroth.” Snow smiled. “I finished my session with the parliament and was on my way to the castle.” She bowed before she took a seat.

“Well, Snow, I suppose I took out the journey at least, GHAHAHA!” Tyroth’s signature booming laugh was one Snow was familiar with. “But I do have other reasons for meeting you like this rather than my audience chamber. As you probably have guessed, I sent some of the information I got from my informants working with your government to the prime minister to help convince him. And as it happens, I am privy to forces that are not part of the government that could also aid you in these matters.”

“P-Please understand that I wish to help see the people of Silverdale and the land to survive for years to come. While I help with the current state of affairs, they’re not ‘my government.’ I see no reason to proclaim such a position as it is not what Silverdale truly needs from me during this time.” Princess Snow said. “But, please tell me of these forces that may help in this time.”

“Right, right, my apologies, Snow,” Tyroth was too used to the constitutional monarchy that Dyste had. “But regardless… have you heard about the Black Army?”

“The Black Army?” Princess Snow gave a confused and awkward look at Tyroth. “I am not familiar with this force. Is it a recent invention?”

“Oh, I know about this one, Your Highness,” Glacia said. “Basically they are a group of former knights and would-be adventurers that formed a mercenary group. They’re sort of the Dystan equivalent to the Arctic Knights!”

“Quite astute, my elfy friend,” Tyroth said.

“It’s Glacia, Your Majesty, we’ve met several times before…” Glacia pouted.

“That is the general idea. As they are not bound to serve only Dystan interests, they would be able to fully support you without needing to go through Parliamentary approval.”

Princess Snow looked a little wary by this claim. “As equivalent as the Arctic Knights. Please, elaborate on such deeds they have done throughout their history.”

“Well, among other acts, they helped stop a monster outbreak in Corneria in the 1990’s, aided the Rohanians with problems from their tunnels, and fought the Imerian geese infestation that the gnomes wrought upon our land,” Tyroth shuddered from that. “They are a varied group, ranging from warriors, mages, and healers. They could work with your nation’s Mystic Order, or on other quests, so long as they view it worth their skills.”

Princess Snow gave a light nod. “They are an accomplished group of warriors. This crisis isn’t a trivial quest for them to fetch some magical item, as there are many dangerous monsters and threats that’ll provide some form of a worthy quest. So, I believe there will be uses for the Black Army.”

“Excellent, I can write them a letter requesting their services.” Tyroth gestured to the envelopes beside him. “And of course I will allow you to continue using the work of Clan Dragonlover.”

“My cousin is part of that team,” Glacia said, “So I can trust them to be useful. If need be, I can help aid with the Black Army’s missions; I’m no stranger to managing large groups of warriors.”

“Cousin?” Snow asked Glacia. “Would that be Mishera?” She then smiled at Tyroth. “And thank you Tyroth. This will be as much help for Silverdale as a whole.”

“Mishera, huh?” Tyroth glanced over at a painting in his study of him with three other figures, which most in Mystria would be familiar as the Black Fangs, Tyroth’s own adventuring party and the namesake of the Black Army. “Heh, takes me back… if this was only a few centuries ago… ahem. Thank you for meeting with me, Snow. I imagine that you are quite busy these days, but perhaps you would care for a meal or a short rest before you go? Either way, I can have the teleporter set up for you to go back to Silverdale by Sharena’s Way.”

“I suppose a small meal will be delightful. There are a few teas and local cuisine I wish to try before I go.” Princess Snow said.

“Even in trying times, you still gotta eat, after all,” Glacia had been a bit worried about Snow overworking herself, and appreciated her getting a small break.

“Wonderful,” Tyroth smiled, “I shall make some personally! … Mystria will get through this, Snow, I know we will.”

“Only time will tell if this will become true.” Princess Snow said. “To defy the wrath of winter is our goal, and find serenity must come.”

[Rohane Alista]

Joint Senates, Inner Ring District, Calihain, Rohane Alista

“Debate has closed! The 512th Joint Senate Combined Vote will now commence! All who vote Aye to the deployment of Rohane Alista’s military forces as aid to Silverdale, lift your hand!” There was a short pause as the hands were counted. “All who vote Nay to the deployment of Rohane Alista’s military forces as aid to Silverdale, lift your hand!” Another short break, the shuffling of papers, and a cleared throat later, the official tally was announced. “By a vote of 467 Ayes to 3 Nays and 30 Abstentions, the measure passes!”

Canralon Naval Base, Berabil, Rohane Alista

The IRN Jacobi Turak Rohane Alista’s first (and so far, only) ship of the cutting edge Imperator-class super carrier sailed away from the largest port in the nation, soon falling in with its strike group; on either side, it was flanked by two other brand new ships full of technological innovation, the IRN Queen Marron and the IRN Queen Mythra, both members of the new Consort-class of heavy cruiser. The strike group included several other ships, including an arsenal ship by the name of the IRN Bombardier, several destroyers, and various supply, support, and transport ships.

The Jacobi Turak strike group immediately set heading for Silverdale; the first of five similarly composed carrier strike groups Rohane Alista had committed to deploying in aid of their ally in the Dragon Sea Alliance. This strike group in particular was given a special task; escort the Rohanian 2nd Army Group to Penguin City, and then maintain a support role and keep the shipping lanes open for supplies. Being by far the furthest south landing zone the Rohanian military would be deploying to, the Jacobi Turak strike group had left earlier than its compatriots, and set out at a steady pace of 22 knots an hour. As long as the weather along the route remained steady long enough, they would arrive in a week and a half to begin reinforcing southern Silverdale. Every sailor, soldier, and attached civilian knew that they were heading right for the most dangerous place in perhaps the entire region as swiftly as possible, and a general sense of quiet anxiety and determination soon set in for the journey.

Penguin City, Silverdale
11 days later

The wind in the south pole metropolis of Penguin City was strong, gusting north and bringing snow with it. In the distance, the hint of a white wall stretching to heaven could just be made out as Rohanian troops unloaded at the port. It was a quiet affair, but one with a sense of urgency; more and more material was unloaded from the transport ships which soon pulled away to make room for the next wave.

By evening, columns of Rohanian troops were leaving the main roads of the city, tanks, APCs, self-propelled artillery and more forming into long convoys as they travelled to defensive points across the south pole territory; the largest and most robust made the fastest progress they could to New Snowdale. Despite these movements, however, the majority of Rohanian troops remained in Penguin City.

The sun began to fall before the offloading was finished, the floodlights of the docks springing on to illuminate the rapidly darkening sea as more ships left dock or pulled in; the strike force had picked up additional supplies and ships en route and it showed with the amount of activity being undertaken by Rohanian troops. By this time, all the convoys leaving the city had departed, their gear top priority for unloading, and the material for the defense of Penguin City itself was slowly but steadily piling up on the docks, where trucks, both brought by the Rohanians and hired locally, began moving supplies as rapidly as they could. The labyrinthine streets of the old city were filled with vehicles well into the night, slowly but surely filtering up through the many rings of walls in the city to deliver their troops and supplies.

The transformation of the city was slow, at first; cranes and elevators lifted defenders to the walls, and with them, artillery pieces, fortifications, and anti-air emplacements. Military engineers were soon at work, building fortifications into the top of the walls to create better firing positions and protect the artillery pieces being deployed. They focused their work along the south facing walls first, slowly moving their way around the perimeter of the cities defenses, moving from the outer walls inward until every last one was bristling with defenses; as the white wall grew more visible from the city, the city itself began to resemble a hedgehog made of steel and fire and ice, ready to greet the coming storm with all the fury and resilience Rohane Alista and Silverdale could bring together...

Penguin City, Silverdale
0300 Hours Local Time

On top of the outermost wall of Penguin City, the 12th Engineer Company of the Imperial Rohanian Army had long since finished setting up standard fortifications; they had now moved on to specialized defenses and weapon positions. The moon hung in the air, illuminating their work in coordination with the flood lamps as another large artillery piece was moved into position, where several engineers set about immediately ensuring it wouldn’t be going anywhere when it fires, and neither would the wall under it.

Lance Corporal Eorl Lancewine shivered in his standard issue coat, wrapping his non-standard scarf a little tighter against the biting cold. His cheeks burned red as he sniffled softly, gloved hands pulling apart long cords, careful not to put force on the small orbs every half foot along them, his breath puffing out as a cloud when he grumbled.

“What the hell are we doing? It’s like fucking 3am man,” the Lance Corporal complained outloud, “and I’m freezing my toes, fingers, and ass off out here.”

“Don’t complain, Corporal,” a feminine voice came over his shoulder. Eorl turned to look behind him, throwing a quick and sloppy salute to the wolf-eared woman standing there. She sighed, kneeling down next to him and grabbing some of the cords. “Corporal, you have to salute properly.”

“All due respect, Captain Zielinski, but if I saluted properly my fingers would snap off and I’d have to be sent home,” Corporal Lancewine replied. “I appreciate your help, though, Captain. Do you know what these things even are?”

“Corporal…” the captain replied tiredly. “Did you not pay attention during the debrief? They’re devices to stop ice elementals just… climbing the walls. When something puts too much force on one of these pods, it breaks, and when it breaks, it sprays fire outward. We’re going to hang a whole hell of a lot of these over the walls.”

“Well boy, I sure am glad I haven’t been pulling them apart by the pods,” Eorl muttered to himself. “Still, at 3AM? Come on it’s ridiculous!”

“This is our shift, Corporal. We’ll be switched out for the 14th soon enough, so keep it up. Everyone’s got to pull their weight, we’re working around the clock here. I don’t know if you noticed, but if you look out there… that white wall is growing larger. We may not have long.”

Boulder’s Nest, South Pole Wilderness, Silverdale
0700 Hours Local Time

The wind was already whipping snow early in the morning this far south, the coming winter clearly visible; Recon Team 2 finished setting up their makeshift observation post in the rocky crags of the Boulder’s Nest, hiding themselves between and under the stone “trees” of the region to watch carefully. They had set up camouflage tarps and coverings overhead, sandbags in white and grey burlap around gaps in their position. Each of these soldiers was fully kitted out in winter battle gear, unlike their unfortunate comrades in Penguin City; covered from head to toe in arctic camo, the only thing keeping their gear from being stiflingly hot was the natural cold already present in the south pole.

Recon Team 2 was just a single squad, but they had been given the best gear Rohane Alista could offer for their mission; infrared visual devices, magic radiometers from Dyste, the latest iteration of Rohane Alista’s quantum communications technology, heat dampening covers, rifles with specialized flamethrower attachments, and more. The small team set up camp, keeping an eye on the white wall and reporting all changes back to Penguin City as soon as they were noticed.

IRN Jacobi Turak, Antarctic Sea
0800 Hours Local Time

“Falcon 2-1, you are cleared for takeoff,” the flight controllers voice crackled over the radio into Captain William Tenchley’s helmet.
“Affirmative,” the captain responded, powering up the F-19 Wraithkiller, pulling back on the joystick as the aircraft carrier’s magnetic catapult launched the fighter forward and off the ship; momentarily the jet was airborne, Falcon 2-2 joining up off the right wing.

“Southernly heading, Falcon 2-2,” Tenchley called over the radio to his wingman. “Medium, 15 angels, weapons safe. Eyes up.”

The two planes turned to their right, rising to an altitude of 15,000 feet and cruising at that altitude, soon passing over Penguin City headed south. The two jets flew in formation for about an hour before turning back to return to the aircraft carrier. They’d found nothing to report, but for the fact that in that hour they’d seen the coming winter advance even further. Subsequent flights by other pilots all reported the same thing; winter was coming.

[New Dornalia]

Embassy of the Colonial Republic to Silverdale
Snowy Light, United States of Silverdale
SIlverdale

The team of people sitting around the modestly priced card table in the otherwise spartan rec room were huddling together around mugs of hot coffee, some bowls of ramen from the Embassy cafeteria, and poker chips and cards. The ramen was tonkotsu ramen, made by one of the Silverdalean chefs at the Embassy with a skillful touch. It was good, hearty, and suitable for harsh winters.

And a harsh winter it was--the windows outside which normally witnessed the pleasant but busy city of Snowy Light and its five million inhabitants going about their business now showed a wintry wasteland--not that there was much to see outside, given the snowdrifts quickly piling up. When the wind wasn't whipping too harshly, one could see snowplows and other crews busy at work, trying to clear enough space on the Embassy grounds so that vehicles could move with some degree of freedom. But it would be a tall task for any mechanical contrivance to be mobile in this weather. The trees were whipping around, the ground was covered with the kind of snow that would bring life to a halt, and the windows were icy and the howls of the winds--and the howls of other things--could be heard in the distance.

Amidst all this, was the Dornalian Embassy, which was functioning the best it could under the circumstances. And functioning it needed to be--for a parade of horribles had decided to march into Silverdale, and it was critical to Dornieland’s response to the madness wrought by Garyx’s return.

The team around the table was quite familiar with the developing situation. And if they weren’t, then the TV in the room--connected to Silverdalean media--made clear what was going on. The massive unusual winter weather wreaking havoc across the country. The sudden uptick in ice monsters going on murder sprees. The ancient ice dragon coming back to life. A failed coup in the Fairy Alliance--which was now busy cannibalizing itself in civil war. And, interventions and rumors of interventions by various other Mystrian powers, including a rather dramatic entrance by the Rohanian military.

Silverdale was going to hell in a handbasket.

But while the diplomats and military types were out hashing out the Dornalian response--and the redhead sitting at the table knew that the bigwigs in Los Angeles were working overtime to get something together, chatting with Silverdalean authorities and other Mystrian nations alike in order to secure Dornalian intervention--the eight-woman squad in the room had been here before the madness with Garyx. They had arrived with the other Dornalian intelligence and law enforcement types seeking to bolster security around the SIlverdalean elections. But the women around the table weren’t quite there to stare at evidence with magnifying glasses or pour over reams of documents. No, they were there to provide muscle in case something went south. They were the people the normies, like Supervisory Inspector McClung and that one busty Marshals Special Agent called “the wrecking crew.” ERIS made sure to sheepdip them all as Valkyrie Division “A” Squadron officers, which would provide a convenient explanation why a group of armed Dornalians were hustling around Silverdale. Now, their muscle would be called upon to handle something new--a full blown case of Armageddon.

The team around the table had convened in particular for a very important meeting, with their colorful mix of individualized gear and paramilitary accoutrements--all appropriately winterized--ready to depart on a moment’s notice. And on cue, the subject burst in, opening the door to the rec room to reveal the visage of General Jonah Curwin, marching in wearing his Army officer’s uniform. Curwin was the military attache, and unbeknownst to all but a select tier of Embassy staff, ERIS’s Chief of Station.

Assertively, Curwin pulled up a chair and going, “Ladies” in a gravelly voice. Indeed, it was to his credit that his stereotypically bold, forceful swagger did not diminish the gravity of the occasion, mostly due to his death glare and his iron composure. He then coughed and said, pulling out a piece of paper, “I’ve just finished a call with the bigwigs in Los Angeles.”

The redhead raised her eyebrow, leaning forward and listening intently as she said, in that ever present SoCalian accent most Dornalians seemed to have, “What’s the word, General?”

The General leaned in and said, “Mother Dornalia’s just declared war on Garyx and activated the terms of its alliance with Silverdale, Ms. Cameron,” addressing the redhead. “We’re sending in Marines, Navy, Army, and civilian bigwigs too. The whole nine yards.” He then coughed and went, “Oh, and lest we forget, an expanded paramilitary presence too from the federal law enforcement and intelligence community, Ms. Cameron.”

Ms. Cameron nodded, her eyes darting to the rest of the Wrecking Crew as they began to look amongst themselves. The General continued, going, “Two main objectives at this point. One is to neutralize the threat from Garyx and its forces. We’ll be working in concert with other Mystrian allies to do so, and our people are contacting the other Mystrian factions involved in order to try and get things coordinated. The other is to defend the distribution of relief supplies from public and private sources. Not only do we have government relief supplies, but we also have pledges coming in from The Order of the Vanguards, Red Cross, the Jesuits, so on.” The General leaned back, as he said wryly, using the metonym for the State Department, “I don’t know how they did it, but someone in City of Industry was able to move heaven and earth to get relief supplies on short notice.”

One of the Wrecking Crew, a young woman with a hime cut, a Type 56 Kalashnikov and what looked like a katana on her belt, looked at the General with puzzlement. In a polite, refined Japanese accent, she then said:

“I am confused, Mr. General. But why would you doubt the Order of the Vanguards? My people can do great things to provide help wherever it is needed.”

The General glared at the woman, before continuing to the rest, “Anyway, I have an assignment for you all…”

Pulling out another sheet of paper from his coat, The General said, “This one’s going to be a recovery operation. And frankly, I think someone out there within the aggregation of Mystrian polities the Dornalian press has taken to calling the Coalition has decided that you ladies….”

He then flashed a photograph of a pony in a suit, addressing a crowd, before putting it on the table.

“...are bad enough dudes to rescue former President of Silverdale, Fluffykins de Rose.”

Picking up the image, Ms. Cameron eyed the photograph as another one of the women winced a bit at being compared to a man, before regaining her composure. The woman, bedecked in a curious mixture of “A” Squadron BDUs, Order regalia, and tribal fetishes and wearing her hair in elaborate braids with an unusual horn-shaped object on her belt, then leaned forward and asked, in an unusual accent which seemed to mix elements of Mancunian, “I take it she has been kidnapped? What do we know?”

The General matter-of-factly replied, “Well, Ms. Plo, we’ve received reports from our people, as well as from sources like MAPLE, that there were multiple bodies found at the scene of the kidnapping--including the body of Senator Bigwig. The unfrozen secret service agent on scene apparently indicated that there was a green great fairy that froze Fluffykins and teleported away. Given the description from the Agent, it looks like Emerald, known to be a high ranking individual within the Fairy Alliance. MAPLE believes that Emerald’s Lair is miles north of the capital of the Fairy Alliance. Now, as far as the public’s been told, the incident is under investigation and Fluffykins is missing.”

Plo nodded with a thoughtful look on her face, processing what she had been told before adding, “I see.”

Ms. Cameron for her part nodded, adding, “Well, given what McClung said and from what I know of the Dragonlovers, they would have no reason to bullshit us. Besides, their intelligence has tended to be timely, and quite accurate.”

Plo then added, “Of course. However, this means that we will need to stage a raid on the Fairy Alliance. Not exactly within Silverdalean territory--”

The General then cut off Ms. Plo, as he said, “That is being handled, Ms. Plo.” As Plo raised an eyebrow at being cut off so abruptly, the General continued with a simple, “Namely, as part of our intervention into the Silverdalean situation, we are currently working with Acting President Brownie Sugarcube and her people to deploy an expeditionary force to uphold the lawful regime of President Venus of the Fairy Alliance. You ladies will be attached to a particular section of this force, acting under the cover of Valkyrie Division “A” Squadron operatives--the cover will give you the ability to assert control over Dornalian assets. You’ll be sent in country, where you’ll link up with and take charge of Task Force 99--the particular joint element of the Silverdalean-Dornalian task force we’re building to free Fluffykins and stop Emerald.”

Cameron then asked, “And what of the conspirators? Flufffykins’s capture had to have involved a conspiracy, right, given what MAPLE said?”

The General said, “Well, we’re working on that angle, but should you find any HVTs involved with the kidnapping of Fluffykins as well as the ongoing situation in Silverdale, capture them alive and bring them in.”

Cameron nodded, as the General said, with a look around the table to see if there were any further questions before he finished with a simple, “Right. Well, get into character, and be quick about it. There’s a Dragonflyer LLC Pelican waiting to take you to your destination.”

Standing up, the General then pulled out a cigar, produced a combat knife to trim it just so, and lit it with a wood match before putting it in his mouth. He then gruffly declared, “Good luck. We’re all counting on you.”

As the General left the room, the eight women looked at each other. Ms. Cameron then went, “Well, folks, you heard the man.”

Plo then muttered in annoyance, “I do hate how that man addresses us with that tone.” The word “man” was delivered with a palpable sense of disgust, as Plo pulled out her rifle--a Viper Dedicated Marksman’s Rifle--from a locker and began fiddling with the settings before putting it on her shoulder along with her other kit and turning to Ms. Cameron, “Were this Dathomir, he would not be so bold as to address me that way, Cassandra.”

Cassandra could only smirk, and go, “Well, Princess, I dunno what to tell you. This ain’t Dathomir, and that man is the Chief of Station. As far as the Company is concerned, that gives him authority over us. People do things differently out in the wider galaxy, you know?”

Plo turned to stare blankly at Cameron, only adding, “Perhaps. It goes both ways, however. People do things differently on Dathomir than you do in Dornalia, even after your government and its CORDS allies placed Dathomir and all those with whom it associated under your ‘protection.’ I was merely making that point.”

“Perhaps, Teanna, perhaps,” Ms. Cameron said. “Now, come on, let’s go, if you’re ready. We can continue this on the Pelican.”

And so, Cameron’s Wrecking Crew, in the howling snows of the Fimbulvtr, proceeded onwards to the Fairy Alliance. Sitting inside the Pelican, row by row, they held their wargear tight as the Pelican flew through the winds and the storms now buffeting Silverdale, and began doing any number of things. Some, such as Ms. Aoyama and Plo, began to meditate. Some poured over the mission information. And one, a youngish Asian woman with goggles and other equipment, could be heard dozing off.

Cameron of course, wondered what would come next….

***

Somewhere near Penguin City

As the Dornalian war machine was mobilizing to assist one ally, it would mobilize to assist another. Even with the unprecedented climactic conditions wreaking havoc on Silverdale, the Colonial Republican Marine Corps was among the elements busy sending men and women to assist in the defense of Penguin City--the major city where Rohanians were busy deploying as well. As the Rohanians were fortifying the city proper, the Dornalians began setting up nearby, working frantically overnight to situate themselves in a manner best suited for helping the Rohanian-Silverdalean effort.

Among the Marine elements being deployed were the Aviators of VMF-777. Marine Aviation had played a vital role in the Dornalian military experience, and it would contribute even now to the overall war effort. Since the Authorization for Use of Military Force by Congress, the men and women of VMF-777 were spoiling for a fight.

In some ways, it was the stuff of officers’ club fantasies and bar bets. Who would win in a fight--an angry ice dragon, or a fully armed and operational F-45 Mjolnir-Valkyrie transforming fighter bomber?

Well, Colonel Donna Cherise was going to find out. Even as a somewhat older woman and a veteran of the Christmas War, a regular regimen of exercise, good quality medical care and ocular augmentations kept her eyes sharp and her reflexes ready for anything. And one had to be ready. The F-45 was rugged, reliable bomb truck, but one had to treat a plane right. The crash footage they showed her during her training at Edwards proved that.

Right now, Cherise was in the air, performing a combat air patrol in a five-ship formation, all Mjolnir-Valkyries. The mission was simple. Work with Rohanian Naval Aviators to provide air ground support for Rohanian forces moving on New Snowdale. The liftoff was simple. The Jacobi Turak proved surprisingly well-suited for Cherise’s flight of F-45s, which had little trouble making the takeoff and landing from one of Rohane Alista’s finest ships. They would fly in concert with the Rohanian Naval Aviators, keeping up with their pace as the patrol began.
Cherise kept her focus tight. Caffeine was coursing through her veins, keeping her awake and aware as she flew above the wintry landscape. The weather was getting worse the further they pushed on, and it was at a time like this that she had all the gizmos and powers at her disposal to guide her safely through. She maintained steady contact with her Rohanian colleagues, coordinating things by clockwork.

Now, she just had to make sure things were working out. It wouldn’t be so bad, right? Right?

[Malgrave]

OOC: co-written with Lego (thanks lego!)

Aurora Naval Port, Malgrave

It was often said that the Malgravean people didn’t hold much respect for military pursuits, and while the prime focus of the nation was geared towards scientific discovery and great feats of engineering the population still had a certain level of respect and admiration for those that served in the Royal Navy, after everything that transpired in the past it was the brave service people of the navy that had managed to hold off the numerically superior Imerian fleet for the Great Exodus to take place and despite the hardships that had followed during the re-establishment of the nation the service had remained loyal to Epping.

In the isolationist period that took place during the civil war, the city of Aurora and the presence of the Royal Navy diminished ever so slightly, however, the expertise of the Royal Navy in maintaining an active presence over local territorial waters and their involvement in lending specialised miniature submarines and other underwater facilities for the sake of scientific research meant that Aurora Naval Port had always been a hive of activity.

Yet despite that constant wave of activity, it was safe to say that it all paled in comparison to the work that was going on across the naval facility now, as ships of all sizes from the giant Commonwealth Aircraft Carriers to the Kalinin-class frigates were being prepared for the long voyage to Silverdale, such a fleet was being prepared to ensure the protection of amphibious warships and commercial ferries and cruise ships that had been requisitioned from MalTra to allow the speedy transfer of the 2nd Infantry Division from their usual posting near the Rohanian-Malgravean Border and the 3rd Division from Omsk to Silverdale, alongside the bulking frames of some of the largest ships in the merchant marine that could easily carry 23,000 containers with each of them filled with supplies that had been flowing to Silverdale since the first announcement of trouble from the civilian government.

It was predicted that such a passage would be smooth sailing and that the Royal Navy and Merchant Marine would be able to work together to ensure the smooth passage of supplies and personnel to the new Silverdalean Front and establish an adequate staging area for naval aviation to strike while the weather permitted such operations, however, the Malgraveans had learned to never take anything for granted when it came to the rather unpredictable nature of the seas, and the Royal Navy had been in consistent communication with their counterparts in the Rohanian Navy to ensure that both fleets cooperated whenever possible to create a strong zone of protection throughout the naval corridor between Silverdale and the Malgravean mainland.

It would take some time for such a considerable fleet to travel to Silverdale, especially since the large container vessels didn’t travel at a particular high-rate of speed, both due to the obvious issues around propelling such a large mass but also due to environmental restrictions placed on the Merchant Marine to prevent upsetting lifeforms that had made the oceans home, however, when they finally arrived they’d bring with them vital supplies and the support of the Territorial Defence Force.

Pakosc Airfield, Malgrave

In addition to being considered the industrial heartland of the nation, Pakosc was also considered to be one of the major centres of operation for the Royal Air Force, as while the naval aviation was focused outwards in residential centres like Aurora, the city of Pakosc had afforded the Royal Air Force with the capabilities to strike back against the errant separatist republics.

Despite the end of the civil war and the following anti-terror campaign, the Royal Air Force had maintained an active presence in Pakosc, a decision spurred on by the consistent paranoia of subsequent Malgravean government’s but also due to the long runways present at the facility which allowed multiple large transport aircraft to safely use the base, an incredible benefit as the duties of the Air Force switched from providing combat support to delivering humanitarian support to assistance efforts in Crystal Spires and other Mystrian nations.

It, therefore, wasn’t a surprise that Pakosc was in a similar state of activity compared to Aurora, with the ships being replaced with the bulking forms of the Avro Albatross, the aircraft was initially designed to assist the space programme but had been quickly transformed to serve as a bulk carrier to deliver rapid response across Mystria and the aircraft today were being used to load machinery, generators and other large goods to Silverdale. In the background, the far more reasonable form of the Avro Kestrel could be seen, with a mixture of supplies that had been marked as urgent by the Silverdalean government such as MalPha medication and testing equipment being transported, with repeat trips being planned until the weather made it hazardous to fly.

In addition to the supplies being sent troops from the Royal Marines also stood ready, as while the 2nd Division was being sent via Aurora, the Prime Minister believed that defensive assistance needed to be sent to the Silverdalean Front as quickly as possible and so the 2nd Pioneer Regiment and the 7th Puffin Regiment was being dispatched to Silverdale via Avro Kestrel to bolster particularly troublesome regions in Silverdale.

Of course, the assistance being given to the Silverdaleans didn’t just comprise of goods for civilians, with ammunition, fuel and spare parts being loaded into crates and packed into aircraft to make the long trip to Silverdale, although one of the most important pieces of equipment came in the form of an electronic guidance system from MalTec designed to improve the accuracy of ageing rocket artillery systems that were going to be crucial in thinning the approaching horde.

Chen, Silverdale

It was quite common for the Special Investigative Service to have an active presence in the various nation's of the Mystrian region, as even during the isolationist period the consistently growing paranoia of the Malgravean people meant that they had to have clear information on what the states surrounding them where up to, and certain threats to national security such as representatives of the Socialist Republic and the National Workers’ Republic had to be eliminated from time to time.

Despite the decision of the United Kingdom to withdraw from isolation and take a more positive view of the international community the lingering doubts of paranoia still lingered, some said that such troubles were caused by the developing symptoms of MIDD, however, the lingering pain brought about by the Great Exodus and now the Great Humiliation festered deep and many predicted that it wouldn’t be long before someone plotted to stab the Malgravean people in the back.

It was these reasons that the presence of the Special Investigative Service had continued in these nation's, although now they received assistance from embassies and consular buildings that had been established in residential centres across Mystria following Malgrave’s embracing of international politics, and well in Silverdale, these local efforts had been bolstered with one Agent Helen Molnar and her team that had spent the past few days connecting with the people through developing personal connections to infiltrating local communication networks, although they had also received the backing of Celeritas, a rather eccentric individual that had been using her rapid speed to sneak into hideouts and gather information on more senior supporters of the traitor, Cynthia and those crazy enough to support Garyx.

It was the intelligence provided through those missions and the snooping that led Molnar and her team towards a small residential building in the outskirts of Chen, of course, such areas were practically unheard of in Malgrave but the SIS team understood that hiding in the suburbs had a rather high-appeal to it as nobody expected anything interesting to happen in these places.

Molnar briefly tested her ancestral abilities before heading into the building, a bright blue flame dancing in hand before it was extinguished and replaced with sparks of electricity, the fire would be to turn those unworthy of capture into ash while the electricity was purely to stun those deemed worthy of interrogation.

In the background, she could see her team getting ready to infiltrate the rear of the property and use the element of surprise to gain the upper hand towards victory, although Molnar in typical fashion had a different method of approach designed to give the breaching time extra time to enter the building undetected and so laden with a trolley of boxes she knocked on the door.

The SIS squad’s lead out to a modern eco-friendly house with a pine tree in the middle of its ‘box’ shape. Their suspect was none other than the former secretary of magic who was key to Cynthia’s administration. The door opened for an elderly reindeer woman, who was frightened by the presence of a Malgravean! The demihuman deer was white-haired, grumpy, and very tucked up with outdated red winter clothes from bottom to top. She adjusted her glasses as she looked at Molnar as she raised her cane.

“Oh?” She looked up. “A youngster from Malgrave I see.” She stamped down her cane as she weakly straightened up to look at her. “Well hello, three. What brings you here to see old Vixen?”

Molnar bowed in greeting towards the woman as a manner of introducing herself to the Silverdalean, “I am Eliana Alessi, a volunteer from the local Ancestral Study Group. In preparation for the upcoming harsh winter we’ve decided to assist residents here in preparing for the worst,” Molnar said gesturing to the boxes that she was carrying with her, “I have here a MalTec device that shall give you a limited supply of power and provide warmth for your utilities here so they keep running a peak efficiency without straining any magic that you happen to have.”

“Hmm, how generous… But the local harmonist temple came by early this morning to deliver spare firewood.” Vixen then added. “What’s the catch here sunny? Are you trying to sell me something?”

“It is quite admirable that our friends in the local harmonist temple have been delivering firewood to the people, however, the problem is that during harsh winter conditions such as this that water pipes can burst, electrical grids can be overloaded and fire systems can be snuffed out without much in the way of protection.” Molar said, of course, in the background here fellow Malgraveans would be working infiltrating the house and attempting to gather information on the occupant and wider intelligence on Garyx sympathisers, “ It is why MalTec developed series of technologies designed to prevent local pipes from bursting, to provide short-term electricity generation and protect heating systems, and the Ancestral Study Group have purchased several units to deliver to the Silverdalean people and now I am here delivering some.” Molnar said with a smile patting one of the boxes, “I am hopeful that you’ll accept the assistance of MalTec and the ASG during these troubling times.”

Vixen was unamused by the obvious facts on how a harsh winter can cause all sorts of problems. “Yes, yes Ms. Alessi. This isn’t the first harsh winter I've been through, and it won’t be the last. But given how unnatural this winter is, my home’s plumbing system might kick the bucket at this rate. I’ll accept this offer, but I wish to see the bill as soon as possible. I’ll make it worthwhile as I got a fresh pot of Spirean tea and a pie ready for you folks. But don’t touch my magic workshop! My Golem will kick any trespassers.”

“I am quite thankful for your offer of financial compensation, however, this device is being donated for free by the Ancestral Study Group as part of our charitable outreach endeavours,” Molnar said using her MalTec Ascension to communicate the presence of the Golem to her team members, the presence of such a unit presented quite a challenge but she was confident that the firepower presented by her team would be quite enough, although that would mean that the element of surprise would be ruined and she reminded herself to work quickly.

“It would be nice to get a cup of tea though. I haven’t had the chance to enjoy a Spirean blend in a while and I have been walking quite a bit today, thank you.” Molnar said bowing in thanks as she accepted the offer to enter the target's home.

The modern household suggested that a local caretaker, mostly her children, came from time to time to keep up a clean and safe environment. Outside of the penguin cutie cloaks to a grand cloak nearby the fireplace ‘watched’ Molnar as she entered from their eyes. There may be a full-fledged magical system of defences in place in an otherwise clean, lovely, and quite a smart-app house. As it appeared from the touchpad on the fridge and the automated tea maker.

Vixen poured out a cup of tea and moved over to the table near the fireplace. “Please, have a seat.” The sofa itself was rather old and had a 90s style design. Brownish, and covered with a fur of a fox blanket!

“You have a lovely home,” Molnar said engaging in the required pleasantries that tended to go on whenever someone entered a house for the first time, although as this was going on the SIS agent was also using some of the tools available to her to scan the area for potential threats to quash and deflect when the moment came, “It must be quite pleasing to have an automated tea maker these days, the hob that I use to brew my tea has seen better days so I haven’t been able to drink as much tea recently.”

Vixen gave a small smile as she looked around for the donation to begin. “Ah, that was my grandson who bought such a thing. It made it easier to try out so much tea without all the noise and buzz.” She laughed. “You’re welcome to try out my tea collection if you like, and leave some to your donation team as well.” She then added. “I assume your team is coming to inspect and install your Malsomething right?”

“I happen to know a Dornalian that has a device like it, although being from the Republic they use it to make a type of iced tea that is filled with a rather unhealthy amount of sugar,” Molnar joked her years of experience allowing her to retain an element of ease despite the strange situation that was developing, the SIS agent making a note to inform her colleagues of the cameras and unknown magical symbol near the workshops, a small anti-magic grenade being proposed for such a threat, “I believe that they should be along briefly unless they’ve already started on preparations, the day for us started quite a while ago and when a Malgravean isn’t running on much sleep they tend to engage in automatic engineering mode. Which particular tea brand do you recommend? I think we should be able to enjoy a cup together while we wait for the device to be installed.”

“Oh, I say green tea.” She laughed. “All of them taste the same, but Spirean Bubble Tea is a delight.” Vixen then drank her hot tea.
Molnar nodded in agreement with Vixen, “I wasn’t that aware of the quality of Spirean tea until I completed my service in the Territorial Defence Force, however, the locals are quite friendly people and love to share tea and food with passing conscripts,” the SIS Agent said her comment interrupted as one of the clocks partially fell of its place on the wall, the Malgravean using the distraction provided to slip a minor quick-dissolving sedative into Vixens tea, not enough to knock her out immediately but sufficient enough to make her quite weak.

As Vixen took a sip, she seemingly didn’t notice the poison in her tea. Yet, she had another idea. “Hm, I suppose your folks are examining the plumping outside, yes? Well, if you care to enlighten me, I do have a question.” Vixen then added. “As a former secretary of magic, I always found your people to be… quirky, yet lacked any magical talents for decades. Especially in my prime in the 80s. It’s hard to imagine what is life’s like without magic in Silverdale, but I noticed one little fact about your people. You can ramble on and on, I don’t mind. But what’s the difference between an Imerian and a Malgravean?”

Molnar shrugged at Vixen's initial question, “I am not intimately involved in the engineering aspect of the MalTec project as despite our stellar reputation in that field not everyone is a skilled engineer. I happen to be involved in promoting excursions here in Silverdale via MalTra and I suppose that is why I was asked to serve as the promoter of this scheme,” the Malgravean explained, “It is quite interesting that we only developed our ancestral abilities until recently, however, we think that it is part of the ongoing process towards ascension that has seen an evolution so to speak. In regards to the rambling, it is quite hard to say? I believe that we’ve got quite a lot to say and we do tend to enjoy talking, especially when we enter into subjects which we are passionate about,” Molnar said lying with practised ease in regards to the presence of magic in the Malgravean population, “I don’t believe I have heard anyone ask about the difference between an Imerian and a Malgravean before as well you’ve got the differences in height and the stark differences in the way that our societies are run. It would be like asking the difference between a Silverdalean mage and a Rohanian anti-magic user.”

As Molnar spoke her crew would begin to get to work, of course, first to go would be the alarm system which would be rendered unable to inform its user of any breaches and then the camera system which would be fed with a feedback loop of footage of the crew working on the MalTec equipment which had been filmed earlier, and then lastly would be the preparation of an anti-magic grenade developed by MalDef after contact with the Rohanians before the golem had to be dealt with the element of surprise would be eliminated.

“Oh ha ha ha, yes. There is a clear surface distinction between a Silverdalean mage and Rohanian Anti-magic. However, under it, the root of our difference is the land itself. Magic runs freely in Silverdale and its divine patrons, while the Rohane Alista land is cursed by the gods. But it is the land itself that determines how one becomes a mage. Even in the Rohananian Royal genealogy, a null and two mages can pass on the essence of magic throughout the generations. One of dragonkind. One from the heavens. If you place one of these descendants or another in Silverdale, you’ll surely get a mage.” Vixen explained. “If…” She yawned a little. “You look at one’s hair and see blonde or snow-white, you have a candidate. Now it is the same in Silverdale if you put a person there… In a few generations, those poor fellows will forget magecraft all together.”

Vixen then, likely affected by the drugs, moved on with a weaker sense of judgement. “Now you’re wrong sunny. Imerians and Malgraveans are more alike than you’d believe. They’re willing to proclaim their hubris and say they’re better than anyone else from some temporal earthy thing in time. One is technology and another ‘high culture.’ Both are willing to enact imperialism and do whatever experiments for their benefit. The worst part is the arrogance and their entitlement…” Vixen took a tea ship. “Oh it’s from our ancestors we never met. Oh it’s from the gods who can flimsy ignore their prayers.”

“I find myself quite impressed at your knowledge of the way Rohanians interact with the magical world, as well despite living quite close to them over the years I have never quite understood the connection or well lack of connection they have with ancestral energy,” Molnar said, of course, the SIS agent had engaged in a variety of relationships with Rohanians over the years and knew quite a bit about them but she decided to play into the ramblings of the Silverdalean, “I suppose you are quite correct since one of the things I have come to understand about Silverdale is that the nation is quite connected to nature, as while Malgrave can seek to control nature the people I have met here seek to live in harmony with it.”

Molnar hid a smirk as she recognised that the sedative was working meaning that it was soon time to act, however, she couldn’t resist just having fun with her suspect beforehand.

“You have quite an interesting perspective on the Malgravean people, although I wouldn’t say that my counterparts are full of hubris but rather pleased of the work that they’ve performed to transform Malgrave into one of the prime scientific and engineering hubs in the world and they aren’t ashamed to celebrate this factor, of course, the Imerians have the High Culture that they like to parade around from time to time but I don’t think it is quite comparable to anything in Malgrave.”

Molnar then decided to twist the knife in, the SIS Agent sending a quick message to her counterparts that they were to start infiltrating the workshop in a few moments.

“I have to ask you a question now though, and that is if you know how the Malgraveans deal with those that conspire against the state,” Molnar said a rather wide grin appearing on her face as she spoke, “If you asked a member of the public I think they’d say that after a short trial they are executed by firing squad and then buried in disgrace, however, it wasn’t always like that. I remember when the National Workers’ Republic fell, quite a few senior members of the Workers Republic were arrested and put on trial for their crimes, however, others were able to sneak to another nation. It was quite a risky affair at the time, however, we managed to follow them and deliver justice to them as they slept.”

Molnar’s attitude once again changed as she put her cup on the table revealing that she hadn’t drunk any of the offered tea.

“I would’ve preferred to have killed you here and now, however, I am also a professional and I recognise that you possibly have quite a bit of intelligence to surrender on your fellow traitors and that needs to be extracted, so while I can’t promise this won’t hurt at least it won’t kill you,” Molnar said

“W-what?!” Vixen pounced up. “You sneaky fox! You’ll pay for… this! “ She seemed to lose her thoughts before she attacked as she weakly muttered ‘puffin bale!’ and shoot a purple light ray at Molnar!

Molnar swung into action with practised efficiency gained over decades of experience in the intelligence service, the Malgravean raising a defensive barrier to deflect the incoming light ray before calling forth a bunch of roots and thick vines to grab at the legs of the Silverdalean in an attempt to fall backwards.

The reindeer was tangled up by the vines and was too drowsy to react in time! Or simply the fact that she was rather frail, and not as flexible. However, these clocks rang in an unusual alarm as the workshop’s door slammed right open. A steel shaped penguin golem, the largest of its kind and bigger than an emperor penguin, began to march forward to attack Molnar!

Molnar sighed as she noticed the arrival of the penguin golem, of course, the golem here had to be incredibly large which made Molnar look incredibly small in comparison and quite vulnerable to getting smacked around.

In quick succession Molnar redirected her roots to slow down the gigantic golem penguin, the Malgravean didn’t expect much success but she preferred small broken vines to getting turned into paste by a golem, and the SIS Agent sent a quick message to her colleagues as she prepared to try and dodge the golems attacks.

The golem penguin was slowed down by the roots. A quick nudge and then STOMP from its feet before it continued towards Molnar. It raised its flippers and used them as bats to hit her!

Molnar was able to dodge a few of the bats due to her rather small size and deflect a few more with her barrier magic, however, in combat situations, nothing worked out perfectly and after a few moments, the SIS agent found herself hissing in pain as she was effectively slammed against the wall by the giant creature, the Malgravean using her training to force herself to roll out of the way of another flipper attack that would’ve certainly caused serious damage if she was still in the same position.

In response Molnar worked to cover the golem with as much water as she could muster, a rather easy spell to cast but one that would come into use later, with her colleagues using the time to enter with Celeritas the speedster neko using her newfound speed to harass the golem and distract it away from Molnar for a few seconds.

The golem glared at the speedster neko, and attempted to breathe out a poisonous gas towards her! The sickly gas, if breathed in, could severely harm the lungs!

Celeritas wasn’t even bothered by the poisonous gas as her suit had been modified by her Rohanian friend after a rather nasty incident involving an industrial fire had almost caused the speedster neko to lose her life and she continued to harass the giant penguin for a few seconds until she received the signal to back off.

Molnar took that moment to unleash a massive wave of electricity towards the golem, with the planned combination of the water and the electricity hopefully working to put the large beast down for good.

The Steel Golem was paralysed from the massive jolt across its entire body! In a few seconds, the golem was no longer operational and collapsed onto the table! The wooden table broke apart as the teacup shattered against the steel being! With the security machine defeated, Vixen is now under Molnar’s mercy!

Molnar paused for a few seconds as she worked to suppress the pain that she was feeling from absorbing the earlier flipper strike before her expression once again returned to a rather dark looking grin, the Malgravean enjoying the feeling of having people under her control.

“De Campo, go and move the transport to the pre-arranged position,” Molnar said referring to the van that had been acquired a few days ago, “Celeritas? Help me carry this traitor to our vehicle.” the Malgravean said having already attached a pair of anti-magic handcuffs, a blindfold and gag to the elderly woman for safe transport to a secure site where her transfer to Silverdalean authorities could be arranged. “In the meantime, the rest of you should comb through this place for evidence, remember to be on the lookout for magical and non-magical traps.”

Penguin City, Silverdale

It looked as if fortune was smiling on the people of Penguin City as elements from the 2nd Division arrived to assist their Rohanian and Dornalian counterparts in the defence of the city from the upcoming horde, as per the recent discussion that took place between the Malgravean Prime Minister and the Silverdalean President, the combat engineers of the Territorial Defence Force quickly started to work with their Rohanian colleagues in bolstering the pre-existing fortifications of the population centre and preparing adequate places to fire the artillery that would be used to thin the enemy.

In response to growing intelligence surrounding the size of the potential enemy they were about to face, the Territorial Defence Force had quickly determined that thinning the charging enemy before they reached sight of the walls would increase the chance of survival quite drastically and so the 2nd Division had brought with them a couple of dozen units of MalDef Multi-Rocket Launcher Defensive Systems (MLDS), basically a platform of four multiple-rocket launchers stitched together for maximum firepower.

Of course, the Malgraveans weren’t also assisting with the fortification efforts but they were also coordinating the placement of smart mines along a corridor that was expected to be travelled over by the encroaching horde, with the mines set to be activated just before the start of the battle and logged securely on multiple databases to ensure that non-detonated mines could be safely retrieved after the battle had been won.

New Snowdale, Silverdale

While Penguin City had received support from both the Rohanians and Dornalians, the 3rd Infantry Division arrived in New Snowdale to find themselves to be the only foreign military power in the area for the moment, however, after a few brief moments the Rohanians and Dornalians arrived to bolster the spirits of the conscripts, although as those serving in the unit lived near Omsk the 3rd Infantry Division didn’t just have a capable bunch of combat engineers but they also had conscripts trained in the magical sciences, and the two parts of the division got to work reinforcing the walls of New Snowdale via technological means and by using their ancestral abilities to strengthen the ice present.

In one area of military equipment, the 3rd Infantry Division differed quite importantly from their counterparts in the 2nd Infantry Division, as while the latter utilised rocket artillery platforms to deliver a blow to the enemy the 3rd Infantry Division was reliant on the MalDef Mouse, a deceptively named self-propelled artillery piece that could fire single projectiles at targets up to seventy kilometres away and fire 6 rounds in quick succession to targets around 30 kilometres away, a deadly combination to anyone that would want to attack New Snowdale.

In addition to the smart landmines that were being put in place by conscripts, the 3rd Division also had the added protection of units from the Royal Air Force and as the conscripts got to work creating several fields of mines, a flight of three Avro Dove tactical strike aircraft in the middle of a routine sweep of the region, the aircraft carrying a mixture of ground attack missiles and rocket pods to deal with potential threats, the picture complete with additional Avro Arrows on the wings.

[Legokiller]

Necropolis of the Ice Giants
????, South Pole

Amid the chaos, Cynthia became careless and abandoned all 'unnecessary' magical items for many reasons. But that one abandoned magic item that she left in her hideout was a phylactery. Darkness' phylactery.

The ghostly thief passed down Darkness' phylactery to the grey-skinned woman covered in a loose dark naval cloak at the entrance of the icy Necropolis of the South Pole in a cold blizzard. The well beautiful human lady smiled delightfully, her violet eyes full of life. "At long last, I am free! No more games as a renewable pawn!" She laughed delightfully.

To complete this freedom, she returned to her lair. The depths of a labyrinth of shifting ice and earth was a forgotten city of the Ice Giants. Icecrown, was it? She did not know that the grand cyclopean and solid ice large ziggurat within an open underground ice chamber was her home. Yet it was shared by another.

At the top of the ziggurat was Thanatos, her husband, who awaited her. A monstrous humanoid that was merely a frozen icy blue corpse, muscular in shape, and an animated skull-like head lively with long elven ears. A tagged dark mage robe covered him as he looked at Darkness. "Ah, you returned at last, Darkness."

"Indeed." Darkness grinned. "Thanks to your work, Cynthia fled like a coward! Now that I returned, I'll pitch in on our little conquest of destruction on what she built."

"It is more than revenge. It is destiny." Thanatos proclaimed. "Our enemies will be shattered, and a new glorious age will be achieved."

Darkness gave a skeptical look for a second and then nodded. "Why, yes, Thanies. Of course, we have a little problem with nulls and other foes. They want to stop us."

"They may try." Thanatos then snapped. In the west of the icy cavern, massive ice sheets grind as it reveals many passages from the slippery surface to a network of portals. The sickly tongue of the lich called upon the damned legions that he and Darkness collected throughout the centuries from the Material world to the Shadow Realm. A thunderous march of the dead moved forward towards their destination. Throughout the mindless husks, the elite army of a proper force of the Civil War, dressed in the attire of the revolutionary army of Rubydale and armed with rifles of its era to modern weaponry. The communist undead battalions were supported by zombified Ice Giants with heavy weapons, frozen armored mammoths, and magitek icy tanks of the Civil War, the Shermanes. Worst of all was a massive white Great Wyrm necrodragon, partially skeleton, flew out from its frozen tomb of the darkest corner of the underworld towards the surface to wreak havoc.

Darkness laughed as she saw their most excellent work to be unleashed. "Oh they shall."

Snow Sea, Silver Aegis

The Snow Sea, the southern body of water that separates Silverdale and the South Pole, became treacherous. Blizzards within the eternal night that last for days. The roaring oceans which towering waves rise and fall, ready to shallow entire ships whole. With those two elements combined, it made navigation through the increasing maze of drifting sea ice. The worst part was the massive mountain-sized icebergs that floated across the sea in an uncanny direction to Silverdale. The monsters on board the flotilla of ice were shrouded within, escorted by numerous sea monsters.

In a sea of unknowns, the Silver Navy enacted 'Operation Icebreaker.' A search and destroy grand strategery of high-value targets within the icebergs before they reached Silverdalean shore. A barrage of missiles will be impractical and costly. It is difficult to use conventional methods to break apart one average iceberg. Only a precise guidance strike to obliterate or cripple the force is needed. The goal for this operation was simple: weaken the horde, and sweep the rest when they arrive onshore. The secondary objective was to keep an ice-free trade lane to keep the supply and marine vessels protected.

The Vanguard of Carrier Strike Group' Harmony' from the Silver Aegis led the charge through dangerous waters. Chunks of ice rain from each shell and missile that cracked through its structure. Boom! Another explosion on a small bit of ice! The rule in this operation, or at least one blondie shipgirl, double-tap to make sure it wasn't an ice elemental. Even as the clean up continued, some of the sea ice was floating ice elementals that were camouflage in their surroundings and float adrift! These things don't need to consume food and water to live!

Mythra, Mythra-Light Cruiser Class, whipped her light glowing blade of holy fire to lash down a drifter ice monster. "All Target eliminated." She said.

"Nice with everyone!" Bremongdale, Baltimore Class Cruiser, gave a broad smile to the six band vanguard. "We're just about to be done in this sector. One more to go and we're off to get some nice hot chocolate!"

"Good!" Arcana, Arcana- Mage Destroyer Class, piped up." It's so cold! Nothing was like this last winter."

"Quit you whining Arcana." Mythra gave a lazily glare at the girl. "One last target left straight ahead."

Indeed three was one. The best for last as one would say. As the shipgirls spotted a massive iceberg with some creature that struggled against each other in an epic clash. When the target was confirmed, a blazing light to a missile from a jetfighter struck the iceberg!

"Well, girls, this might be...Hold on!" Bremoningdale raised up her hand.

As the ice broke apart, a massive creature of the aqua, a kaji like creature, fell into the water. In a few moments, the beast jerked upwards!

"It's… A Megashark. Not a giant Octopus…. WHAT!" Arcana gasped.

Mega-Sharktopus-Zilla was the combination of an upper shark body, with the button of an octopus with massive tentacles. It was no ordinary beastie as it roared, and eyes glowed, surging with cold magical energies. Its skin flashed bright red to black as a sign of aggression.

"Basic evasion protocol engage!" Mythra said as she moved away as the Mega-Sharktopus-Zilla began to charge a magical particle laser.

"Right!" Bremoningdale leaped away as she surfed the waves. As the rest of the shipgirls moved away, the Mega-Sharktopus-Zilla magical beam of absolute cold blasted forward! As its beam passed the water, a massive flat sheet of ice formed! While it broke away by the sea and the girls were safe, the beam hit one of the naval destroyers in the carrier group at the right side! The icy explosion formed a glacial formation that covered half the ship and broke down port windows.

"Okay girls, let's fry this shark!" Brermoningdale commanded as she fired barrages of missiles and HEAT shells at the monster. As the shipgirls and the rest of the fleet engaged in battle with the kaiju, it was one of many battles that the Snow Fleet had to deal with. Unfortunately, in this cost of this strategy, the icebergs that reached the small island villages, to Salty Rock island were the first to fall by the hordes of winter. One may hope that survivors fled the place in time...


South Pole Frontline

The harsh wars continued as refugees poured from the central highlands and ice sheets to the coastline. The frontier skirmishes and strategic strikes from the Silverdaleaen forces were merely a time saver for the preparation to defend the metro centers and towns of the shore. A decision was made from Marshall Gywnie Goldenheart, a veteran of the Civil War, to save many resources. At the cost of abandonment of the middle to frontier lands, once the evacuation was complete, the Children of Garyx swept through the whole inland peninsula.

Operation Arden was a risky move. Perhaps old school with modern and magical technology to face! Silverdale mustered up its labor and engineers to construct a quick network of fortifications across the coastline alongside its allies. Entire trenches and tunnels were worked up. The druids and Elementalists warded its snow to ice as magical to prevent burrowing foes from breaking inside their lines to cities. The old Civil War bunkers were hastily retrofitted to be usable once again. In Operation Arden, with stationary forces placed in a curvy front that met with the cities, mobile forces swiftly went to harass and flank the enemy. The IGLOO, the prime military base in the south pole, blocked its main entrances with rubble and only allowed magical teleported to access the facility.

In the pitch-black whiteout, lightning cracked across the sky and struck down across the line of Penguin City and New Snowdale, the forces of winter came. The Children of Garyx poured through the ice sheets, mountains, and the sky. Whole swarms of ice elementals swam through the ice and snow like water, as creatures of varieties shapes from trolls to mega cursed 'penguin giants' to ice giants marched in. Even the skies were swarmed by icy air elementals to swarm of ice drakes to powerful dragons came forth. While the monsters themselves were reckless with no signs of self-perception as they dive into the kill zone, the most dangerous of them were the enigmatic snowmen.

They're others from 'corrupt' snow spirits to breathing flesh of ice. They're armed with advanced magic to control winter itself and unknown modern equipment. Armor of moonstone to white clothing of winter, their shapes varied that resembled the living like penguin and pony. Only the cold blue eyes and a glare pierced all who saw them and a creeping icy chill that robs body heat away. Little was spoken beyond legends and myths about them, but they seemed to lead the charge as the horde assaults the defense lines!

For Donna Cherise, the F-45 dive into the enemy horde of the easy ice drake. The F-45 drew the attention of Thanatos' undead forces. Two skeleton rocketeers aimed their launchers and fired guiding anti-air missiles right towards the dornie! A simple, easy maneuver for the dornish lass to evade! But the real test was the wannabe 'Night King' that rode on his large blue eyes white dragon to contend with!

Codename: Secret Cove
Summer Isle, Silverdale

The rally point for the expeditionary force where the Wrecking Crew will meet was the simple logging cabin campsite at the northern island of the summer Isle. A quick glance across the campsite was a collection of the best adventurers, trusted PMCs, to special force operators in the country. It primarily composed of the NAVY PENGUINS (which surprisingly had penguins and seallings in the ranks,) the White Berets, Task Force PONY, PEGASUS, Mystic Order, and the Arctic Knights. All selected in this critical operation are about to raid the most dangerous of prey: Great Fairy Emerald’s compound.


In the command post of the main cabin, General Hilda Ovealy, a bubble gun long ponytail swamling lady, looked out to the operators as she began her presentation. For the Wrecking Crew, it was a repetitive ‘what we already know’ and the current situation. That was until she brought up further intel. “We have a leaked source from Councilor Dawn Lightheart on the compound of Chancellor’s Emerald’s Villa and its threats.”

“So these threats? Giant butterflies that we have to clip their wings off?” The blue kitsune lady named Souccine snickered.

“Sorry Joker, but a butterfly fairy is the least of your worries. As Councilor Dawn will mention, the Villa is next to Marine Point near the grand lagoon and is heavily fortified with the worst foes. Be watchful as the smallest fairy can hide within the leaves of a tree, or the tree itself is a treant or wicked tree that will attack. By the terminology by Dornishmen, there is one enigmatic form that fits the name ‘Predator.’ It’s a rumor from the Dawn, but if the Chancellor is desperate enough or ice monsters have already landed, she’ll promise these Predators Hunt for them to come. As special forces, be mindful as you may become such prey.” General Hila explained.

“Do they use alien weaponry?” The 80s action hero android asked.

“No, but they’re fey beings with magical weapons and powers,” Hilda said. “Not to mention a form of a telepathic link to coordinate their efforts. If you see their presence, report to our intelligence officer, and we’ll see what we can find.”

[Glaristant]

Tara, Dyste

The sun hung low in the sky as yet another day of work came to an end at the estate of Tara, a massive manor that lay on the outskirts of the Dystan capital of Valitora. The estate, which was unique in Dyste in that was home to many lamia, tanager, and sylph, was the home of the former Grand Duchess of Glaristant who had retired there about thirty years prior. She had spent the better part of three decades turning it from a barren patch of earth, into one of the largest producers of crops and wine in Dyste, if not in Mystria. From said barren patch of land had come a vineyard and croplands stretching for miles, numerous outbuildings ranging from mills and kitchens to a distillery. The heart of the manor however was a massive silver manor house with towering crystal windows, all of which glistened in the rays of the dying sun, with the light scattering in all directions as it hit the eight column which lined the front porch of the house. The house normally played host to a steady stream of guests, ranging from the upper crust of Dystan society all the way to King Tyroth himself, yet today the manor was strangely deserted aside from three individuals who stood waiting on the steps of the porch. One, a female copper scaled tanager with flowing black hair, frowned as she held the hand of a smaller tanager with black and copper scales, all the while watching a black limousine drive towards the front of the estate, “Mein dear Tyr….Are your sure that it is a wise idea to have zhe Grandmaster meet with you here? I get it given the current crisis in Silverdale, but surely even you must recognize zhat she is not exactly zhe best….influence to have around our daughter.”

Tyroth had sent letters to many people in order to gain their support for the Winter War, and he would be meeting with Princess Snow in a few days in order to set up a deal with the Black Army with her. But getting the support of Glaristant required a personal meeting with another individual. “Iri, it is important to meet with her to gain her support for this war. And besides… I have heard that she has recently had a special meeting that has changed her outlook on life. Have a little faith in her, okay?”

Iriyea sighed as she listened to her bondmate, all the while trying to hold back her frustration with him, “.....Fine, but if she causes any trouble I vill have her thrown off zhe estate, Grand Duchess or no….” Iriyea was cut off as the limo finally came to a half before the staircase, the passenger side door opening to reveal a red scaled tanager clad in a black business suit who gave the pair a curt nod as he moved to open the door to the limo’s passenger cabin. Out of the limo stepped a black and copper scaled female tanager, who wore a gray business suit and skirt with a red cloak, all the while her golden eyes seemed fixed on Iriyea. She waved off her aide as she made her way up the stairs, giving the two royals a nod as she spoke, “I must admit that I was a little shocked to receive your letter, father. I would have imagined a certain Inquisitor would have turned your opinion against me as well, like she did with Pengon.” Eyvel said as she moved to the King’s side, pausing as she continued to watch Iriyea, “Regardless, it is good to be able to meet with you again, especially in light of all that has occurred over the past few months. With that being said….I take it you have a favor to ask of me, no? Or perhaps this is something we should discuss more in detail inside, assuming mother does not mind inviting me in….”

Iriyea huffed as she turned on her heel, motioning for her bondmate and daughter to follow her as she led them into the building. The quartet walked through the manor’s spacious halls passing numerous works of art depicting everything from scenes of manor life to portraits of Iriyea and Tyroth in her younger days, before coming to a stop in a wood paneled library with a sizable marble fireplace. Iriyea shut the doors to the room as she led them to a trio of comfy looking arm chairs as she motioned for them to sit down, still saying nothing as she took her seat. Eyvel for her part took a seat across from her father, “At any rate….Tell me father, what is it you wish to ask of me and the Arnwehr?”

Tyroth sat on the armchair, relaxing as he thought how to explain this. He knew that Iriyea and Eyvel were not on the best of terms at the moment; ever since she seceded the role of Grandmaster and Grand Duchess to Eyvel, Iriyea had issues with the way she had run the nation and the Arnwehr. He had hoped to mend their relationship, but he knew that there was only so much he could do, especially with a pair of tanager like them. “Ah, welcome, Eyvel! I wish we could be meeting under more… desirable circumstances, but… I am afraid I have news of a potential upcoming conflict in Silverdale… my sources tell me that monster attacks are on the rise, and it is believed that a great evil has awoken. I believe that is the sort of mission your forces specialise in, yes?”

Eyvel listened intently to her father as he spoke, occasionally glancing over to her mother to gauge her reaction, “Aye….I have heard reports from Veckne about the coming storm in Silverdale, but admittedly it has been a secondary priority for us given the trouble brewing in Mund…” Eyvel had indeed heard of the growing strife in Silverdale, but had thus far written it off as matter that was of secondary import given the growing strife between two of the tanager deities. That had changed however when she had received the King’s letter, with its mention of the demon known as Garyx in particular catching her attention, “I see. Originally, I had not planned on intervening in the strife there, but these monster attacks change matters, particularly if they are as horrific as you say. At any rate, yes this would be a perfect mission for Turvess and perhaps elements of Graveck as well. Yet with that being said, I hope that you do understand that I cannot spare much in the way of troops at the moment, given our preexisting commitments and the ongoing war in Mund. Now….this great evil, I take it you refer to Garyx, no?”

“I am indeed,” Tyroth sighed; he had heard from the head of Clan Dragonlover that they had uncovered a video proving people were planning on awakening the great dragon. “I knew that eventually she would brought back to the world, but I was hoping it would be some time later. That said… I do not think there would ever be an ideal time for the likes of Garyx to be unleashed upon the world. That said, I can think of no better allies for Silverdale than the Arnwehr. I understand you have other missions that are taking much of your resources, but perhaps a smaller force of specialists might be of use for specific missions might be useful?”

Eyvel remained silent as she listened to her father, before at last speaking, “I see. In that case, I have a force in mind that I can send for this task. They are a mix of Paladins and Knights from Turvess Squad Argent, as well as a mercenary team I have on long term retainer that will be assisting them. You might actually be familiar with one of them.” Eyvel said as she reached into her overcoat, pulling out a manilla file folder with a photo of a white haired and dark skinned elf attached, both of which she passed to Tyroth, “At any rate, I believe zhey shall be sufficient to help deal with some of the monsters, at least until our upcoming operation in Mund is complete. Now if you would not object, I do wish to propose a plan to you. At the moment, I have in mind an idea to send zhe two teams to Snowy Light to prepare for zhe oncoming monsters. Additionally, I will see if I can prepare a battalion of troops to deploy in the coming weeks….”

“Hm, I see you have already given this much thought, but that is what I expect of you,” Tyroth knew his daughter was always quite well-informed in the case that such a decision was needed. “I will be meeting with Princess Snow in a few days, and whether or not Parliament approves of offering Dystan aid, I will be suggesting her to employ the Black Army,” he knew Eyvel was familiar with the group led by former Royal Knight Ares Darkclaw. “Hopefully Winstara will be willing and able to offer the aid himself, but in case that does not end up happening, we will at least have this to send… you know, in another time I imagine you and Tynah would be the ones rushing directly to Silverdale’s aid with those twin axes of yours.”

"Well, it is my job to do as such given that I am zhe head of your intelligence service, father. After all, what sort of advisor vould I be if I were not keeping prepared for just such a scenario?” Eyvel said, her mood lightening as she spoke. To be fair, she had been monitoring the situation in Silverdale for several weeks prior to her father’s letter, with her having prepared a number of possible responses depending on how events in the country unfolded. She had hoped Glaristant needn’t intervene, but with the appearance of Garyx’s children she had felt she had no choice but to commit troops. Regardless, she was glad to see that she and her father were at least in agreement how serious the situation was, “Indeed…..Ah yes, those were the days. No concerns nor obligations apart from hunting monsters or saving towns from the occasional bandit, what I would not give to be able to return to that life. Do not get me wrong, I enjoy my current role, but I cannot tell you how much I would love to head to Silverdale myself to settle the score against Garyx’s underlings. I would imagine Tynah feels the same. Regardless, I assure you that even should that….Should Winstara not accede to the idea of sending aid, I will ensure that Glaristant will provide whatever aid it can to the Black Army.”

“Good to hear,” Tyroth smiled; of course, since Glaristant was its own nation, though still heavily tied to Dyste, they did not need Parliament’s permission to partake in the war. “I am hoping, of course, that Winstara does accept the proposal; he is a firm believer in the Dragon Sea Alliance, and would not wish to jeopardize that in one of its members' time of need. But I know Ares will be happy for the support regardless. And as for Tynah…” Tyroth chuckled, “Well, you know what she is like, nobody can stop her when she has her mind set to something. I do not know where that came from, GHAHAHA!”

Iriyea smiled as she heard the Grand Duchess’s response, all the while she struggled not to chuckle at her bondmate’s laugh. To be sure, she had not been surprised Eyvel would commit forces to deal with Garyx’s children, but she had been taken aback by how willing her daughter had been to do so without any form of compensation or concession. Furthermore, she had not expected to see the tanager be in such a buoyant mood, something which seemed to lend further credence to what Tyroth had said about her recent change in outlook, “.....I must admit, that was not what I was expecting to hear from you, Eyvel. I had been expecting you to come here making all sorts of demands of your father and I, as you have in zhe past. Whatever happened to you is….a nice change from what you were.”

Eyvel smiled as she listened to her father and mother, with her smile only growing wider as she heard her mother’s remark. Admittedly, had the crisis in Silverdale occurred six months prior Iriyea would have been correct in her assessment, yet much had changed with her in the few months since she had met Brasa. Her encounter with the Mother of Dragons had for lack of a better word, given her a new perspective on the world as well as her own past, “Indeed she is father, but let us not forget she works best when somebody is keeping an eye on her! GAHAHAHA” Eyvel bellowed as she rose from her chair, moving to her father’s own as she offered him her hand, “Well mother, I suppose you could say I owe that to a ….dear friend of mine. You could say she helped open my eyes on a great many things...At any rate, I am afraid I must be departing soon as there is much I need to attend to in Glaristant before our intervention can move forward. Additionally, I must meet with my envoys to Winstara in Valitora to provide them with their instructions on what to do should Parliament approve aid. Honestly, what I would not give to be able to spend the rest of the day with you two, but sadly such is the life of the Grand Duchess, eh?”

Tyroth walked over and gave Eyvel a hug, “After all of this is done, perhaps we can try to take a little break, my dear? I mean, from what I hear of your ‘dear friend’, she recommends taking some time for yourself and not overworking… or that just might be her way to excuse her slacking off, GHAHAHA!” It had been some time since he had probably gotten the chance to see Eyvel like this; whatever happened there it was a change for the better, he thought.

[Dyste]

The Dragon Sea

The Dragon Sea could be dangerous even at the best of times, with sea monsters and creatures of the deep making travel difficult, but it appeared that the awakening of Garyx led to an uprise in monster attacks. Fortunately, the navies of Mystria were prepared for such an event.

One of the creatures making sea travel difficult was a primal dragon known as a linnorm that had taken a place on the route between Dyste and Silverdale. The sixty-foot long creature had attacked passerby ships, including fishing vessels. However, the Dystan Royal Navy was more than prepared for such a creature.

On the flagship of the navy, the DRS Leviathan, Nialis Kevelle sat on the bridge, not saying a word to his crew. Of course, the Water Draconid had no need to speak in order to relay information to his crew.

Fire the Lightning Harpoons when close, in formation! Was an instruction the captains of the various vessels heard.

The linnorm launched its attack on one of the ships, its breath freezing the air around the ship, forming ice upon its hull. It was at this point when cannons fired giant harpoons into the scaly hide of the beast, circling it to hit it on all sides. Naturally, the linnorm thrashed about, but with the flick of a switch, the harpoons all became electrified, shocking the monster with blasts of lightning!

Of course, the Linnorm would not take this easily, firing its cold breath in the form of an icy liquid to coat several of the ships, some of which broke off the assault, but then the cannon fire broke out, pummeling the monster. But it was the last attack that truly surprised it. A spectral hand grasped its head and was attempting to crush it, while its attempts to freeze over the remaining ships were to no avail after the barrage of cannon fire, the shots exploding into fire upon its hide until finally, it was downed.

Nialis lowered his hand, smiling. He was more than the Fleet Admiral of the Dystan Royal Navy; he was also one of the strongest psychics in the region. Able to telepathically connect with multiple people over long distances and capable of projecting himself over long distances, it was no wonder he took over the role after the founder of the navy, the legendary Tobias Patton, left the position.

Use some fire magic to melt the ice, he gave orders to the ships, I have a plan to get us connected to the other nations’ navies. Nialis had been given knowledge on the various fleets of both Silverdale and the other nations, and who was leading them. He figured getting coordination together was key.

Sending a message to as many of the fleet leaders he could, he sent a message, This is Fleet Admiral Nialis Kevelle. Dyste is on its way to assist in the Winter War. Stay alert for future messages; I will be planning to establish a telepathic link in order to keep us all connected.

While satisfied, he gave a sigh, “Of course it is the Rohanians who are giving me problems,” the people of Rohane Alista seemed to be highly resistant to magical effects, which give even him trouble; he knew sending a psychic double to the ship could in theory work, but the Null effect would make that difficult too. Regardless, it was a step towards making a fully unified naval effort.

The Black Army Airship Maltet
The Skies Above Silverdale

(OoC: This part co-written with Legokiller)

On the deck of the large airship, the Dark Draconid known as Ares Darkclaw was looking out out the window at the land below. While the war had not yet spread to all of Silverdale, he could see where places had been struck first. If this was Kel Darkfire, Dyste’s Knight Commander, he would likely be wanting to focus on defending the most important locations and sacrificing those he deemed less important, but Ares was not Kel. Having left the Royal Knights after a disagreement with his former commander, he formed his own mercenary company with would-be adventurers and other Dystans who wished to have a more active role in Mystria. Of course, being still loyal to his own home country, when he got a request from the king to aid the Silverdaleans in the Winter War, he accepted; that said, he would’ve likely seeked out employment anyways.

“Sir Darkclaw,” a voice came from an intercom on the airship, “Your guests have arrived. Shall I send them in?”

“Of course,” Ares spoke in a deep voice. “I expect that she will be there with them… let us see what they have in mind for us…”

The first guests of the duo were an angelic-like woman in white. A human with snow white tied small pigtails, and illustrious crystal blue moonstone eyes that looked at Darkclaw in a studious manner. She smiled warmth in her five-star marshal white army dress that wrapped around her body, with a small bulge that pushed up from her belly. Gywnie Goldenheart radiant a misty white halo beyond her heart, and well… to prove she was the real deal, had a white stag outside on deck.

“Salutation dear friend.” Gywnie extended her hand to Mr. Darkclaw. “I am Gywnie Goldenheart, Marshal of the Silverdalean army.”

The orange and white tiger Sharkesh gave a sharky grin as she waved lazy. Naturally, she wasn’t too uptight with an attire outfit, and kept her Arctic Knight white suit open up to expose cleavage, and a mini black shirt. She was quite heavily rounded in her belly as well. “The name’s Akula. Appointed team leader for the seafront of the Arctic Knights.”

The last of the three visitors was a muscular Bovinian woman with long red hair, carrying a giant axe and wearing an outfit that made her look more like a barbarian heroine than a modern-day soldier, not that she cared much about that. “Hey, Ares!” She said casually to the Draconid. “Seems you’ve been keepin’ this ship in good condition. Given how much you had to pay for it, can’t say I blame ya!”

“There have been some improvements since you last were onboard, Tysteus,” Ares said, being all too familiar with the Bovinian; she was a freelance member of the Black Army, being hired for specific tasks for them. Of course, at this point she was being hired by the First Order of Mystic Guardians in Silverdale. “Please, you may all take a seat,” there were comfy couches strewn about the lounge; even though Tysteus and Akula were quite large, the seats were built for Draconids, allowing them to sit down easily. They had panels by the side that allowed them to order food and drinks from the mess hall.

“Akula, I must thank you for visiting us on behalf of the Arctic Knights; your leader, Ser Glacia, is well-known even in Dyste, and given that Princess Snow is officially our employer for this, we felt it necessarily to collaborate our efforts with you. And as for you, Gywnie Goldenheart, your reputation precedes you; I know that you have strong ties to both our nations, and I have worked alongside your sister Shana on multiple occasions. She has spoken highly of you, of course.”

“Indeed. My dear sister and I are the vanguards of life and goodness, even when our home lies in two corners of the world. Loyalty bonded to each side, but we can friendly travel and speak in the two lands.” Gywnie Goldenheart said. “Altas, Shana continues to work as a loving sibling, and I must play my part.”

“Right right! I’m speaking for miss snow pony here while my boss is on a top secret mission. The usual deal.” Akula said. “Now, us Arctic Knights can play ball with you folks, as you’re like one of the best fighters in Dyste if I recall.”

“Not surprised ya know ‘bout that, Akula,” Tysteus said, “You’re from Dyste too,” Akula was the daughter of two former Sarkesh pirates who settled down in Dyste, “so ya probably heard ‘bout Ares bein’ one of the Great Five Knights. Of course, Kel ain’t the easiest person t’work with…”

Ares growled, “I would rather not discuss him at the moment, what matters now is what you wish of us. I have quite the array of warriors and mages available, both as regular members and as freelancers like Tysteus here. Any and all of that is at your disposal for as long as our contract is intact. Now, what sort of missions are you looking at hiring the Black Army for?”

Gywne frowned at her companion, Tysteus, when she became unprofessional and brought up a personal matter unrelated to the task at hand. “Silverdale faces a monster crisis on a scale that dwarfs the last invasion. Perhaps on the scale of the mythical corporations from old fables. The brave men and women can hold on to the common monsters of the war, but there is clear evidence that the worst of them are siege weapons capable of turning the tide of war. Not to mention the source of where the hordes come from.”

“Yeah.” Akula gave Gywnie an odd look. “Aren’t you aware of the last location of where Garyx attacked?”

“The Icy Prison and the ‘End of Hatred’ Crater like night and day. The prison is a construct by the goddess and is fluid like water. It moves to remote landshapes in the icy plains. That can’t be said for this Thanatos. His lair is built in stone in the mountains of the Shivering Peninsula, but our scouts are unable to spot them.” Gywnie then went straight to the point. “Regardless, we have many contracts and proper pay-grade for these tasks. There is another for operators to assist in the raid in the Fairy Alliance to find Fluffykins. Hence forth, there are high target monster hunts in both land and sea, reconnaissance for the lairs of Garyx and Thanatos, and positions for the Fairy Alliance raid.”

“Very well,” Ares said, bringing up a roster chart for the members of the Black Army; the numbers overall were in the low thousands, but that was considering every single member, including the freelance members, and it didn’t account for the wide skill gap. They had would-be adventurers for more easy tasks, but only a small amount of elite fighters were strong enough to handle the toughest targets. “I believe we can offer our assistance in all of these tasks. Of course, I envision that not all of them will be of the same challenge, though we will not take any of them lightly. We can allow some of our captains to take a group of mid-level members to the raid and groups specialised in targeting specific monster types to launch coordinated attacks against them. The lairs of Garyx and Thanatos are likely the most dangerous of them, and I shall only send who I find most suited to the task. In short, you will offer the missions and I shall assign the roles to who I deem most fitting for the task at hand. Are those acceptable terms to this contract?”

“It is a reasonable term, yes. Of course, on Silverdale’s part, we will provide our intelligence service and reports if the situation has altered in the search for these lairs, alongside other monsters.” Gywnie said.

“Right right. Obviously for us Arctic Knights, our heavy hitters are unavailable, so we're providing most of our folks to fight in midlevel battles.” Akula said.

“In that case, I believe our business has been settled,” Ares nodded, his expression unchanging but with a hint of satisfaction in his voice. “I shall set assignments shortly. Tysteus, I trust that you too will be part of this?”

“Well, I’m still doin’ stuff for the First Order,” The Bovinian patted her head, “But I imagine we’ll be workin’ together a lot anyways.”

“That we will,” Ares said. “Please feel free to order any food from our cafeteria; Gwynie and Akula look like they could use a meal, and it would not be a Dystan meeting without a chance for a meal, after all?” He finally broke out a grin on this; it seemed interesting that they would send three people who grew up in Dyste, but perhaps it was for that reason they did so.
“Alright! Lunch time!” Akula jumped up and stormed off to the cafeteria.

“It’d be a delight to have a small meal.” Gywnie bowed.

“Hey, good to get some real grub!” Tysteus charged in after Akula.

“It appears that Lord Tyroth was right,” Ares said, chuckling, “Whether it is business or diplomacy, sharing a meal is a great way to end such discussions.

[Legokiller]

OOC: Collab with Dyste
Everpine,
Peppermintia, Silverdale

All was not so peachy for Alicia Cortez. She lost a whole election. An official disband from the federal government stripped the nationalist party’s paramilitary away after violations of democratic laws. A key party member of the National Silver Front, Frosty Arthas, was found guilty over abuse of power, election mending, paramilitary terrorizing, and pedophilia. Worst of all, she was humiliated by a GAMER! A gamer! The Aasimar hated the fact that some spoiled brat got the spoon and will lick the boots of whatever foreign power will give free video games to win favors.

Alicia wasn’t sure how this new PMC she founded from whatever volunteers from the paramilitary she can muster. She called it the ‘Silver Maidens.’ Yet it feels like more of an embarrassing joke as they got an idea of being more flashy… and Alicia wasn’t a good role model for that too. As her chione heritage and magical girl powers, she can’t help it. Now she has to defend this townie and provide security.

“How worse can this go on.” Alicia groaned. She already did some nonsensical work with gross goblin tourists and gooselings. What next? Her special guest will mock her as a joke? No way! Still, she waited at the Green Dragon and Penguin Beach Cafe for one person to come over!

Alicia was joined by someone who bore an uncanny resemblance to the legendary archmage and former President, Sharena Goldenheart, with the same golden hair, youthful looks and sweet smile. However, this wasn’t Sharena… or rather, not the same one that most would think of. Draped in a flowery red kimono held tightly among her full figure with an aura of light surrounding her, Sharena Goldenheart III, better known as ‘Shana’, sat down on the opposite chair to Alicia. “Hiya! I hope you weren’t waiting long for me, Alicia…”

“Greetings… Great Grand… Shana yes?” Alicia gave a poker smile as she offered her hand. While she didn’t look much, Shana can see an aura of light that surrounds Alicia, and her eyes red as a bright ruby. “I thank you for joining me for lunch. I know you must have a long day yes?”

“Oh, like you wouldn’t believe,” Shana chuckled as she shook Alicia’s hand, “I was at New Leaf helping Grandma with some matters and had a class to teach at the sanctuary, then Gywnie roped me into helping her with some recruitment stuff, and Mom wanted my help with some things for her little dragon experiment… but I don’t mind, really, I love spending time with my family. And that includes you, sweetie.”

“I… I am a part of your family?” Alicia has a sheepish look. “What I understand is my father became distant after my mother, who was a Goldenheart, was divorced. I know that… I think I remember as a child seeing you… But that’s an unreliable memory.”She coughed. “But never mind that Shana. What kind of little dragon experiment are you up too?”

“Well, even if you don’t have the name, you sure look the part,” Shana saw that Alicia had the famous Goldenheart beauty, not to mention some traits added to the family by the Chionian heritage. “I am sorry I didn’t get to see you more often, there are so many family members thanks to mom, and grandma and Gwynie… and well, I’m to blame, as well,” she laughed as she felt over her stomach. “Oh, but of course you wanna know about that, don’t you? Well, Mama and a few of my sisters are involved in a little project to help bring dragons and either races closer together. Perhaps you’ve heard of Brasa? I hear her influence is on the rise in Silverdale…”

“Oh dear.” Alicia sighed in annoyance. “Yes, I heard of Brasa from Hana the wannabe communist. That elf quickly got bored of her leftist shtick and games, and jumped on board to that religious moment.”

“Wow, even one of the presidential candidates got onto this,” Shana chuckled, “I don’t know how they managed to get so much support so quickly… okay, I do know, they had a strong message that appealed to a lot of people and they employed the family charm. No doubt you have done so as well, sweetie.”

“I’ve done the best of my ability to use said charm in my campaign grandmother.” Alicia gave a small smile, and soon faded away. “But this ‘Brasa’ support doesn’t seem… Well right for my platform. Dragons are wise sages and guardians, to some part of the sky. It is a little difficult to bring some gap between them beyond the means to become one or hear their song. It doesn’t sound much of Airius teaching away.”

“You’d be surprised at how much support Brasa is getting already, sweetie,” Shana opened up part of her kimono to help herself breathe easier. “Dragon Elves especially seem to love her, and there are some full dragons that have converted to her. There are a lot of people out there who think dragons don’t have to be something cold and distant, and more dragons are feeling the same way. Turns out, pleasure and love are things that a lot of people tend to value in their lives.”

“Eh… It’s wonderful Shana.” Alicia wasn’t sure what grandma was up too with this latest scheme. “Now I know that becoming friends with a dragon and then loving them is a good thing, sure… But did the Friendship School of Chen make Brasa up from dragon students or… Where did you find this Brasa to be exact?”

“Oh, you’re wondering where Brasa came from?” Shana chuckled, “Well, she came to see me, actually. More specifically, she’s a fused goddess made from members of our family! Unsurprisingly, your Auntie Marron had a big part to play in how she ended up.”

Alicia gave a baffled look at Shana. “What?”

“Yup, Brasa’s part of our family!” Shana grinned. “I even got the chance to be part of her recently! Let me tell you, being part of that was a lot of fun, but harder work than I expected!”

“A lot of fun?” Alicia shook her head wildly. “No no no, that doesn’t make sense! Chione is a heroine who has passed the fall of her climb and returned back to the track as a hero. To make friends, and then ascend to the heavens to fight vile beings of the stars to be a symbol of winter. She can’t distract herself with… this !”

“... have you even met her, Alicia?” Shana sighed. “This is totally in line with what sort of things she does. Besides, there’s nothing to say she can’t have pleasure but also be a heroine of the stars.”

“No.” Alicia admitted. “Chione went to the stars and well my father forbade me from going to Dyste after my mother broke up. Of course this wasn’t centuries ago but a lot closer by a few decades ago.”

“Well… perhaps I can help you meet with her, and some other members of your mother’s side of the family?” Shana said, feeling a bit sorry that Alicia didn’t have the chance to meet with them. “You might even get to meet Brasa.”

“Oh, I’d love to meet them.” Alicia said. “Especially Sailor Chione. She was my hero after all.”
“Oh, sure, I know Mama will be happy to meet one of her grandkids,” Shana had to think about it, “Just be warned, she tends to be a little overbearing, but she’s really loving towards her family, so I think you’ll like her. And of course, I’m happy to spend as much time with you as you’d like!”

Alicia thought for a second as she ordered up a nice glass of Chilly Willy Soda. “Perhaps you can assist me at work. I have to close down one beach and help with preparations for the upcoming battle ahead.”

Shana also ordered a Chilly Willy Soda, “Oh, sure, sweetie! I could use the exercise anyways; Sandy will get annoyed at me if I take the opportunity to slack off. My own grandma tends to spoil me a little too much when I’m in Silverdale, but I’ll try my best to not coddle you too much.”

“There’s no need to pamper me Grandma. I have pulled much of my resources to build what I am, and… I’ll rebuild it again. As of now, I need to protect the state, and show the people I won’t abandon them.” Alicia said.

“That’s the spirit, sweetie!” Shana smiled. “Let’s become heroines of this town; ‘s not as big as being like Chione, but it’s a good start, don’tchathink?”

“Sure.”

When lunchtime was over, the two went to the ‘troublesome’ beach site where people trepassed to have some fun. Gullies. The flock of sea bird people decided to picnic on the snowy sand bank. Shana can see through the great distance at the horizon a rampaging group of a dozen Frost Drakes that is coming to the town!

“Oh, Alicia? I think we have some uninvited guests…” Shana threw a smoke bomb; when the smoke cleared, she was wearing a ninja suit in the same colour as her kimono. “I fear that the Gullies are going to be the least of our concerns today.”

Alicia raised up her hand to reveal a sapphire silver ring. “World of Chione, refreeze!” A whiteout blur swept the aasimar to transform her into her magical girl attire. A snow-like Chionaian elf with icy armor, and skimpy of course! All with a shining halo behind her head. “Step away citizens of Silverdale, your heroine is here to save the day!”

“W-What?” The Gully man looked at the ladies in confusion.

“Ahem…. SHARK! I mean… DRAKES!” Alicia shouted.

The gullies panicked and flew off as the Frost Drakes dive down towards the beach!

Shana powered her body with light energy as she found a pole to climb on. Running up the pole, she leaped off with a diving attack, powering her blows with light as she smacked a drake with a crushing blow!

The head drake fell from the sky and crashed on the ground! Its scales brought apart its skull, and now it is vulnerable! Before the creature could recover, two blasts of a scorching fire struck the creature’s head and wings, causing it to ablaze and melted the beast away! Alica dusted off her smokey hand, and then cast a message to her team and the soldiers nearby.

“Just hold on Shana!” Alicia shouted.

As the Drakes began to make their fly by attacks, one of them targeted Shana and breathed out an icy breath! As it crashed near the ground, it transformed it into a slippery ice terrain.

Shana managed to dodge out of the way, but the ground became much harder to stand on! She lost her footing and slipped, somehow splitting into four when she landed! Of course, she was actually using a ki technique, but to the casual observer it looked like the impact did it. “Oooh, that would be useful for a skating rink, but I’m more of a swimmer!” She and the shadow clones weaved and dived around, skating on the terrain, before one came to its side and made an uppercut on the drake like one of those fighting games!

Shana uppercut staggered the drake from its massive impact! Sadly for the ninja, the rest of its wing of four joined into biting off the shadow clones! Alicia seemed on edge as she got hit by a wing and tumbled away! All before she cast out an intensified fireball that consumed three drakes into a crispy state!

“Keep it up, sweetie!” Shana summoned shurikens of light, throwing in a flurry at all the drakes she could see. When they made impact, they exploded into bursts of light!

The holy fiery shuriken’s explosion temporarily blinded the drakes, which caused them to end up hitting each other with their attacks! As they do so, Alicia gave out fierce fiery punches, which caused a small explosion that left her target Drake KO!

Shana used the opportunity to strike at her foes with a barrage of blows, using the blinding to strike at their weak points, shattering some of the icy beasts! “Hmph, and here I thought I might get a little vacation during my time in Silverdale.”

“This is my job-” Alicia then screamed as a drake’s tail whacked her on the head, and tossed her to the side!

“Alicia!” Shana was grappling with one of the beasts, but she bashed in in the mouth in order to get a hand free, throwing more of her shurikens of light at the drake that harmed her great-granddaughter.

The drake roared when the shuriken hit its wing, and turned to face Shana! It jumped forth to bite Shana!

“Hey, you wanna play, little dragon?” Shana smirked, “I gotta say, Garyx’s dragons don’t hold a candle to Brasa’s. I don’t think you can fight what you can’t see,” she said as she vanished in plain sight!

In the Frost Drake’s confused state, Alicia quickly rose up and placed her hand on the beast’s right leg! Its flesh began to wither as Alicia’s bloody wound on her head quickly heals up. As the battle continues, fellow magical girls and soldiers join the fray to fight the remaining Drake, while leaving the current one nearby Alicia wide open for a sneaky ninja...

Shana was still invisible when the reinforcements arrived, allowing her to aim for the withered spot with a strike using all her force behind it!

The surprise strike snapped the leg off the drake! The creature roared its last before it collapsed, and was no more! The reinforcements quickly subdued the last of the drakes, but not without injury and property damage! A whole surf shack was broken apart as a drake lied, alongside a few busted cars.

Shana appeared again afterwards, suddenly wearing a swimsuit to look more like a beachgoer than some weird ninja. She gave Alicia a hug, “Are you okay, sweetie? You a nasty blow to the head there…”

Alicia froze in place and looked at Shana with confusion. “I… I suppose I am.” She then hugged awkwardly.

“What, are you not used to being hugged?” Shana said, half-jokingly but she did seem a bit concerned. “The Snowtear part of our family is very affectionate, you know. … but I will say, you really do look like a Chionian heroine when you’re in that form.”

“Why thank you.” Alicia quickly let go and gave a dance. “It’s important to keep that image alive. Now…” She transformed back to her normal self. “It’s a simple explanation: my family isn't all that famed like the Snowtear or Goldenheart. The Cortez are a strict family that runs a clothing rental chain, and I wasn’t the favored child.”

“Oh…” Shana seemed to be regretful, “I am sorry I didn’t come see you sooner, Alicia; I know your father wanted you to have nothing to do with our side of the family, but we still hold a lot of influence, even if we aren’t Silverdalen nobility anymore.” Back when Silverdale actually had a noble class, the Goldenhearts were among the most influential, in part due to her grandmother’s status as an archmage and weapons manufacturer, and her father and sister holding high ranks in the armed forces. “That’s why I wanna make it up to you now.”

“Why thank you for such kindness.” Alica blushed. “I know that as an adult and a former candidate, I am freed to decide my own destiny. Of course, I try to honor the legends of Blanca, as you saw beforehand.”

“Good to hear that,” Shana replied, “But perhaps I can teach you some of the things about Mom they don’t typically talk about in the history books. I can invite a few friends of mine that know her too to help out, and if we are able to drive away these beasts from Silverdale, we can go see her, even.”

“Hm, that will be interesting to know yes.” Alicia then nodded. “Well, once things around Silverdale and the Fairy Alliance settle down, the forces of winter will weaken. That’s how the stories told us to be kind and peaceful. But there are so many…. Degenerates who don’t get it.” She shook her head. “But nevermind that grandma, we’ll need some good help to hold this little town.”

“Don’t you worry, Alicia,” Shana was glad to hear that her great-granddaughter was receptive to the idea, “I’ve made a lot of connections over the years serving Dyste and my time with my own grandma, so there’s a lot of favours and requests I can ask for. The only thing I ask for in return is that when you have moments to rest, can we sit and talk together, like we did in the cafe? I’d like to know you better, and see if we can also help each other improve; I’ve been a teacher most of my life, but I’m still open to learning myself!”

“Why yes grandma.” Alicia said. “There is a lot to learn as well… Of course I hope that the little peeveness from my campaign… well lessons as the war goes on.”

“And who knows, maybe someday we’ll be able to go to the beach again,” Shana chuckled. “I know this cute fox who loves the beach, she’d love it here…” she gave a sigh, “I just hope it’s still here by the time the war ends.”

“The snow will melt away, and the beach should be restored in the near future.” Alicia said. “It’s unlikely that it’ll turn into a glacier soon.”

“Good, because a lot of my friends and I will be likely taking a vacation here when it’s done,” Shana winked. “But for today, let’s enjoy our drinks we had before being rudely interrupted. And perhaps we can have a talk on how you can become a great heroine in your own right, sweetie.”

Alicia gave some amount of hesitation for a second. “Oh right. I’d love to become a heroine of Silverdale and honor my bloodline’s sake. But let’s get a quick drink, and allow my folks to clean this place up.”

“Gotcha!” Shana had taken out a phone and was making some texts. “Don’t worry, I’m just contacting those friends… so I guess first we gotta come up with a name for you…”

[Malgrave]

Penguin City, Silverdale

It was said that out of all of the Territorial Defence Force that the 2nd Infantry Division was the most prestigious and battle hardened, as from the ruins of Operation Swift to the final days of the National Workers’ Republic and the efforts to rebuild the Spirean nation the 2nd Infantry Division had been in the thick of the action, and for that reason being informed that you were being transferred to the division was quite a pleasing moment for a young conscript and their extended family.

In Silverdale, however, the soldiers weren’t thinking about the glorious actions of the past but getting sorted with the business of the present, with the conscripts moving with practiced ease to move artillery pieces into position as growing intelligence came in that the horde was approaching Penguin City itself, as long it was delayed, however, the engineers would have time to improve the defences and vulnerable citizens would have more time to escape the conflict and move to safer areas of the country or abroad in assigned apartment complexes in Malgrave and the Research Colony.

It happened as soon as the enemy horde approached within 30 kilometres, a bright shining arc of light and smoke that signified that the 1st Artillery Brigade (Pakosc) had started engaging the enemy, a verifiable barrage as the conscripts prepared to fire thousands of rounds of ammunition over the course of 30 minutes, the cycle repeating once more when the first of the artillery pieces had fired had finished reloading.

In addition to the firepower being utilised against targets on the ground, the 2nd Infantry Division had also brought with them self-propelled artillery in order to deal with potential airborne threats highlighted in earlier threat assessment briefings, around two dozen of these MalDef 81 were assigned to the Division and the ones in an adequate firing position let loose short and controlled bursts to assist their Dornalian friends, after all it would be quite awkward if they accidentally shot down a friendly aircraft.

New Snowdale, Silverdale

While those in the 3rd Infantry Division protecting New Snowdale from the approaching horde didn’t have the sheer rate of firepower granted by the presence of the MLDS being utilised in Penguin City they did have one noticeable advantage to their fellow conscripts, range. As while the 1st Artillery Brigade had to wait for the enemy to enter into a range of 30 kilometres to open fire those in the 3rd Self-Propelled Artillery Brigade opened fire as soon as they received confirmation that the enemy was around 70 kilometres away.

It was a dull and repetitive task to constantly fire and reload the 54 assembled artillery pieces of the 3rd Self-Propelled Artillery Brigade, however, it was a task that the TDF conscripts had relentlessly trained in for months and had repeated in numerous training exercises and international operations over the years, and so the constant thud of artillery would sound as the Territorial Defence Force moved to halt the advance of the monsters, of course, it was understood that the enemy would eventually reach closer to the walls but the longer the TDF could slow down the advance of the approaching horde the more time they were giving civilians to escape the violence.

It wasn’t just the Territorial Defence Force that had been deployed to assist in the defence of New Snowdale, and the Royal Air Force made its presence known as a flight of Avro Dove’s laden with anti-ground weaponry flew over New Snowdale, with a similar number of Avro Arrows following quickly behind to provide required protection from any airborne threats attempting to intercept the Dove's, quite a risky move considering the rapidly worsening weather but the Royal Air Force was confident that it could deliver a few important strikes against important enemy positions before being forced to ground.

????

Vixen the reindeer found herself awakened in a small blank white room, behind a steel table. Her backed ache as she was confused on how she even arrived at this place! Only a faded glass and a cat bird poster of ‘hang in there’ was on the far end of the wall. The reindeer’s horns faded glow as she tried to escape by a dimension door out of here, but a strain pain of some suppressor band on her horn and hands pretended such an attempt.

“W-What’s going on here!” Vixen shouted.

In a darkened corner of the blank room Vixen would just be able to see a menacing swirl of purple magical energy, the image punctuated by a short uncontrollable burst of laughter as a figure recognised that the Silverdalean had attempted to escape her current predicament but had failed.

“I certainly hope that you didn’t suspect that we would forget to put anti-magical restraints on you, criminal.” Molnar said striding confidently against the room and taking a standing position opposite the former Minister, “I belong to an organisation that is quite proficient at holding those capable of performing the magical sciences, and we don’t act lightly when dealing with potential traitors,” the Malgravean continued her eyes glazing over for a few seconds as she remembered a previous incident from quite a few decades ago before she kept up her opener, “You should know that my counterparts are investigating your home as we speak. It is only a matter of time until information is uncovered linking you to Cynthia’s treasonous agenda, however, you seem to be quite the smart Silverdalean so I imagine that you recognise somewhere that giving reliable information on your fellow criminals is the only way you are going to get out of this situation with any remains of your dignity.”

“Organisation? Dignity? You speak highly from a totalitarian and illegal group called SIS who barred magi from your lands for decades, and suppress many rights of your people. You should have thanked Cynthia for no form of intervention that would have… I suppose we ended your childish civil war in a heartbeat.” She then obviously frowned. “But even if I did tell you this ‘agenda,’ that’d be a betrayal of my friendship with Cynthia.”

“Really? I thought someone involved in the government had to possess some manner of intelligence but I have been left rather disappointed by your assumptions here,” Molnar said faking disinterest in Vixens words with practiced ease, “It is quite something to proclaim that an organisation that was quite vital for ensuring the continued existence of the Malgravean state is an illegal group, however, I suspect that you’ve been misinformed somewhere down the line and you haven’t bothered to find out the truth,” she said, “I suppose you can’t imagine the instability that would’ve been caused if someone also mentioned that we had these strange new magical abilities? It was good for the nation that such a truth was kept from those unable to hear it. Just look at what Silverdale has endured? All of this chaos and disharmony all because you can’t control your magical talents.

“Oh please! Your people don’t have any idea on how to resurrect the dead. Let alone a god!” Vixen interjected. “So don’t give me that excuse. Your country was in a civil war. I may be old, but a new wooden stick that shoots fireballs in the wrong side is something you not only want to prevent, but use for yourself. But this ‘agenda’ isn’t something any poor sap with magic can do without dying themselves… So are you curious about that or you’re withering down my hearing.”

“You don’t just win a civil war with weaponry, criminal. In order to achieve victory and prevent defeat you need the populace on your side and you don’t achieve that by adding unstable elements such as the discovery of these magical arts,” Molnar said with a sigh, “...but we are not here to discuss the policies of my homeland we are here to talk about your treason against the Silverdalean people. I mean resurrecting the dead and this self-proclaimed god? I doubt a creature as pathetic as you could amass such a power.”

“Yes...We agree on that point. Resurrection isn’t some silly comic book or cartoon power that anyone uses on a whim. That’s a childish view of it.” Vixen gave a sigh. “Nor was I serious about this purse. However, Cynthia was curious about this part a few years after we’re out of office and asked me if this was possible for Garyx. Back then…” Vixen frozen for a second. “It was a passion project as we had so much freedom and access. All before I knew that Cynthia truly intended to resurrect Garyx. As Garyx’s soul is bound by her prison and no life stone you dug out can be a basis for a simple resurrection…. What was it… Oh yes, an old book from the library of Black Clover on such explanation… A ritual of hate, a vessel, and a will is the key to resurrect Garyx.”

“You mean to say that someone that you used to work with contacted you for information on the resurrection of this Garyx, a being that carved a path of death and destruction through Silverdale in the past and you didn’t see fit to contact the authorities? You are admitting to quite the lapse in judgement here,” Molnar said, deciding to take a more cautious approach to the tone of her voice since her suspect had not decided to volunteer information, “What do you imagine Cynthia was even going to do with this information? Garyx was sealed for a good reason, so why did Cynthia want to release her? Did she have a wish to see Silverdale and other nation's destroyed?”

“That… I don’t know. All I know is my… perhaps foolish acceptance of her sob story to break free of her circle of death and rebirth from a demonic deity. But I doubt she’d wanted Silverdale to be destroyed… Only parts of it that she didn’t like.” Vixen said.

Molnar paused for a few seconds to take the information in, the Malgravean understood a little bit about a cycle of death and life just one brought about by technology instead of the magical sciences, “Just how did Cynthia expect to destroy only parts of Silverdale? It is quite clear that Garyx isn’t interested in targeted destruction.”

“Oh, I suppose Cynthia would have gathered her divine strength and assembled some cursed demons to strike when… I assume when Derpicorn is destroyed by the ice monsters.” Vixen said. “The one thing I remember dearly is that Cynthia hated that city and its people as they usually opposed her.”

“You are saying that Cynthia is all causing all of this chaos and destruction because the people of this Derpicorn didn’t support her politically?” Molnar asked, resisting the urge to slam her palm against her forehead, “Apart from yourself, who else did Cynthia contact for support? I can’t imagine that she did this with the support of only one other person.”

“Doubtful. To escape her cycle, she might have aimed to become divine or some miracle to do so. Oh… maybe Cythnia would ask people to worship her after Derpicorn is gone.” Vixen shook her head. “What I do know… Which my last days might be soon… Is that the closest allies are her sisters. Ceres and Caledon was it? Ah yes those two. If you want to know everything, you need to capture one of them.”

“I can’t think of a more delusional and foolish plan,” Molnar said in an incredibly monotone voice before moving onto the subject at hand, “Is that it? You never saw or heard Cynthia talk to anyone else about her scheme? She never mentioned getting information from someone else? Regardless I hope you also have information on the hideout of these sisters.”

“The sisters likely retreated in a hideout in the valleys at Gallia.” Vixen admitted. “As for… anyone else, there were those hooded folks that… I can’t tell if they’re alive or real at all. Only one is some green fairy and… I forgot it. I think I had a vacation in the Fairy Alliance once with Cynthia… But that is it. I’m retired and my day in politics to Cynthia’s inner circle is limited beyond research projects.”

“Gallia? I’ll have to make a note to visit this hideout in the future and entertain these relatives of Cynthia, ” Molnar said mostly to herself, “You are quite fortunate that we are in Silverdale today, criminal. If this was my homeland then you would be sent to face charges of treason, however, instead you’ll be handed over to the Silverdalean authorities. It will be up to them to determine your fate.”

“Treason… That means... “ Vixen froze like a deer who looked at a bright car light. “No! They’ll sentence me to the Ice Cube! I don’t want to see Baneguin! He does terrible things to people and snap people’s backs.”

“Oh? I imagine that you won’t get charged with treason by the Silverdalean authorities if you cooperate with them and provide them with all the information on Cynthia’s crimes,” Molnar said, quite displeased over the weakness that she suspected the Silverdaleans would employ, “I mean really? A prisoner snapping fellow inmates backs? I am almost tempted to travel to this Ice Cube to teach this Baneguin a lesson.”

“You’d be terrified once you meet him in person. He’s a large and scary emperor penguin. A criminal mastermind who bested many officers from Lothar’s Law School!” Vixen said.

“If I was terrified of every large and strong being that I came across during my lifetime I would’ve been killed several times over, however, I am still standing and those that once stood so tall and mighty are long dead just like that golem you sent after me,” Molnar said not bothering to act the fact that she could be quite scary from time to time, “I doubt that I have much time to execute this troublemaker though so I will leave it to the Silverdalean authorities to continue to mishandle his imprisonment but it seems like our business here is concluded, no? I now have additional traitors to hunt down.”

“It was a security alert.” Vixen vexed. “Incase… You know, someone broke or harmed someone inside my home. But don’t expect Cynthia’s sisters to fall so easily.”

“I suspect that it was because you feared that someone would enter your workshop and discover your crimes, however, I will allow you to live with your lies in peace,” Molnar said, not bothered by the admission, “It would be rather boring if they fell easily, yes? I mean part of the fun is gained in crushing their spirits but I suppose you might be able to learn of their fates in the future, however, for now I say farewell.” the Malgravean said bowing incredibly briefly towards Vixen before she left the room, a part of her team would be on hand to escort the Silverdalean to the local authorities but Molnar was already busy on her way to secure information on the hideout mentioned earlier.

[Glaristant]

OOC:Collab with Dyste

Over the Dragon Sea, en route to Riverdale
Arnwehr Airship Avalon

The route between Silverdale and Glaristant had always been a treacherous one, between the random storms and dangerous beasts it was practically guaranteed to cause anyone who travelled it trouble. The start of the current crisis in the South had made it a veritable suicide mission for anyone who was unprepared. The crew of the Avalon, while prepared for the storms, had learned the latter lesson all too well as their vessel had come under a ferocious assault by a linnorm and an umbral dragon of all things! The airship had taken hit after hit, nearly being forced into the turbulent seas below after having been wrapped by the linorm and hit by a blast of the umbral’s breath weapon. Fortunately for the crew of the vessel, Captain Armisted had managed to shake the linnorm by running through a pair of narrow peaks, which had given the crew enough time to launch a counterattack.

The sound of the ships guns bellowing could be heard as a pair of figures dodged ferocious blasts of shadow and ice from the beasts, all the while they charged across the decks, with one of the two even managing to get on the umbral dragon’s back. The figure, a tall white haired and silver scaled dragon woman clad in a white body suit and ruby cloak, clung to the beast for dear life as she inched her way along its back to deliver the killing blow. As the winds roared around her she dug her silver axe into the creature’s hide, using it to scale the beast before leaping onto its back. She tossed two bombs towards the head of the creature, which exploded in a blinding bursts as she leapt onto the creature’s head, all the while her axe pulsated with an overpowering silver light as she bellowed, “Perish in the name of Brasa, you abomination!” The axe made a sickening crunch as it cleaved through the bone and tissue of the creature, leaving nothing but a spray of blood as the linnorm’s head detached from its body, all the while the tanager lept from the rapidly descending corpse and landed with a thud on the hard metal of the airship, “....Phew...Honestly, even with Bracel I am still a bit rusty. Even still….got to admit that was fun. Don’t you agree, sis!”

“Yes, quite right, Sister!” The other figure said, carrying a golden axe that seemed to be the twin of the silver one. She was a Draconid with the same black-and-gold pattern of the king, a sign of a member of the House of Blackfang. Of course, anyone in Dyste or Glaristant would recognise the Adventurer Princess of Dyste, Tynah Blackfang. “But did you have to take the best part of the battle yourself? I wished to try my skill against one of these beasts!”

The silver scaled figure cleaned the viscera off her axe as she moved to her sister’s side, giving her a light boop as she chuckled, “Oh come now, sis! What sort of paladin would I be if I didn’t go all out when I am fighting the enemy? Certainly not a good one!” The tanager, known to her allies as Veleon, was lesser known in comparison to her sister, given that she was a relatively new creation after all. She chuckled as she felt a wave of irritation coming from within her, mostly likely from her host, “Easy, Ey….I know you want credit for this, but you know we have to share it when we’re in this form. Anyways….” Veleon smiled as she patted Tynah’s back, all the while the pair heard the roar of the umbral dragon, “Well sis….It seems like you have the opportunity to do just that. Tell you what….I’ll let you take this one, deal?”

“YAY!” Tynah was feeling high in spirit, and it appeared that this in turn seemed to raise the fighting spirit of those around her! Perhaps it was something inherited from her father, but the princess’s power to improve the abilities of those around her was just as valuable as her own prowess. Leading a small group towards the creature in a move that was known as the Blackfang Charge; Tynah surrounded herself with four allies powered up by her aura, and they charged into the fray, dealing damage to the dragon before Tynah herself concentrated on finding a weak point in its scaly hide. Focusing her family line’s strength into one blow, she landed a critical strike, felling the beast! “GHAHAHA! Exceptional job, my friends! That should be the last major one in this stretch of the trip! Let us make haste for Silverdale!”

Veleon clapped as she saw the beast go down, all the while struggling to hold back laughter at the site of her sister charging ahead. Five hundred years of training, missions, and a lifetime as a royal knight had done little to change her from the headstrong youth she had been back during their early missions together. A part of Veleon was frustrated at her sister’s recklessness in charging such a dangerous beast, yet at the same time she could not help but be in awe at how well she and the members of Squad Argent fought. It was like she was watching an intricate ballet of battle as the quartet dispatched the beast, something which Veleon herself was unable to achieve even in spite of her considerable prowess. She moved to her sister’s side, embracing her as she spoke, “Sister, two things. First, well done. It seems your skills with those tides of yours have not faded over the past five hundred years. Honestly, I might have to get you to teach me that at some point. Secondly…” The tanager frowned as she gave her sister a solid boop on her muzzle, before giving a hearty chuckle, “I would appreciate it if you do not try to usurp command of my men. You may be a Royal Knight, dear sister….but you forget that when it comes to Arnwehr missions, the Grand Master issues the orders! That being said….I will overlook it for now.”

Tynah pouted at Veleon’s booping, “Come now, sister, that was uncalled for… and besides, I think you shall find that my tides are not just something anything can learn, I doubt Jacobi or Lothar could have used such techniques. Even Lila told me some of my techniques seemed innate to me.” She put away her axe, it vanished and the sash across her chest got a patch in the shape of it. Pressing another one, she pulled out a sword of Cornerian make, “Now, I shall be practicing my skill before our landing. Do not worry, I shall not use your men as training dummies, you made it clear the first time!”

Veleon shook her head as her axe vanished within her cloak, as she turned to head below decks, “Perhaps sister, but you forget my….better half might just allow me to replicate those tides. And see that you do….Brasa...well I should say my better half knows that your little spar left two of my men in the infirmary for a week last time you used them as training dummies!” She turned back to face her sister, “By the way, Tynah….Thank you for coming with us. I know Eyvel may not say it, but she...and I have missed having you around, let alone fighting by your side.”

Tynah admittedly didn’t fully understand the whole process behind Veleon; something about getting a small fraction of her goddess’s power or something? But it did appear to make her sister more cheerful and happy, and that was good enough for her! “So then, if you do not wish for me to injure your squadron, perhaps you wish to challenge me yourself? I trust that I have learned plenty since last time!”

Veleon was somewhat taken aback by Tynah’s offer of a challenge, but it was not unwelcome. Admittedly she was still somewhat unused to fighting in this form, but with the combined knowledge and experience of Eyvel and her patron she was sure she could at least give the princess a challenge. Veleon reached into her cloak, withdrawing a silver falchion of Reinvelian make as she fell into a fighting stance, “Very well, sister. I will accept the challenge, but I do feel the need to warn you that you are not the only one who has learned much since our last duel...Well since you and Ey’s last duel at any rate. Just promise me you will not pout when you lose!”

“I was going to tell you the same thing, sister!” Tynah pressed another patch on her sash and pulled out a second blade as she went on the offensive! The battle between the two would last for a few hours, with nice decisive winner; while they both managed to land blows on the other, none were a decisive blow. “Hah…” Tynah would’ve been sweating if Draconids were capable of it. “Not bad, sister…”

“Well….done, sister. I must...say, I’m impressed you can keep up with me, even in this form. Although….did you have to use your tail to wield that third sword. That’s kind of cheating don’t you thin….” Veleon panted as she stowed her sword, only to be cut off by the bellowing of the captain over the ship’s PA system announcing that they had arrived in Riverdale. Veleon looked out over the shoreline, seeing a vast network of frozen canals and rivers weaving through the terrain along with snow capped forests that stretched onto the horizon. To the south, underneath the Avalon she saw a vast city dominated by towering skyscrapers with an elegant silver finish that was illuminated by gentle azure lights. This was the city of Silverwoods, a large metropolis within the State of Riverdale, a city which from what she recalled was home to a rather sizable population of dragon elves and their arctic elf kin. She had been here once before a century prior on one of her last missions prior to retiring from field duty, but the city had been vastly different then both in terms of size and atmosphere with it being far more lively then. She sighed as she took one last glance over the railing before making her way towards the stairs to the lower decks, waving for Tynah to follow. The pair weaved through the decks, with Veleon occasionally stopping to issue orders to her white armored soldiers and mercs, until at last they arrived at the hangar deck. Before them were assembled twelve individuals clad in suits of sleek white power armor and bristling with all manner of weaponry, ranging from fiercesome looking missile launchers and heavy rifles, to lethal looking blades of all sorts. The twelve saluted simultaneously as Veleon and Tynah came to a halt, all the while she gestured towards them, “Tynah….I’d like you to meet Argent Squadron, my personal cadre of troops as well as some of the best students I have trained over the years. Each of them is a capable knight or paladin and will serve us well in our mission here. With that being said….” Veleon found herself cut off once again as she felt a firm hand on her shoulder, as she turned around to see a towering sarkesh with dragon like features wearing a white suit of armor with a silver pair of crossed swords on her shoulder pad. She smiled as she saluted the shark dragon, all the while struggling not to chuckle, “Well it’s about time you joined us Besara. I thought we were going to have to depart without you.”

The shark dragon and argent squad laughed at Veleon’s remark, all the while Besara rolled her eyes, “Ey...do ye honestly think I would pass up a chance to work with ye and little Tynah again? Well I suppose I should say big Tynah now, given how ye have grown quite a bit since I last saw ye. Anyways….Argent and I be ready to depart when ye two are. Yer daughter will be dropping us off here and landing the rest of Havoc Company in the city to await the arrival of the rest of the convoy.”

Tynah had of course heard of Argent Squadron before, but this was the first time that she had a chance to meet them in person. Of course, the princess herself had her own students, many of whom subsequently joined the Knights, but she was known for an incredibly tough training regiment that few could handle, leading her amount of successes to be quite small. “Ah, so this is what you have built from your team back then. I suppose that it is certainly an upgrade from having the likes of Arem around, GHAHAHA! … ah, but who do we have here?” She looked over Besara, “Oh, Diega? No, wait… Besara? Oh, right, did you… gah, never mind… it is wonderful to be seeing you again!”

“You’re half right, Tynah. I am partially Diega, but I also be her first mate Narris as well! I be what ye lot would call a fusion, same with Lady Veleon here.” The shark dragon patted the princess on the head as she chuckled, “I can tell ye about the specifics of it later if ye like, lass. Nevertheless, it be good to see ye again. I have to admit, I am a wee bit shocked to see that little Ey is having you accompany her. Last I heard ye two were not on speaking terms….” The shark dragon went silent as she heard Veleon cough, turning her gaze to her to reveal a somewhat cross looking tanager.

“Besara...perhaps it would be best if you watch what you say on such matters, especially considering I will need your silver tongue later on. At any rate, they are indeed quite the upgrade from the old team, not to say the first Argent Squad was not skilled. I suppose you could say, each and everyone of them is a prized pupil of mine….and family.” The tanager gave a warm smile as she motioned for Argent, Tynah, and Besara to gather around her. She beamed with pride as she saw her beloved students, her friend, and sister fall in with them seemingly eager to get started, “Alright….You lot know I am not much for sentiment, but I would be remiss not to say this….I am proud of all you have accomplished during our long journey here, as well as what you will achieve during our campaign. The road ahead is rough, especially considering that we are facing what may very well be the prelude to the end of life as we know it. With that being said….Do not fear what is ahead, but instead trust in your comrades and your training. Do that, stick together and we will make it through this. Faugh en Bellach!” Veleon shouted to the raucous cheers of Squad Argent who returned the shout, some nearby members of Havoc Company, and Besara.

As the troops made their way to their waiting transport, Veleon stepped towards one of the nearby windows and looked out over the city, seemingly lost in thought, “Sister….Tell me something, you do not think I am giving them false hope, do you? I...know they are skilled, but so was my Veske and look what happened to him when faced with foes like these...”

“Ey… erm, I mean Veleon…” Tynah was still getting used to that, “I understand that there is danger in this, but that is the case for any mission. You think either of us were prepared for our first adventure together? I mean, I thought I was, but soon I found myself far over my head. But I learned from that, developed new skills and strategies, became a better warrior and person as a result of it. Sure this may be dangerous, but the challenge is what will bring the best out of them.”

Veleon knew her sister was still getting used to her new self, especially considering this was the first time Tynah had spent more than a few hours with her while she was in this form. Perhaps with time she would just come to see it as another side of her, but it mattered little for right now. Regardless, her sister did make a good point with what she had said. It was true that the two of them had been in over their heads at various points throughout their respective careers, but they had always managed to make it through via some means or another, “I...I know. Veske and I trained them well and they have only grown to be more capable over the years. Perhaps….you’re right, sister. Thank you.” Veleon said as the two of them made their way to the waiting vtol, all the while the airship began its slow descent to the waiting port below.

Dragonlover Village, Dyste

The sounds of battle could be heard coming from the dojo of the village, with the whirring of shuriken and clashes of filling the air. A fetchling coughed as she fell back, just narrowly avoiding a wakizashi blade to the throat before countering with a quick strike of her urimi. The fetchling smiled as she wrapped the blade around her opponent, bringing the cow like ninja to the ground with a heavy thud. The kayal offered the bovine her hand, saying “Not bad, Miraden. Perhaps with a few more lessons you will be able to best me….or not.”

Miraden took the hand of the kayal; the heavyset Bovinian was strong but a big target, making her prowess as a ninja with some holes. “Oof… c’mon, you’re so quick on your feet. Maybe I should’ve just become an axe-wielding warrior like a lot of my compatriots… but I like it here too much with you all!” While many members of the clan were born in the village, some, like the two of them, came from outside, being recruited by other members.

“Well….to be fair, Mira...I do have a bit of an unfair advantage over you.” the kayal chuckled as she patted her full moon pendant, all the while helping the bovine up, “Anyways, no I think the way of the ninja suits you well. Same here, I...couldn’t think of going back to my old life, especially given how fond I have grown of you lot, as well as a certain elf.” The kayal smiled as she patted the bovine’s head. Avril had to admit that she had at first been skeptical of joining the clan when her sponsor had first offered, but after all she experienced with her sisters she would not have had it any other way.

“Aw, thanks!” Mira gave a moo after being patted on the head. “Well, it sure beats working at the ranch all the time!” Dystan Bovinians were known for having a bit of a reputation as strong warriors alongside farming, but Mira took a different approach to most when she met her future mentor. “So do you know how Shana is doing, anyways? I heard she went to Silverdale to see some family…”

“You’re welcome, Mira. I’ll tell you what….Hold on” Avril went silent as she felt her phone ringing, all the while she reached into her training uniform, pulling out her cellphone displaying ""Hanging out with my great-granddaughter in Silverdale. Wanna come join me?" It seemed like Shana’s timing couldn’t be any better or at the very least she seemed to have a sixth sense about when her name was mentioned. Regardless, Avril had been hoping her best friend would want to get her involved, as the Umbra dragons only knew how boring it was getting around the compound without shana to keep things lively, “Oh S-sha is doing great, Mira. Before she left, we actually got to go on a nice little vacation to Undellah together, as well as had a pleasant date on the beach there together! By the way, it seems like she wants me to join her for a little fun in Silverdale. That being said, are you up for coming along?”

“Oh, totally!” Mira bounced up, “This’ll be more exciting than just laying around here. It’s been a while since I’ve last gone there.” Last time she heard that Hinoka was taking a team to investigate something on behalf of one of their members who was in the election? With quite a few of their best members on that mission, they hadn’t had any real mission in a while. “Good thing that Blake guy set up that warpy thing for us to use!” She was referring to the teleportation circle. “Um, but where exactly is Shana anyways? Yes, I know Silverdale, but where in there exactly? It’s a big country after all!”

“She is in Peppermintia, if memory serves. She was going there to spend some time with one of her great grand daughters...Alicia I think her name was? Anyways, I think the town she’s in should have a teleportation glyph nearby, if not we could always take a short cut through the shadow plane if need be.” The kayal chuckled as she led the bovine to the glyph, stepping up onto the pedestal before snapping her fingers. The kayal’s body reshaped, growing somewhat more muscular as she became covered in fur with several feline like features, all topped out by a pair of golden eyes, “Ooh definitely feels good to be back to my true self! Anyways, are you ready to get going kiddo?”

“Sure thing!” Mira said, looking over Avril’s transformation, “It’s so cool you can do that! Makes me almost wish for something like that… but I like how I am, in spite of being a little slow.” Mira activated the glyph, letting them teleport away from Dyste and to Silverdale! This was rather convenient for them, making what likely would’ve been a day’s worth of travel take a few seconds! It was one of the reasons teleportation in Dyste was both highly valued but also highly regulated. The only reason members of their clan were able to use such a thing was because of a connection to the government. “So then, should we seek her out, Avvy?”

“Sounds like a capital idea, Mira!” Avvy said as she clutched her hand, “By the way if you really do want to be able to transform that badly, I could always give you a little nip.” Avril remarked the two reappeared in a strange room decorated with all manner of polar iconography, as she sniffed the air around them, “Hrm….I can just barely smell her. Seems like she’s on the edge of town.”

Mira was taken aback by Avril’s suggestion, but she knew it was in jest, “Y-yeah, I’ll pass, thanks… but it appears we’ve made it.” She was still getting used to the travel between the two nations, she had only been to Silverdale twice before this. “So let’s get going! Maybe you might be able to sneak up on her this time, especially if she’s distracted by a big moocow!”

The werepanther chuckled, nodding as she took off with the bovine in tow. The pair rapidly moved through the town as Avril followed the scent of her friend, before arriving at their destination of the beach after several minutes of running. The werepanther couldn’t help but smile as she saw her friend, slowly making her way over to her before ensconcing Shana in a furry embrace, “About time you sent word, S-sha! Honestly...do you know how boring it gets to be always being stuck staying back at the village to tend to the younglings and new recruits? At any rate, it’s good to see you...I trust your visit to your mom’s and here have gone well?”

Shana returned the hug, “Hey, you! And I see you’ve brought mooie too! Sorry about that, I had to deal with some family business,” Shana happened to be part of two of the largest families in the area, so there were many aspects to her family life. “In fact, technically I still am, I’m helping my great-granddaughter out with a little issue she’s having.”

“Wow, you really have a great-granddaughter?” Mira said, “But you barely look like you even have kids of your own, let alone that!”

“Family secret,” Shana winked. “But yeah, I’m helping Alicia out with defending the town here from monster attacks and the like. I know it’s hardly the biggest place to deal with, but I trust Hinoka and the others with their own missions, and, well… I also kinda want to teach Alicia with what a real heroine is like. She’s so enthralled with stories about my mom, but she needs to learn what they really mean for our family line if she wishes to be like her.”

Avril purred as she felt Shana return the hug, all the while she struggled not to chuckle, “It’s fine...I jest. At any rate….Mira and I would be happy to help you with defending the town, besides it would give us a chance to test out some of the new moves I’ve been teaching her. Plus it will be fun to see you in action again, S-Sha. It will be like old times…”

“Hey, c’mon, let me decide for myself,” Mira protested, “... but of course I’ll help out too. I wanna test my prowess here and show what I’ve learned.”

“Glad to hear it,” Shana chuckled, “I’ve got a few others arriving soon, so we’ll be ready for whatever comes this way. By the way, Avril, you’re getting better at stealth. Of course, I still noticed you coming, but for any normal person you’d definitely be able to catch them off-guard!”

[New Dornalia]

OOC: Part one of several for Dornalian replies!

IC:

Skies above New Snowdale

Cherise had expected to be assaulted by enemy fire. She just didn't expect this much enemy fire.

The Marine Aviator found herself and her five ship formation in the thick of a horde of ice drakes, as well as a huge horde on the ground itself. Her HUD lit up like a Christmas tree as multiple enemy contacts registered within seconds of arriving onto the scene. The F-45’s MARISA system was working overtime, tracking the multitude of enemy targets with any number of green boxes and stats flashing by. And, to top it all off, the warning buzzer indicating an enemy had missile lock on her screamed loud and clear.

Cherise’s WSO, almost redundantly, said of the situation, “Multiple bandits and Missile Lock, dead ahead!”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Cherise said with a roll of her eyes. The presence of fellow Rohanian and Malgravean pilots engaging the enemy were welcome, but things were rapidly growing into a shitshow. The weather didn’t help either. The Marines had taught her much at Edwards, but even the most harrowing Platypus Run didn’t compare to the sheer scale in front of her. For a moment, Cherise felt a flash of fear, as she racked her brain trying to figure out what to do next.

But, in good Dornalian fashion, any fear would be but for a moment.

She then calmly, suppressing her increasing concern over the situation, communicated with the other Dornalians.

“This is Drumbeat Actual to Drumbeat Team, I repeat, Drumbeat Actual to Drumbeat Team, I have come under fire and am engaging in evasive maneuvers. All units provide support as requested to our people out there--watch yourselves, bandits are everywhere.”

WIth that, Cherise did the first possible thing she could think of, and banked hard to the right while deploying countermeasure flares to evade the enemy rockets. The speed and agility of the F-45--remarkable for such a rather large “bomb truck”--combined with the flares would enable Cherise to escape. As she flew by, she flew danger close to an enemy ice drake, and only the fact the F-45 was that much faster enabled Cherise to escape before the drake decided to hunt her down.

Cherise was of course, busy trying to survive and get back into the fight. However, if she could have looked, she would have seen two of the other F-45s of Drumbeat Team begin unleashing what could only be described as a shower of missiles upon Thanatos’s forces. As the allies of Dornalia would no doubt be able to witness, foul necromancy was met with an implausibly, ludicriously large amount of air-to-ground ordinance, consisting of proton torpedoes being fired over and over as well as bursts of gauss fire, all directed at the hordes. With impressively spiraling pigtails and wobbly, unstable looking flight paths, the torpedoes would nonetheless strike true, ripping open gaps in the enemy hordes.

And, that same fury would present itself in the air as well. For while two of the F-45s began rampaging against the enemy ground forces, two of them would begin ducking and weaving, supporting one another in a two-plane formation as they began to hunt for ice drakes. They too would be treated to bursts of gauss fire and proton torpedoes.

But the craziest fight was yet to come….namely because a particular threat emerged as Cherise was leveling out. A large, white dragon with blue eyes--and perched atop it, a figure. The would be Night King.

It appeared that Cherise would collect on that bar bet sooner rather than later.

The Lieutenant was not deterred by the presence of a new, monstrous foe. Despite the WSO’s concerns, Cherise muttered a few, fateful words.

"Hold on, I got this."

With a frown, and a steady hand, Cherise realized that the Night King was closing on her location rapidly. She could try to evade it, but it was, for a moment, like the rider of the Ice Dragon locked eyes with her, and pointed at her plane ominously.

Perhaps out of instinct, perhaps out of audacity, perhaps out of some Dornalian inability to let a challenge slide, Cherise picked a surprisingly theatrical option.

Namely, she first pulled back aggressively on the stick. The F-45 would soon itself being asked to go from a relatively level, stable flight path, to suddenly lurching back, exposing its underside as the plane slowed dramatically, with warning klaxons blaring and the WSO screaming, “What the fuck!?”

“I told you, I’ve--”

Cherise then tapped a number of dialogue options on the control panel’s touchscreen. From the outside, the plane would suddenly and rapidly transform from a mere fighter-bomber into a humanoid, bipedal figure in rapid order. Cherise then pushed the stick forward, throwing the mecha forward in mid air so it now faced the incoming Ice Dragon.

“--got this!”

Then, opening the throttle and pulling out what looked like a giant lightsaber, Cherise grinned and shouted, “Let’s dance, fucker!”

The other forces on the ground and in the air would be thus treated to the sight of a lone Marine Aviator’s mecha rapidly closing with a large dragon, much as a samurai from a chanbara film charged his opposite number in a duel. All of this--the transformation, the invocation of Pugachev’s Cobra, the kamikaze run--would take place in a matter of seconds.

With a quick downwards diagonal slash, the mecha would slash at the dragon with the lightsaber, before quickly deactivating the sword and holstering it. Then, Cherise decided to enact the next part of her plan.

Namely, Cherise would begin to grab onto the dragon’s neck while in midair with its left arm in a chokehold, and hold onto the dragon with its right arm while trying to wrap its legs around the dragon. Then, anyone witnessing the fight would see Cherise’s mecha try to use its thrusters on full blast to quickly attempt to drag the beast to the ground from its majestic flight, just as a wrestler would execute a DDT to drop his opponent to the ground.

The fight was on.

[Rintyar]

OOC: Collab with Silverdale and Dyste

“I haven’t even been back a week and things are already falling apart aren’t they?”

“Just be glad it isn’t here for once.”

Kaimara, Satara, and Arathiel walked together, having only barely gotten any respite from the conference. Satara in particular held a black coffee in her hands, made more to stimulate the mind into action than to please the taste buds.

They were in the busiest room of the Palace of the Empress, adorned plainly and bluntly in comparison to much of the rest of the magnificent locale. Multiple advisors walked around, having either just informed the trio about the ongoing situation or preparing to do any other number of tasks.

“Alright, the good news is that the Defense Clause means we can immediately begin diverting forces to Silverdale. All goes well, we might not be fighting this war for much longer.”

"Don't delude yourself, we'll need to prepare for this to drag on for a long time. Talk it over with your cabinet, I need to go make a few calls." Empress Kaimara said, immediately earning a bow from the Prime Minister.

The Empress took an aging phone sitting on the largest desk in the room, immediately pushing one of several unique keys, this one with the flag of Silverdale placed on it. An ancient but incredibly convenient machine, whenever the other members didn’t constantly replace their numbers at least.

Satara, for her part, would sit down with her administrative cabinet on the same desk, surrounded by her own advisors, a motley mix of Raizari, Drow, and Elven women, with one Jakeel in their midst. They would talk, though Kaimara already had ways of figuring out whatever they were discussing while she was busy, waiting for the Silverdaelan President to respond.

In a few moments, the phone was answered by none other than the President Elect herself, Miranda Songbird. “Hello! This is President Elect Miranda Songbird here! How can I help you Empress Kaimara?”

“It’s a pleasure, President Elect. I know the timing is bad, and I’ve already prepared a response to defend Silverdale from its current threats, but I feel it’s time to talk about the situation at hand. We’re going in with only whatever our intelligence agencies are sharing between us, and right now, the best thing we can do is help each other going forward by talking, trying to see what we can do to help each other more effectively.”

Kaimara tried to feign optimism, a difficult task given what exactly Miranda Songbird got elected for, but nonetheless erecting a fairly confident and trustworthy tone.

“Oh please, such a period of time isn’t bad to understand what happened in Silverdale at this time!” Miranda said. “Now, I suppose you wish to know the full details, or something quick and easy.”

“A synopsis will do for now, the rest of the situation can be explained to me by the intelligence types.” Kaimara said, still standing upright, standing vastly over every other figure around her.

“Right, I’ll keep it simple then. Silverdale faces a resurrected goddesses of Hate caused by Cynthia who showed herself as a megalomaniac, and attempted to sacrifice millions for her sick attempt to become an evil overlord. Right now, she disappeared, and as a result, the whole nation has faced an ice invasion in the scale of the civil war, if larger, threatens to destroy the nation as a whole.” Miranda explained. “This war is one we cannot accept a game over, as a possible new ice age will consume the land if we did. Right now, the Icy Coast is under siege, and monsters are crossing the Snow Sea to reach the mainland. Already there are sights of those creatures that landed on the Southern Coast.”

“A lot to take in.” Kaimara added, clearly a bit lost trying to understand some of her jargon, but still getting the vast gist of the overall theme. “But I understand. Rintyari military forces will make their way to Silverdale as soon as possible nonetheless. I will make sure our forces get in contact with the Silverdaelan military to make sure we can coordinate the defense of your country and people.”

Miranda hoped she didn’t turn into a talking head with so much jargon like in an old RTS. “Splendid! Our generals like Marshal Gywnie and the secretary of defense will help with such cooperation. We’ll also prepare the necessary winter kits for your forces as needed.”

“Excellent, we’ll keep in touch, I have to make more phone calls and meetings in the meantime. It appears we’ve both got a full plate on our hands.” Kaimara said, clearly trying to at least remain optimistic given the circumstances.

***

First to respond to the Silverdaelan’s plight was the Rintyari Imperial Navy’s 7th Surface Fleet and 10th Aeronautical Fleet. Aimed more at patrolling the calmer seas nearer to its allies, this would at least allow them an appropriately rapid response to the situation at hand. In spite of their older equipment, they still carried a significant complement of Imperial Marines, and enough firepower to make lesser forces shy from attacking either armada.

For Admiral Senkara, this was both an excellent opportunity to show their commitment to their allies, and at the same time a worryingly hasty deployment. In truth, there weren’t many other options, given the situation with Thalassium.

Between her and Rear Admiral Nathira’s own fleet, they had no more than 25 combat ships, flying or otherwise, between them, and only a few regiments of Imperial Marines. It was hardly the largest, most significant, or most well equipped military force presenting itself, but it was significant enough without risking the Rintyari borders to attack, at least.

Onboard the bridge of the RIN Surveyor, the spacious interior of the vessel meant that she had ample space to walk around compared to her last assignment, if still cramped by most standards. Information filtered through numerous screens and officers.

So far, the wild sea monsters of the Dragon Sea had kept their distance, Rintyari ships armed with more cannons than average for that precise purpose. The Surveyor’s first act of war since its commissioning in the 90s would come soon enough, as jet fighters were prepared on its flight deck.

For all of the efforts made with various REFORSIL exercises, ultimately coordination between the Dragon Sea Alliance members was still not up to scratch like the Rintyari had hoped, Admiral Senkara’s attempts to contact the Rohanians and Dystans proving difficult in the Silverdaelan Theatre of Operations, as the Rintyari had taken to calling it.

Without any good eyes from both the local country and allies, it would be hard to meaningfully coordinate any strikes against the foe, at least for as long as the Marines were still seaside.

The communication issue seemed to persist for some time, until Admiral Senkara heard a voice in her head, ... you hearing this? Please respond if you can hear me. I repeat, this is Admiral Nialis Kevelle of the Dystan Navy, are you hearing this…

Not entirely ignorant of magic, the Rintyari Admiral could only sigh and shake her head. I can hear you, admiral. We spent decades setting up a unified encrypted radio network, you know?

The Surveyor’s first strike fighters, aging but still combat capable, would begin to leave the deck, intended to do some reconnaissance on the Silverdalean mainland first and foremost, intent on identifying safe landing spaces and potential enemy threats.

The most encrypted source of communication relay is my mind, naturally, Nialis said. It was well-known among the members of the Dragon Sea Alliance that the head of the Dystan Royal Navy was a powerful psychic with a focus on telepathic communication. My apologies for the sudden intrusion, but I felt it necessary to get all of us on the same page… or it would be, but the Rohanians are causing me problems. That said, my fleet is approaching from Dyste; we had a scuffle with a linnorm, but thankfully casualties were kept to a minimum. I trust you have had no issues so far?

We’re fine. We’re already preparing planes to do reconnaissance and attack runs on forces hostile to the SIlverdaelan government. We’re planning on airdropping at least several regiments to help with evacuation and humanitarian efforts, but the rest of the Land-Admiral’s force is tied to both our fleet and the transport airships attached to Admiral Nathira’s own fleet.

Senkara saw more fighters leave the deck of the Surveyor, each loaded either for reconnaissance or strikes on ground forces. Whatever information they couldn’t gleam from the Silverdaleans, they would gather themselves.

Good to hear! The Royal Navy is bringing up the main force to this, but we hear that a Dystan mercenary group has been sent to deal with some monster attacks. Nialis was admittedly not happy about this to a degree, he felt their own forces would be more than capable of handling a threat like that, but he supposed that any additional help would be appreciated. Certainly better than getting help from the ninjas of all things… We will be going towards Silver City and planning out our moves with local forces, while airships are arriving for the transport of goods and people. My main concern is that we all coordinate our moves together. We are all on the same side, even if some do not act like they are so.

Our airships are moving as quickly as possible, they will arrive before this fleet does, at least. They can begin to take action against our foes if they attempt to take more actions against Silverdale. I’m afraid any reinforcements we get from here on out will be limited however, especially given the threat of Thalassium taking advantage of our situation.

Ah, of course, them, Nialis had some prior experiences with Thalassium; normally they were not a threat to Dyste, but they could be annoying to deal with. All the more reason to work together and to avoid unnecessary casualties. I will be keeping this telepathic link working so long as we remain in the area; just say, or rather think, my name if you need to get in contact with me.

Senkara, rather meaninglessly in hindsight, nodded in response. As you wish, make sure to use our shared communications networks for anything that doesn’t require the same security however, we spent an awful lot of money on it for a reason after all.

With that said, she would return to her own duties, monitoring everything within and without the vessel.

[New Dornalia]

Codename: Secret Cove
Summer Isle, Silverdale

The rally point for the expeditionary force where the Wrecking Crew will meet was the simple logging cabin campsite at the northern island of the summer Isle. A quick glance across the campsite was a collection of the best adventurers, trusted PMCs, to special force operators in the country. It primarily composed of the NAVY PENGUINS (which surprisingly had penguins and seallings in the ranks,) the White Berets, Task Force PONY, PEGASUS, Mystic Order, and the Arctic Knights. All selected in this critical operation are about to raid the most dangerous of prey: Great Fairy Emerald’s compound.


In the command post of the main cabin, General Hilda Ovealy, a bubble gun long ponytail swamling lady, looked out to the operators as she began her presentation. For the Wrecking Crew, it was a repetitive ‘what we already know’ and the current situation. That was until she brought up further intel. “We have a leaked source from Councilor Dawn Lightheart on the compound of Chancellor’s Emerald’s Villa and its threats.”

“So these threats? Giant butterflies that we have to clip their wings off?” The blue kitsune lady named Souccine snickered.

“Sorry Joker, but a butterfly fairy is the least of your worries. As Councilor Dawn will mention, the Villa is next to Marine Point near the grand lagoon and is heavily fortified with the worst foes. Be watchful as the smallest fairy can hide within the leaves of a tree, or the tree itself is a treant or wicked tree that will attack. By the terminology by Dornishmen, there is one enigmatic form that fits the name ‘Predator.’ It’s a rumor from the Dawn, but if the Chancellor is desperate enough or ice monsters have already landed, she’ll promise these Predators Hunt for them to come. As special forces, be mindful as you may become such prey.” General Hila explained.

“Do they use alien weaponry?” The 80s action hero android asked.

“No, but they’re fey beings with magical weapons and powers,” Hilda said. “Not to mention a form of a telepathic link to coordinate their efforts. If you see their presence, report to our intelligence officer, and we’ll see what we can find.”

To match the Silverdalean contingents were other Dornalian military sorts. Ms. Cameron recognized them all. Simulations and Proprietary Armaments types with augmentations. Marine Commandos. Army Special Operations Command. So on. The Crew and the others acknowledged each other with a nod. Everyone in the special operations community knew when ERIS sent people to play, and it was generally understood--even when it was painfully obvious that they did so--that the other special operators would maintain whatever fiction the ERIS teams had opted to adopt this time. And so it was that the Crew barely got any acknowledgment from the other Dornalians.

The Crew then listened to the briefing. Yes, it was mostly the same material, but the new threats on the horizon promised a very difficult campaign. Namely, the prospect of exotic wildlife, stealthy hunters, and guerilla fairies who would hide in the trees. One of the Crew, a woman with an elvish look about her but wolves' ears on her head, quipped to the other Dornalians in a strange Russo-Scandinavian accent, "It looks like the trees will be speaking fairyspeak." She then held up her customized Kadrian shotgun, with the axehead on the end, and said with a grin, "Guess I'll have to axe them a question, then!"

The other members of the Crew looked disturbed, not at the prospect of any potential unnecessary violence, but at the horrific pun they just endured. Ms. Plo herself, raising an eyebrow, turned to the woman and said, with some displeasure, "That sort of verbal diarrhea is why I'm glad my people keep to ourselves, Ms. Thunderhammer."

"Hmph. I was just keeping mood lively, but okay."

"Alright, alright, quiet down you two." Cameron motioned for them to calm down, the both of them, with a wave of her hand. Then, Cameron raised her hand and went, "Are these threats vulnerable to anti-magic abiliies?"

[Legokiller]

OOC: Collab with Dyste, RA, Malgrave, and Dornie
Dragonlover Clan Ship, outside of the hidden island, Silverdale

By a mysterious helper called the ‘Brass Sage,’ alongside help of Momiji Dragonlover’s intelligence, and Nico’s divination magic with Airus guidance, the dark island was found. A rocky tundra island nearby the largest Southern Islands. An island, which was otherwise a simple old castle, was swarmed with demonic penguins and other dark entities that fought against the Children of Garyx. A massive blizzard blew like a hurricane across the island, and its wave ravaged the place. In this whiteout darkness, there was a way for a plucky band to sneak their way towards it.

Normally Clan Dragonlover didn’t need a ship when it came to traversing between Dyste and Silverdale, but not every area of the land could be as easily reached by their usual methods. Of course, given the clan’s long-standing rivalry with the Royal Navy, they generally had issues with using their fleet, so in those cases, they used ships of their own! The ship itself looked like a rather innocuous merchant vessel, but like any good ninja, appearances could be deceiving!

Hinoka was nervous but also sort of relieved at the same time. She knew this wouldn’t end the Winter War, but it was a resolution to the thread her team was following for a few months. She was only the third leader of the clan, and had not served in the role nearly as long as her predecessor, so she still had much to prove in spite of her skills. “So this is it, hm? The island seems ominous enough at least.”

“Eeyup.” Momo snickered. “Cynthia’s clearly on the edge if she retreated to this place. Already the enemy is at her doorstep, and we’ll prune this ugly head off from the tree.”

“Uh, Momo was it?” Nico shyly walked up. “That's not how pruning the tree is supposed to mean. To prune is to eliminate an element of disharmony of the era to move closer to a true ideal of serenity.”

“Yes yes.” Momo gave an annoyed look. “If that fancy ancient druidic lore meant this part, then Cynthia’s idolization is the distraction and the snake, and we better remove her or the whole try dies when all things are said and done.” She then looked at Hinoka. “Anyway, I trust that you brought enough allies for this mission right? The castle might not look big on the outside, but there will be heavy resistance inside.”

“Well, I have called upon several of my own clan members,” Hinoka said; the dwarf had gotten several more to join her original group, which had consisted of the dragon elf Mishera, probably the strongest active member of the clan, her highly-skilled brother Quentin, Solis, a cat beastling and descendant of the sun oracle, Brandt, a Sarkesh that had been their seafaring expert, and Tala, granddaughter of Shana. She had wanted Shana herself for this mission, but she had another matter to attend to, so instead she called upon most of the active members not currently on a mission. “Of course, I fear that still may not be enough for this. Not everyone in the clan is on the skill level as the likes of Mishy and myself, after all.”

“Oh, sweet Momo has some very helpful contacts of course! I know the acting president approved of a superhero team, and with a little messenger… Well, I called in some favors for this mission!” Momo said.

One of said reinforcements came onto the stage with a massive shower of pyrotechnics, landing on the boat as if falling from a great distance. Fortunately it appeared that this wasn’t actually visible beyond the ship; a glamour effect on the vessel appeared to be masking them. Regardless, the individual was wearing impractically fancy silver armor in the form of a dragon, but it was clear that they were quite agile in spite of that, able to do a backflip onto the deck, “Greetings, my fellow heroes of justice! When evildoers hide from the shadows, it is up to the mysterious warrior known as the Silver Dragoon to arrive to save the day!”

Hinoka was taken aback by the sheer brazenness of this one, “Really, this is the type of help we’re getting? … wait a sec, ‘Silver Dragoon’? You mean like the Hero of Onrac in the Imperial War?”

“Ah, you know of my illustrious ancestor!” The Silver Dragoon posed again, balancing herself on one leg, “Indeed, he was quite the master of the lance, and fought the forces that conquered the land! I am his direct descendant, the successor to his legacy! Rejoice as I offer my expertise to you!”

“Right…” Hinoka knew there was an obvious problem there; the Silver Dragoon of old had no records of ever having any descendants; of course they knew his real identity by this point, not that most others knew his real name. “Momo, please tell me they aren’t all like… well… this.”

Momo paused and gave an odd glance over her shoulder to witness the next arrival! An angelic superheroine who descended from the heavens, and landed gracefully. Momo knew that the angelic girl fit the bill for old school Dragonlover attire, as she skimpy jumped up to show off her assets and round bulging belly. The brownish pigtail girl winked as she posed for the group. “The Prismatic Light Warrior is here to smite those who are wicked!”

The next hero was teleported in with a robot maid servant nearby. She was cloaked in heavily white winter clothes, with a brass puffed jacket under it. The Brass Sage unveiled her hood to show… Well for the ninjas, it’s obviously acting president Brownie Sugarcube with a failed guise of magical glasses, and dark bob haircut! “And I’m the Brass Sage! At your service.”

Hinoka looked over the new arrivals. This Prismatic Light Warrior had the appearance she’d expect from the older generations of her clan, though that sort of style was making a comeback with people like Mishera or Miraden, and veterans like Shana would do that as well. That said, she looked quite powerful. And as for the Brass Sage, it was well-known what her real identity was, being Fluffykins’s former vice-president, and the leader of this group of heroes. “My humble thanks for your assistance in this matter. I have heard that your group has been tracking Cynthia’s actions for quite some time already.”

As Hinoka spoke, there was a small flash as a man stepped into existence on the ship behind the Brass Sage. “Phaseshift. Please don’t take their antics seriously,” the man said, sighing. “They’re… well, it’s just not worth your sanity. I’ll get you in and out and around faster and easier than anyone else.”

Erika Montagna or Celeritas entered the scene with her characteristic speed, the small Malgravean neko utilising her superpowers to keep her from overtly complaining about the dreadful weather conditions as she used her MalTec Ascension to pull up the most recent satellite intelligence from the region.

“I tend to think that I will get used to your rather strange companions, Brass Sage but then we meet someone new and all these concepts are pushed to one side,” Celeritas said with a rather dramatic but good spirited sigh, “...but moving on from the subjects of breasts and fanservice I have the latest satellite imagery that should be able to provide us with some interesting information in regards to defences, patrols and potential exit points in case the situation turns bad.”

“It’s the mark of Silverdalean culture.” Brass Sage mused. Then again, half of the country is shameless with such an aspect, or ‘decadence!’ But that examination is for another time in another place. “Now, such satellite imagery will be useful for our mission. We can’t be sure which iceberg nearby will unleash a group of monsters, to possible hidden entrances at Cynthia’s estate.”

“I’ll say one fact about our enemies.” Akari raised up her figure. “I can detect their presence, and they’re absolutely evil! Not a big surprise really. They’re ice monsters and demons.”

“Such foes are the natural enemy for the Silver Dragoon and her stalwart companions!” The silver-armored warrior said. “My armor and weapon are made of special magic in order to have them best suit any situation,” she morphed what seemed to be a ‘bracelet’ into a lance, then other melee weapons. It appeared the only limitation was it could not shoot projectiles.

“Certainly an interesting group of warriors you have assembled,” Hinoka said in a neutral tone, making it really unclear if she was being genuine or sarcastic. “That said, you do all seem quite capable; together with my own forces, I believe we have a good chance to prevail in this encounter, but do not get complacent or careless.”

“The dangers of demons and ice monsters have not dulled our minds.” Brass Sage spoke up. “Cynthia is one of the most capable sorcerers in Silverdale, so we must be vigilant if we wish to succeed.”

“She is powerful, yes.” Nico gave a determined loom. “But… My knowledge and skills can match it.”

"As can mine."

The sound of footsteps could be heard, as a figure walked into the room. Her face was obscured by a red bandanna over her face, aviator sunglasses, and a M1 Helmet with a matte black finish. The figure had all sorts of militaristic trappings besides the helmet--with a dose of post-apocalypse in it, considering the black BDUs and tactical gear she had had a number of great and small repairs and additions over the years. Leather patches could be seen on her elbows and knees, and iconography such as an unusual silver bow-tie looking badge could be seen on her person. Shouldered was a rifle with a conical handguard, brown furniture clad in gray cloth wrappings and what looked like a spare magazine in a pouch on the stock. The figure stopped, and then looked around.

The figure’s voice then took on a sort of rough hewn, gritty tone that channeled Clint Eastwood, as if to match her outfit.

“Someone told me we were hunting someone who’s been on our list for a while, someone society could do without. La Caballera is always down to hunt bad guys. Sorcerers drop to 7.62 Real FN NATO like any other living thing. Just takes a few more shots.”

The figure looked around and acknowledged the other heroes with a nod, her voice suddenly dropping the “tough guy” act and adopting a more casual tone even as she retained her costume, coughing, “Sorry, couldn’t resist. Been a while since I’ve donned the persona. So, what’s up?”

“GLORIOUS!” The Silver Dragoon flourished as she saw her companion, “It reminds me of when we first all united together under a common cause, to stop the vile machinations of the dastardly forces from the shadows. And now, the path shall be illuminated by the shining warriors of justice!”
Celeritas winced slightly at the loud proclamation from the Silver Dragoon, the neko had worked with her for quite some time now and had grown to like her rather dramatic nature but she still couldn’t get used to how loud she could get but that didn’t stop her from greeting her favourite Dornalian neko with a hug.

“You always know how to make the perfect entrance, eques,” Celeritas said, her voice taking a rather revering tone as she talked to the warrior, “a strong neko warrior fighting justice and sweeping people off their feet...so bellus and so I bravely volunteer to be carried out at the end of the mission! Plus I can get rather tired after using my speed a lot.”

A burly Sarkesh man climbed onboard, having just gotten out of the waters, “Hey, I’ve come back from my scouting, and- what the hell!?”

Hinoka sighed, “Brandt, these are the backup I told you about. I am assured by the Brass Sage that they are more than capable of helping us in our endeavors, and have in fact been following Cynthia’s actions for quite some time. As our investigations have lead to her, it felt suitable to combine our forces for this. Anyways, have you noticed anything in your scouting?”

Brandt still didn’t quite get it, but he figured if the clan leader was okay with it, he would be too, “Um, yeah, the majority of the island is heavily guarded by those creatures, and that includes in the sea itself, so don’t think it’ll be easy. Even for someone like me it’s pretty tough to avoid everything.”

“Well, I expect a challenge,” Hinoka took out her fans and waved them, causing a gust of chilling wind to appear, “But don’t worry too much about the approach, this isn’t just a ninja ship in name only. It’ll be when we’re on the island that things will be really hectic, but keep a cool head.”

As the ship approached the island, a fiery red light flew past to smash against the southern end of Cynthia’s fortress. A loud and ear piercing cry of a meteor impact disrupted the ravage of distance monsters. In the snow covered land, only the cries of a new arrival that rip apart the fabric of reality to unleash its own dark horrors! A triple battle unseen, but demonic sounding in nature.

“Oh my!” Mishera gasped. “Well, I say we have a ticket to the castle itself!”

“I daresay that whatever that might be, I would rather not have to fight it,” Hinoka said, “Our target is Cynthia Luvgood, and it would be best for you to remember that. Let us take this opportunity to sneak it while they are distracted with… whatever that might be.”

The approach of the island to Castle Luvgood was a difficult place to land without any confrontation. Yet, there was silence at the docks, to strange rock formations covered in snow that may hint of an escape route. The back of the castle echoed the savagely of a beastial creature that broke down entire chunks of ice into pieces.

“Hm, it appears that they have a little escape route planned in case they need to flee,” Hinoka mused as she was checking out the area. “Perhaps we can launch an ambush there? That said, I don’t imagine they’d leave it totally defenseless. The docks seem a bit overt, though it appears quiet now, they may be hiding for an ambush of their own. Whatever we do, stay out of the way of whatever that creature is.”

“Any one of your plans would do.” Momo commented. “But let’s not stand idly by before a monster attacks us. “

“Let’s try and take this escape route,” Hinoka said, “We should be able to find a route into the castle that doesn’t involve going to the front gate. I hope everyone is prepared for this…”

“The Silver Dragoon is always ready to face any foe!”

“... yes, yes, I know,” Hinoka sighed.

“Let’s get to it then.” Brass Sage replied.

“Alright, let’s approach the southwest and see if we can find an opening to this exit,” Hinoka said; obviously there needed to be a way to open it up. “There might be some switch of some sort. If need be, I think we’ll need some muscle to move away some of the rocks.”

Hinoka led the team from the ship towards the coastline where the escape route was at as swift as the wind. With a cat like grace, she led the folks to evade the unknown mayhem of darkness, and to a strange point around the rocks. It was a natural pocket, with a strange manhole that was engraved by a demonic and cruel carving of a poisonous heart. Nico poked Hinoka as they approached.

“Careful… I sense great and unholy power from it.” Nico said.

“Ah, yes.” Brass winced at it. “The dark goddess of Etna. Careful, let’s not trigger it.”

“Right…” Hinoka was not a mage, and thus didn’t have the expertise in knowing how to deal with this, “Well, you two are the big magic users here… what sort of magic do you sense around here?”

“It’s a foul yet old magic. It seems to trigger if… Hmm, if one is not allowed to open it then-” Nico was interjected by the Brass Sage.

“Possibly teleport the unwanted intruder to a possible illusionary place than intended passageway.” Brass Sage answered.

“True... And it is a difficult magic to nullify, but it can be done.” Nico said.

“Hm, in that case do you think the proper way is elsewhere?” Hinoka asked. “Or will we have to nullify this before moving forward?”

“The Brass Sage can handle this Hinoka!” Brass Sage proclaimed. She then kneed down and began to work on the spell’s matrix. “I only need to disable the links that would mislead us, and…”

“Uh, Brassy?” Akira interjected. “I think you cut the red wire by mistake.”

“Don’t be silly-” Brass then yelped as she triggered the trap! All before Nico reached out to grab the human on the arm to pull them away. A flash of a sickly purple link that opened up to another dimension opened up and devoured the whole group.

For Hinoka, she found herself alone in an idyllic room...

Hinoka found herself in the hot springs, drinking dwarven ale as she didn’t have any missions to handle. The world was at peace, and she could finally enjoy themselves…

But something didn’t seem right here. Where was Mishy, and Solis, and the others? She couldn’t relax now, could she? But the water was so nice, and the ale was ice cold, contrasting with the hot water. No stress, no worries…

“No… I can’t stay here, can I?” Hinoka looked around, “This… this isn’t real, is it?”

The bottle of ale shattered in Hinoka’s hand as the entire earth began to quake. The once idyllic world begins to fall apart as the sky fades to dark, and a fissure opens up under the hot springs. Hinoka was helplessly pulled out into the cracks of the earth and tossed into the abyss itself! She can hear the laughs and mockeries of her ‘friends’ as she goes deeper and deeper into the unknown.

Until she crashed into an empty and dusty room within the Castle itself.

“Ugh… ouch…” Hinoka rubbed her head, “That was annoying.” She knew that if she didn’t have enough sense or will, perhaps she would’ve been in there longer… but what about the others? Had they been affected by this magic too, or had they ended up here with her?

Hinoka’s unanswered questions didn’t have to wait for long. Outside the room was one of the underground hallways that lead to a strange dark velvet summoning room at the far south end. She can see Solis in an awkward position as two Dark Snake cultists cornered her.

“Be patient my dear.” The first man spoke up. “For it will be time for you to return home.”
The Dystan catfolk hissed at the cultists, albeit she seemed to be also a bit hurt from the fall. “I’m not gonna be kitty chow to you!” She tried her best to fend them off with punches and kicks, though she appeared to be struggling.

Hinoka, still reeling a bit, nevertheless rushed to help her subordinate out, throwing shuriken in their direction while closing in.

The cultists fell like small fry, and the first one was knocked out by the two well experted ninja. In fact, a closer examination of the speaker who collapsed and unhooded was a male one was a young adult human who was… scared for his life! “Please don’t kill me! I was just dragged here against my will because of my mother.”

“Your… mother?” Hinoka asked. “Would that be Cynthia, or someone else?”

“Yeah… That Cynthia.” The kid said. He did look a bit like a ‘Luvgood’ kid with jet black hair, and a fair facial frame. “I, um, know that a lot of us got roped into this… Or at least the ones who haven’t got independent yet.”

“Gee, I heard Cynthia had a lot of kids like Blanca, but using ‘em like this…” Solis shook her head. “Can’t believe she’d use her kids like this.”

“I can,” Hinoka said with a flat tone, pointing her fan at the conscious cultist, “So if you value your life, tell me, what do you know about your mother’s plans here?”

“Life? I-I’m going to die anyway!” The kid meeped. “But I think… Mother lost it. I know I shouldn’t say that, but she is trying to ‘undo’ the damage and complete her goal by… I don’t know, some megaspell as in a magic nuke.”

“Oooh a megaspell?” Solis seemed concerned. “I’ve heard of that kinda thing before, I heard they need a lot of energy and such.”

“It’s possible she was planning to sacrifice some of these cultists for her ends,” Hinoka suggested. “Either way, we need to get in contact with the others and make our way to where Cynthia is. If we come across cultists like this one, just try and knock them out if you can.”

Hinoka’s dwarf senses are tingling as she hears a faint DRAGON ROAR and the burning crisp of wood up the stairs!

“Can you let me go?” The kid asked.

“Go on, get out of here,” Hinoka said in a harsh tone, “Don’t let me see you again getting involved in something like this. “Solis, c’mon, I think we have a dragon to meet with.”

“Are they a nice dragon like my prince, or a mean one?” Solis wondered. “Guess there’s only one way to find out!” They made their way to where the commotion was.

As they climbed up the stairs to the grand halls of a fairytale like castle, a large stone crashed and smashed a suit of armor close by! The castle shook as the monster battle of the outside came closer, and it appeared that the number of dark creatures under Cynthia were overwhelmed. Blast of magic from two cultists and a demonic creature attempted to stop a dragon, but was soon cooked up by its flames! In a few stomps, an beaten up Mishera in her humanoid dragon form waved to Hinoka.

“Hehe, don’t mind me…” She then crossed her arms. “It’s not like I was allowed to get seen and hurt, but I was surprised by a few monsters.”

Solis jumped at Hinoka and hugged her! Mishera, in spite of herself, did the same, “Good to see you safe,” Hinoka said. “Did you have to deal with that illusionary trap, too, by the way?”

“Oh that lame cliche of being praised and worshipped on how strong of a dragon I was?” Mishera hmphed. “I couldn’t believe THAT would be what I really wanted… It feels um, just too self-serving, even though it was nice. You understand where I am going with that Hinoka?”

“I know very much how strong a dragon you are,” Solis nudged her, “You get to be all big and strong and show so much of us up! Um, mine was relaxing at the beach with a bunch of my friends, like you two. But I knew it couldn’t be true, we were here after all!”

“We can see about a little relaxation once our mission is done,” Hinoka said. “And for what it’s worth, Mishera, you’ve always taken a lot of pride in your power, but you’ve never abused it for selfish reasons. I know that you care too much about your clanmates to try and lord over us.”

Mishera gave a light hug too, before she gave a firm push back. “Why thanks! Now, enough praise about me. We better move, find our friends, and face Cynthia before this place collapses.”

“Indeed. Let’s get moving. Hopefully the others are safe.” Hinoka blended into the shadows, moving amongst them in hopes of finding more of their allies.

As the ninjas blend into the shadows to evade the fight of ice and dark monsters, and pass a narrow space blockade by rumble… They found a strange holding cell down one level. As they moved in, a bat winged demon was bashed down by the angelic warrioress. She patted as she planted her poleax on the ground, and sighed.

“Man… This is a pain.” Akira then lightened up as she looked at the chained up blonde angel. “Don’t worry Felica, you’re now safe!”

The young cherubic face girl with an unkempt blonde hair smiled brightly from heer otherwise depressed state, and bounced up! At least as fair as she could move from the dark chains that wrapped around her limbs and wings! “Why thank you, Bearer of Light. I am forever in your debt.”

Upon closer inspection, the place was a sealed chamber with faded magical circles meant to summon the beings of light. A crude dungeon with a rotable tool wall in the north end to ‘convince’ an angel to serve whatever wish the dark mage asked. The worst part was the scattered puffs of fur and feathers, to restraints that seemed to be able to move away by some command. A skill magic can detect more wards, charms, and an anchor to keep a heavenly creature inside its very walls. Except for some unwanted teleportation by the Prismatic Light Warrior.

Hinoka dropped from her hiding place in order to reach the others, “Good to see you are safe, at least… relatively speaking.” She pulled out a set of tools for disarming traps, “I’m not sure who exactly you are, but Akira here seems to trust you. Now, I don’t think I can disarm all these traps myself - some of them seem more like a mage’s field of expertise - but I can at least see about getting rid of some of them.”

“I am Felicia, a deva or angel of love for the radiant lights of the heavens. I serve Mythra’ and her loving light that brings upon the life of all beings.” Felicia nodded as she gave a small poker face as Hinoka worked on breaking her free. “I do love meeting your clan from time to time! Although this is an unpleasant meet up when the forces of darkness and hate surround this castle.”

“Wait, you’ve met my clan before?” Hinoka seemed a little suspicious, but then again, given that she was an angel, it could’ve been centuries ago, before her own time. She worked at getting the chains off to start; she didn’t know if she could do anything about the wards or the like, but perhaps Akira was able to help out there.

“Why yes. I met a loving and charming Marron, to you previous mistress Lux for a number of times.” Felicia said. “Oh, and- Wait!”

“I got this!” Akira smiled as she SMASHED the wards that binded the angel with her poleax! She channeled a dispel magic alongside the blow to destroy the ward entirely! Felicia’s wings unfolded and arose from the ground.

“Oh… That works! Now, I can show you my true form, but there is something I must warn you about. A corrupted angel, or my fellow companion Alexis, is with Cynthia as a guard. I wish to face her myself, and bring her to the light. It’s a big request, but I hate it when Cynthia uses her to create dark Nelphims!” Felicia gave a righteous anger under her happy and peaceful look! The smile is wide, but here eyes burn with fire.

“Any help we can get is appreciated,” Hinoka said; she knew that in spite of her bubbly personality angels could be quite powerful, and it would be a good counter to this fallen angel. “Whatever happens, we cannot allow Cynthia any more advantages against us.”

“Well said.” Felicia nodded.

“True… But Cynthia is more of a cornered animal. Who knows what she’d do once we met her.” Akira said. “Either way, I’ll be ready for it.”

“Hopefully we’ll have enough strength to counter her! If Mishy got hurt, I’m kinda worried, but if we have everyone it’ll be enough!” Solis said.

“Well, unlike us, I don’t think stealth is really an option for you two,” both Akira and Felicia had holy auras making them easier to spot on enemy forces, Hinoka figured, “So if we have any resistance we will have to fight our way through. Be ready.”

As the group escaped the celestial dungeon and entered through a hall of a fine art collection and many plated armor knights that were animated and moved about in a combative stance. They can see one of the presidential paintings of Cynthia’s head was clawed and damaged beyond recognition. A dreadful presence of something unholy and a dangerous presence of a dark being beyond anything the group have encountered. It seemed to overbear even the lesser of the cultists outside of the room.

“I am detecting a strong demon ahead! I think one of the animated armor…” Felicia’s eyes blanked out as she froze. “Oh no. I should have expect this to happen!

One of the pony animated knight suits attempted to attack the golden knight, but was simply crushed aside by the golden one’s massive claws! It was more of a power armed gauntlet than anything, and oversized! Yete outside of the armor, there was some sickly presence of the battered armor, with broken chains that wrapped around its shoulders. On its left shoulder was a skull of a DEMONIC lord with broken horns. Three knights helmet was like a crown with crimson stains, and a glow of a ghastly purple that lit up from a dark visor that turned its attention to the party!

“Ah, the hound of King Tyroth.” The distorted voice of a lass spoke up. Hinoka could have sworn it was the antic of a gnome, but it was others as well! Like a collective of many. “As the scent of Cynthia brought you to this maelstrom, so have I. Destruction of Cynthia.”

Hinoka had taken out one of the animated armor suits with a stealthy attack before the golden knight had noticed her. “Well then. It appears that you, too, seek to stop Cynthia. Though I imagine you may have a different intention than we do?”

“It is a matter of revenge for what Cynthia has done, and must be brought with her end. My presence is short lived, and no need to waste it on chatter with a hound who obeys a master. However, I’ll offer my hand as long I deliver the final say to Cynthia. It is something personal to me, and those who were under her iron grip.” The demon said.

“Eh.” Akira tightened her poleax. “Great, are we going to bring this creature along?”

“... if that is your desire, I have no qualms. After all, I happen to know demons myself that do not follow Cynthia’s ways. So long as you bring no harm to my companions, I shall allow you to accompany us.” Hinoka knew not to let an opportunity go to waste, even one such as this.

“Excellent. I, Lady Blossos, will repay you once Cynthia is destroyed. Now, let us bring an end to this wretch.” The demon lady said.

“Uh… Yay for villain guest star team up.” Mishera shook her head! “Right. I think the others should meet us once we see Cynthia Hinoka. Are you ready for this?”

“I would like to say I was born ready, but… well, who is?” Hinoka focused her ki. “Let’s stop her tyranny.”

The party was carried by Blossos as she mercilessly slaughtered anyone in her way through the halls towards the throne room itself! A great force field wall of magic blocked the main entrance on where Cynthia was located. It would prove to be difficult for the uninitiated adventure. However, the Demon Lord sank her claws into the walls and disrupted its magical power. Her claw pierced into the doors, and pulled it out of its hinges! The wall disappeared as she tossed it against the side.

Within the fairy tale throne room, it was darkened with a mad crackle of a woman who channeled all her might to a dangerous orb of fire that! Bodies of both cultists, celestial creatures, remains of elementals, and people alike lied on the ground around a magic pentagram circle as a terminal monitor the output of raw energy. At the end where the throne lied as an obsidian monolith that levitated, and engraved with the faces of the damned! In the middle of all of this was shadowy angels, a golden skin one, and Cynthia herself.

The woman snapped over to the intruders, her eyes burned in flames of a demon! She was no longer composed and calm, as she was on edge. The tiefling stepped forward as her dark robe hid what could be a blood stain corset and clothes. Cynthia looked straight right at Hinoka! “Oh? You came at last, Lady Hinoka. You’ve been a bane for quite some time. How pitiful for a foolish king to send his best, only to place a target on his castle.”

She then snapped at Blossos. “And this… WORM shows herself? So you finally finished with your toys, Blossos?”

“Good, you noticed my movements, Cynthia.” Blossos glared right at her. “And my true name?”

“Oh… You… Some ungrateful lame child of mine?” Cynthia snorted. “You may pretend to be a hero for your little ‘revolution.’ However once my plan is complete, your presence in Hell will be exterminated and no one will remember you.”

“I thank you for the kind compliment, Former President Luvgood,” Hinoka said in a dry tone. “Granted, perhaps I need to improve on my stealth if you noticed me. Then again, I do have to wonder just what is needed when it’s us you notice and not…”

“JUSTICE!!!!!” The Silver Dragoon came from the ceiling, turning her weapon into a giant hammer, hoping to slam down as many of the forces as she could with her surprise attack!

The dark Nelphim shrieked as the giant hammer SMASHED its leg and collapsed on the ground! The rest of the dark angels raise up their weapons to attack the Silver Dragon with everything they got!

Cynthia rolled her eyes and scoffed. “You again… No matter, once the spell is ready, your precious capital of Valitora and your king will be incinerated. Their souls alongside numerous major cities across Mystria will be mine to devour!”

“Spell? Is that what the pentagram was for?” Phaseshift asked, appearing behind one of the angels, stealing its weapon and reappearing again behind a different one. “Sorry, I deactivated it, at least for a bit. Anti-Magic, you know?” he continued, using the stolen weapon to smash one of the dark angels in the head before disappearing again!

“No!” Cynthia yelped as his anti-magic disrupted the ritual! The fiery orb began to intensify its heat as the terminal rang ‘RED ALERT!’ “You fool! Such tampering will set off the spell and destroy everything that stands on this island!” Cynthia quickly cast a spell to open a small portal and swiftly blinked over within the ritualistic circle. The portal quickly vanished from behind as she then glared right at the group. “Destroy them!” She ordered her dark angels!

Mishera made a ninjutsu sign to disappear as the nephilims attacked! Thankfully Phaseshift zoomed by to smack on the head to leave it off balance for both Silver Dragoon and Felicia to use their hammer to smash it down! Blossos moved to RIP and TEAR a Nelphim with no mercy, and used a greenish ray spell in a blink of a second to disintegrate another dark angel into ash. The boss angel, Alexsi, called forth more dark angel minions to join in the fray!

Joining in the fray was La Caballera. Raising her rifle and suddenly appearing as if out of nowhere, the neko quipped to the heroes, tossing some grenades into the middle of the enemy horde with a loud “FIRE IN THE HOLE!”:

“Sorry I’m late. Got distracted. Anyway….”

Loading a fresh magazine as the enemies began rushing in, La Caballera raised her rifle and began dodging and leaping around theatrically to evade the enemies, as she engaged in a rather spectacular display of gun-kata, aiming for the dark angels being spawned and firing snap shots at their heads. She glared at Alexsi, shouting, in her growly, angry voice as she began to push forward to the gate and began firing shots at Alexsi, “YOU! I’VE GOT BUSINESS TO DISCUSS WITH YOU, ASSHOLES!”

Alexsi used her wings to shield herself from La Caballera’s shoots! Only for heer wings to be bloody and broken, alongside bodily bullet holes! However, the angel stood weakly as she cast a spell to recall her assault rifle! “There is little to discuss, mortal. Your inference with my master will end now.” The angel rolled over and began firing right back a La Caballera!

With the end of the reinforcement, the horde of dark angels were greatly diminished by the grenade. Akira parried on coming attacks, as Nico entered the fray to blast two of them with a powerful lightning bolt magical spell!

La Caballera dove out of the way to avoid the shots, firing back with snapshots at Alexsi’s arms to try and force the angel to drop the gun. As she did so, the hero shouted, “Interfere with THIS, BITCH!”

The enemy angel dropped down from La Caballerea’s shoots, and collapsed onto the ground! “Wait!” Felicia spoke up. “May I try to remedy her soul?”

Caballera then marched right up to Alexsi, and said to Felicia, crossing herself, “You can try. She does anything stupid, I shoot.”

“In that case, it leaves me no choice.” Felicia flew over to Alexsi. “I shall bring you to the ‘penalty box’ so no one can harm us Alexsi.”

“W-what? You cannot be serious Felicia. Cynthia will get out of this once more and punish us severely!” Alexsi potested.

“While your mind is twisted, I can fix it.” Felicia coughed as she pointed Alexsi on the nose. “To the ‘penalty box’ we go!” A heavenly light beamed on the two, and as they arose from the group, they zoomed into the ethereal plane. The light disappeared and the two angels were gone.

Celeritas appeared on the scene with a flash, the Malgravean neko appearing to be quite red in the face and sporting a fresh nose bleed.

“...ancestral energy always messes me up,” the neko explained with a nervous chuckle before her face turned to a more serious expression, “let's show these folks a few things about how we take part in the waste collection process.”
Celeritas smirked slightly before setting off with her traditional lightning pace, the Malgravean had been practicing on her core strength fighting skills over the past few skills over the past few months for situations like this, with the neko using these newfound skills and her medical knowledge to jab at enemies weak spots as time effectively stood still around her.

In addition to that Celeritas also worked hard as a protector of the group, with the speedster neko intercepting dangerous blows and casually helping people move out of the way of falling debris and bullets during the fight.

“I can do this all day,” the neko said panting on the outer edges of the fight thinking over the earlier offer she made to her Dornalian friend before she ate a small energy bar and sped off to join the fray once more.

From the shadows appeared the remainder of the Dragonlover team! Quentin, Mishera’s brother, pinned down a dark angel with his knives allowing Brandt the Sarkesh to bite right into its chest. Tala the wolfkin punched another into the ground, “For the record, Sharena Goldenheart was a better president than Cynthia ever was.”

“If you say so,” Solis chuckled as she kicked away another dark angel, only for it to be impaled by the Silver Dragoon’s lance. “It was fortuitous we arrived in time to help you, allies of justice!” The armored warrior proclaimed. “Though your domain may be in the shadows and ours in the light, we fight for a common cause!”

Hinoka wasn’t going to let her subordinates show her up, of course. Brandishing her fans, she grasped a blade on her back, which circled around her. She took to fighting a group of dark angels, the blade slashing behind her and she whirled like a dervish of destruction, the icy powers of her fans causing an icy gale to surround her, freezing her foes before she shattered them with precise blows.

As Celeritas, alongside the arrival of Brass Sage, and the others finished off the dark angels, Cynthia fixed up the instability of the magic nuke. The tiefling cursed as the party survived her minions and now she stood alone. “It’s over Cynthia Luvgood.” Brass Sage pointed out. “You’ve already lost.”

“Indeed.” Nico spoke up as she tossed down an active crystalized wardstone on the ground. For those studious in magic, they can detect that its radius extended across the whole room, and would prevent any teleportation within to escape. There was one exception: only for the Rohanaian who can warp in and out. “There’s nowhere to escape.”

“Hm, perhaps there is no need to escape. I’d activate this spell, and consume you all in a big old mushroom cloud. Your legend ends here, and no one will sing about your heroism.” Cynthia laughed. “I can begin again in another lifetime…. However, I can give you a counter offer. If you join me and abandon this silly game, we can reshape Mystria in a new age. With this spell, I can ascend to become greater and have an army that will even destroy the ‘regional powers.’ You'll have a place in my new nation.”

“Rule Mystria?” Blossos snorted. “You’ll merely bring its end as your new ‘nation’ will fall into ruin. There will be nothing life but a battleground between the heavens and the hells.” She looked at the group. “If you care for fruitful ‘rewards’ rather than an inane deal, I’ll reward you with a feasible boon rather than being a puppet for a mad woman’s dream.”

“I don’t care about ruling Mystria or anything of that sort,” Hinoka said to Cynthia. “I’m not some ‘hero of justice’ like the Silver Dragoon either. I merely am a servant of my homeland and my king, one who does what needs to be done to protect Dyste and its allies from those who would bring it harm. If you think I’ll be part of any deal that would cause their destruction, then I really don’t think you understand us at all.”

“I have no interest in ruling over anyone, especially with someone as evil and twisted as you” Celeritas said rather firmly to Cynthia, “Just look at yourself promising destruction and chaos that will harm millions of people and for what? You can’t control Garyx and you certainly can’t destroy them alone. Isn’t it time to end this madness and try and fix the mess you’ve helped create?”

“With all due respect, ma’am,” La Caballera said, fully in “gritty avenger mode” complete with a lowered, gruffer voice, “you can take that offer and shove it where the sun doesn’t shine.” With a nod, Caballera added, “Now, you can consider yourself lucky. If it weren’t for my teammates here, I’d’ve used you for target practice by now.” As if to emphasize the point, Caballera conducted a tactical reload right in front of Cynthia, using a magazine which had masking tape upon it with a small cartoon bomb symbol before aiming the rifle at Cynthia for a moment, and then lowering it. Caballera’s tone of voice turned brighter, however, as she said, continuing to sound gruff, ”As it is, my people want to give you another chance to see the light and use your abilities for good. And, to be fair, their line of thinking has merit. You cooperate with us, you get to live another day, find satisfaction in having used your capacities for the greatest good and also help to suppress an insatiable monster. You don’t cooperate with us, you get a first class cabin on the asswhupping express to Hell--assuming Garyx doesn’t decide it doesn’t need you anymore first, and gets you before we do. Now, don’t do anything stupid.”

“Wept.” Cynthia shrugged. “Turns out that old cliché wasn’t all that useful. A shame.” She then began to crack in laughter at the party’s naivete. “You’ll believe I could turn a new leaf, after everything I did? There is no redemption: only death or imprisonment remains in this plane. Even your ‘ally’ Lady Blossos, no, Platinum Lightborne, thirsts for my demise. You cannot even banish such a fiend of her caliber.”

“Oh the Brass Sage can.” Brass Sage remarked. “So that’s a lame excuse.” The demonic golden knight gave the lady a DEATH glare. As in a taunt of ‘try it and you’ll DIE’ stare.

“That said, go ahead. Kill me La Caballera. I have died more than you can even count. I will be reborn again and again in hell. As I always do thanks to that cursive monster! Garyx has no rule in hell!” Cynthia said.

“Do you think we will simply let you go on your way after everything you’ve done?” The Silver Dragoon spoke with righteous fury. “You cannot escape your crimes, Cynthia. Your reputation is in tatters and people now know your true colours. You may have be killed and reborn many times, but a far worse fate has befallen you this time. While the legacy of the Silver Dragoon shines ever bright, the legacy of Cynthia Luvgood will forever be tied to Garyx and all your crimes while in office. And that will hurt you far more than our weapons ever will. As will my recital of the oath of justice, one that will ring true to all heroes! By the latest estimate, it will take about, oh, five hours to complete…”

“Okay, even I think that might be too cruel,” Hinoka said, looking uncharacteristically nervous.

“I have no time for your shit, Silver Dragoon.” Cynthia snapped! “Your version of justice is not just. Not even Front is just, as he uses the ‘law’ as an excuse to be pure, inhumane, and abstract from anything meaningful in the universe. That is the fact in the present, past, and future. Now, time to die.” Cynthia began to make water like gestures to do some water bending magic!

La Caballera shrugged and said, “Suit yourself.” She then raised her rifle and unceremoniously fired several rapid bursts at Cynthia. When the shots hit Cynthia’s torso and head--Caballera had opted to use the classic Mozambique Drill of “two to the chest, one to the head”--all present would discover the grim significance of the cartoon bomb markings on the magazine--for they were Meltashots she had scored from some of her old ERIS contacts, designed to explode with great fusion-powered force.
In the last and final move before entire chunks of her body explodes into pieces, her madness twists, and twirls with thee cries of the waves and its beasts were done! “Ahaha- ARGH” Cynthia screamed in pain as spell fatigue kicked it and spilled out much blood from her body! Just as she fell, the windows and walls began to shatter! A great tsunami rushed in with all its might towards the heroes! Inside the waves were the roars and screams of a demonic megalodon that jumped forward to attack! The whole room was about to be swept away by its rushing water!
“You just had to be so stubborn, didn’t you Cynthia…” Hinoka used her fans in order to bring up pillars of ice to block as much water as she could. “I don’t think this’ll hold for very long, so I suggested we fight shark with shark.”

“Oh yeah, finally my time to shine!” Brandt grabbed one of the icicles Hinoka created and used it as a surfboard, riding the tsunami the other way, into one of the sharks! He kicked the icicle into the megalodon while doing a backflip and chomping down hard onto the demon! “I’ve got this one, why don’t ya see about helpin’ a shark out! … I mean me, don’t help them!”

The shark roared as it was bitten down, and tried to chomp down anyone in the way. Blossoms simply jumped forward and raised her claws as the demonic shark swallowed her whole! Nico opened up her book just in time as the wave came and screamed. “O Airus, lend me your strength!” An electric dragon arose and flew to the shark, shocking the creature with its full might!

Of course the rest of the party got washed away by the dangerous tsunami, and went on a wild ride across the castle’s halls.

Brandt tore a large chunk out of the megalodon, tearing apart any way he could! After taking out the beast, he swam with the tsunami, seeming more at home than the others. He could see Hinoka trying to make an ice slide with her powers, but it wasn’t as easy as in the comics. Using his superior swimming speed, he caught up with the others, using his strength to grab some of them to slow them down enough to get their bearings. Surprisingly enough, one of the only people to avoid the tsunami entirely was the Silver Dragoon, who used her jumping prowess to jump across fixtures closer to the ceiling.

As the tsunami lost its speed and collapsed across the castle, the megalodon was no more! Just as it disappears, Blossoms busted right out of its belly and shrugged the experience off! All is well. Cynthia is no more, but the sirens of the castle rang red alert!

“Instability of the mega nuclear spell is now critical! One hour before denotation!”

To make matters worse, Blossos was seemingly gone. As the wardstone that Nico used wash away from the throne room.

“Well, that’s not good,” La Caballera thought to herself, as she staggered back up from being swept around by the rushing waters. “We gotta get outta here! Anyone got any ideas?”

“I recall one of you is a teleporter and another is a speedster, correct?” Hinoka remarked. “Escape shouldn’t be too hard if we move swiftly. Make it back to our ship and we can sail out in time.”

“Celeritas should evacuate the people in this room,” Phaseshift said. “I’ll check the rest of the area, and when everyone is gone… well, maybe I can speed this thing up. Don’t need nasty tricks like it actually reviving her when we’re gone.”

As the party, with the help of Celeritas, begins to leave, Phaseshift can see Blossos having a long winded monologue! All completed with the demon lord taking Cynthia’s head! “Oh ho ho ho. All long last, my revenge is complete. As you return to hell itself mother, I’ll assure you that your next life will be painful and miserable as possible. This is the payment for all those who grew up, tormented, controlled, and cast aside in your mad ambition. Now everything you built crumble to dust, and all will forever despise your name. With you gone, the next cycle will become so intriguing… I wonder if Silverdale will last and endure, or fall to a new revolution. My revolution.” Her helmet looked back at Phaseshift. “Fear not unbeliever. My reward is your survival to see it alongside my daughter for the new world. I also have something else in mind.”

With the aid of Phaseshift, the mages, a speedy neko, they all manage to escape the island in the flash! Thankfully Momo was found, who gathered enough intel of Cynthia’s crimes, alongside photo evidence of her death, from the castle itself! The ship went through throttle to leave the island at all cost. Top speed with the guidance of magic, the ship disappeared into the high seas within a blizzard.

In the distance of the island they once stood, a massive flash of a blinding light consumed all nearby into a magical nuke of pure energy. It wasn’t nuclear, but its heat and air blast destroyed all that was close! The castle itself became a crater in which the sea swept away. The end of Cynthia and her cabal was at an end.

An hour at sea, the blizzard began to fade away as the night sky glimmered with the twinkling light of the stars. The sicky branch pruned off the tree. Now the possibilities are endless from destruction to a new life. But for the short term, Cynthia’s death would slowly turn the tide of war as a source of hatred is gone.

[Malgrave]

Weather Observation and Prediction Department, Royal Institute for the Advancement of Universal Technology, Cerne, Malgravean Ascension Research Colony

In the build-up to the outbreak of conflict within Silverdale the Weather Observation and Prediction Department of the Royal Institute for the Advancement of Universal Technology had been monitoring and analysing the quickly developing weather patterns in and within the Republic, such measures served not just to protect shipping which frequently travelled in the region but also worked to ensure that Malgravean citizens volunteering in the Silverdalean Presidential Election would be adequately prepared to deal with the cold temperatures, an important precaution considering the threat posed by extreme weather conditions to the already weakened Malgravean immune system.

It was a rather simple and mundane task, however, the outbreak of violence in the Republic and the deployment of assets from the Territorial Defence Force, Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force meant that the Weather Observation and Prediction Department had been permitted to divert an increased number of sophisticated weather satellites to monitor the situation occurring in Silverdale with increased accuracy, and within a short few hours of the start of the counter-terrorism the WOPD had been able to predict that steady increase in negative weather conditions such as blizzards would eventually result in the Royal Air Force being unable to support their colleagues in the Territorial Defence Force, and the presence of icebergs with hidden threats would eventually make it incredibly hazardous for Silverdale to be supplied via civilian merchant vessels discounting a large cooperative effort to clear transit zones.

In all it was a terrible blow for the Territorial Defence Force and the Royal Marines, both units were currently had enough supplies for the foreseeable future and were currently being consistently supplied due to a cooperative effort between the Malgravean merchant fleet and specialised Dornalian transport aircraft, however, fears remained that a long-term disruption in supplies would lead to entire units losing their combat effectiveness and that didn't bode well for the future.

It was this calculated concern that meant that the WOPD was continually monitoring the situation in Silverdale in the vague hope that the negative weather outlook would improve and length the period of which the TDF could operate with any real combat effectiveness.

"...curiosum," a young elven scientist muttered to herself idly chewing on the top of a rather well-used pencil has she flipped through the information that had been gathered from a series of weather satellites earlier that day.

"You are quite mirabile, Elena," a human girl said leaning over her fellow scientist's shoulder to look at the information on the sheets, "I don't think that our boss will be too pleased to hear that you've printed out the daily scans instead of monitoring them on the computer but I think it is adorable."

"It also prevents us from getting the headaches that would be generated if we just looked at a computer screen, Marika." Elena said as she flicked through some more sheets, "If our new supervisor was interested in increasing the efficiency of the office then they'd accept that but he is rather dense."

"If you are worried about them then you could always report them to our regional supervisor," Marika whispered getting closer to avoid being overheard by curious eavesdroppers, "I heard that they've been absent at the ASG centre lately and I think that we deserve to be led by someone that doesn't have that weakness, a strong and formosus leader such as you."

Elena sighed as her colleague entertained yet another scheme to try and get rid of her boss, although hearing the proposal again in such a manner made it even more of a tempting proposal to accept Marika's offer for once and take her rightful places as the local supervisor for the WOPD facility in the Research Colony.

"I'll think about it ok?" Elena said fighting the blush that was climbing her face to re-focus on her work, the pencil that she was idly nibbling on dropping to the floor as she looked over some of the most recent data, "If what I am reading here is correct then those poor TDF conscripts won't be as badly screwed as we thought they were in the earlier predictions."

"It could also provide us with the ammunition that we need to get you to the top," Marika said with a wink as she took some of the papers from the elven woman's hands and laid it out on the desk next to a MalTec computer, "I'll help you review the information so we can submit it to our soon to be departed boss."

Elena nodded as she activated the small MalTec device, soon those in Silverdale would hear of the revised weather analysis and then the start of her ascension through the WOPD and RIAU would begin in earnest.

[Rohane Alista]

(OoC: written with Legokiller)

Penguin City, Icy Coast, Silverdale
0100 Hours Local Time, +2 days

The 12th Engineer Company was once again working after midnight, but no longer on the walls of Penguin City; the moonlight reflecting off the battlements revealed the walls were bristling with defenses, no room realistically left to fortify the city any further. Instead, the 12th found themselves nearly a mile outside the city walls, setting a special Silverdalean pykrete blend into the long trenchworks they had been constructing for the last few days. Various earthmoving machines, rented, bought, or donated by or from Silverdaleans could be seen in the distance, much closer to the city itself, moving the earth for another trenchline.

Surprisingly swiftly, as the hours passed, new fortifications, mostly built out of pykrete, went up along the new defensive line, as weapon systems were also installed. Bunkers with machine guns and flamethrowers, artillery pits, flamethrowers and landmines (special ones, filled with incindiaries instead of the usual shrapnel) had all been erected in merely a few days as desperate calls had begun to pour in from frontier forces.

Indeed, many of these frontier forces had already begun filtering back to Penguin City; the main roadway had been filled with refugees and retreating soldiers all day, Lance Corporal Eorl had noticed. It had started late last night, at nearly 4 am, as a camper trailer with a small pony family had come to the checkpoint outside the trenchwork and been allowed through. About half an hour after that, an APC with exhausted looking Rohanian troops had slowed to stop at the checkpoint, where they spent a few extra minutes before heading towards the city. Eorl hadn’t heard much, but he did overhear a brief snippet; a small town on the hinterlands had been overrun already, the citizens fleeing and the soldiers buying as much time as they could before falling back.

As the sun had slowly risen into the sky, the frequency of vehicles and caravans had begun to increase dramatically. Soon enough the checkpoint had been overwhelmed, so many civilians and soldiers retreating from the front that the 12th Engineers had been temporarily reassigned to help clear the bottleneck. It seemed the situation was dire, with small towns and outposts being overrun by so many enemies the survivors couldn’t even hazard a guess at how many there were; indeed, one private quietly informed the Lance Corporal that they had killed at least twenty as a unit, but that the twenty had soon been replaced by at least forty more, and then they had been told to retreat.

By noon, the 12th Engineers had been once again reassigned, this time to finish installing the anti-burrow devices the Rohanians had rigged up on the fly, a pertinent example of the kind of innovation under pressure Rohanians prided themselves on. Steel slabs, with Dornalian anti-magic devices built into their interior that would constantly project a magic denying field, and extremely smooth exteriors, were buried at an angle in front of the trenchworks, deep into the earth and slotted together, in an effort to force any burrowing monsters to the surface where they’d be much more exposed to the concentrated fire of the defending forces.

As soon as their section had been finished and reburied in the earth, the 12th Engineers were instructed by their captain to head to bed; the sun was falling already, and they’d been up far too long. It would be a short night, and they all knew it, but at least a little more rest was always good, so they headed into one of the barracks buried underneath the earth in the tunnels linking the trench lines and headed to sleep, one by one.

Inner Ring, Penguin City, Icy Shore, Silverdale
0900 Hours Local Time, +2 Days

“... Recon Team 2..,” the transmitter for the special quantum entangled radio spat out as it received its message. “Repeat, position overrun, requesting further orders for Recon Team 2, out,” the voice came again, accompanied by the sound of tightly controlled panicking and gunfire. The radio operator quickly turned, sending the request up the chain, receiving a short reply; an order to retreat. The operator quickly turned back, raising Recon Team 2 on the radio and receiving nothing but static. With a sigh, the woman turned and put in a note that Recon Team 2 has fallen out of contact and may be MIA, soon returning to direct further communications.

She wasn’t alone; the entire office floor was filled with various radio, phone, and messaging system operators, as well as analysts and clerks keeping track of the information flowing in and out of the Rohanian strategic headquarters in Penguin City. They had occupied a building in the innermost ring (with permission, of course), and turned it from a nice enough office building into the nerve center of the ground operations in the southernmost parts of Silverdale.

The base floors served a large jumble of uses; some areas were used for logistics, including maintenance, acquisitions, and storage, while others were used as impromptu barracks. In the middle of the building were the operations floors, where the radio operations, analysis and intelligence department, and other high level tasks necessary to the smooth functioning of the army group as a whole were located. Finally, the top floor held the brass, as well as the official liaisons with the Dornalian, Malgravean, and local Silverdalean forces. Here was where the decisions were made; the analysts and intelligence operatives sent their conclusions up, and got directions for how to respond in return. It was somehow the tensest area in the entire building, if not one of the tensest in the entire city, as the pressure of metaphorically holding the gates of Silverdale closed weighed on the minds of those in charge.

Soon enough, arguably the most worrying order yet came down from the commander of the 2nd Army Group, General Habib Karimi; a general retreat of Rohanians forces from the Icy Shores hinterlands back to Penguin City. Between the already initiated attack on New Snowdale and the alarmingly rapid loss of both lives and territory in the further flung settlements of Icy Shores, those in charge had determined that the 2nd Army Group would be better served defending the most important point of all, Penguin City.

New Snowdale, Icy Shores, Silverdale
1000 Hours Local Time, +2 Days

Commander Baxter Niwscky shivered in the cold, sniffing as his nose ran a little bit, looking down the sights of his MBR19 and firing a round into the head of… a thing, some kind of ice creature, which seemed to collapse in response. He quickly replaced the now empty magazine in his rifle, looking out the window as he heard the roar of aircraft overhead. It looked like… not much, a whiteout blocking his vision of what was occurring, but he could tell it was soon followed by what he recognized as F/A-21 Nomad assault planes that dropped incendiary bombs on the gathering winter troops just outside the city, slowing them for a moment before it peeled back off into the distance again.

The commander groaned, turning away from the window to look at his small squad. Corporal Saliba was calling out targets for the squad’s attached sniper, Lieutenant Mornol. The call out was soon followed by the crack of the sniper rifle, the only thing to break the relative silence in the room. Sergeant Dunn was resting in a sleeping bag, being allowed to catch some shut eye after having taken night watch. It was an odd squad, but it had been urgently formed out of the remnants of a sniper team and Squad 34 of Company 12. The battle of New Snowdale had already claimed some Rohanian lives, and the commander had decided the chances of those tallies including his subordinates was lower if they combined forces.

He could hear, if he focused, the low rumble of constant Malgravean artillery fire, a deep bass that brought small trembles through the building when a particularly large barrage began firing. Occasionally, the artillery rumble was punctuated by the staccato of Rohanian MA-15 Starfall Mobile Artillery Platforms firing missile barrages into the seemingly unending ranks of the enemy forces. Rarely could he see or hear where they landed, but every once in a while a sudden bloom of explosions in the visible distance would indicate some poor group of monsters had probably just been wiped from existence so hard it might as well be retroactively erased.

The commander sniffed again, returning to looking out the window as there was another crack from the sniper rifle. The storm was no longer a white wall in the distance, but had crept into the city; it wasn’t impossible to see yet, but it soon would be if he had to guess. Regardless, his order were clear; do not let a single monster step foot any further into New Snowdale than the outskirts, and if that became impossible, give ‘em hell while retreating under artillery fire. Baxter didn’t know for sure where other squads were, though he did occasionally see a muzzle flash from a building across the square, which reassured him that at least they weren’t alone.

Skies above New Snowdale, Icy Shores, Silverdale
1000 Hours Local Time, +2 Days

“Falcon 2-1 to control,” Captain Tenchley called through his radio. “Multiple bandits on scope, clear to engage?”

“Affirmative,” was the brisk response, prompting Captain Tenchley to switch channels to communicate with his flight.

“Clear to engage,” was all he said, pushing the throttle and racing in, his wingman covering, launching radar guided missiles at encroaching ice drakes before breaking off again. His wingman did the same, as did the three other pairs that made up Falcon flight, clearing a window for the real heavy hitters to get in.

Tenchley watched as the Dornalian F-45s soared into combat, giving them a thumbs up they doubtless couldn’t see, and then circled back to set up an envelope for the Rohanian F/A-21 Nomad squadron coming in to lay down bombing runs. Not the most exciting of jobs, but potentially the most important.

IRN Jacobi Turak Task Force, Snow Sea, Silverdale
1100 Hours Local Time

The IRN Bombardier seemed to shake in the water some as its multitude of missile platforms launched a wave into the skies, which soon disappeared. The barrage had likely cost Rohane Alista well over several thousand nami alone, but the effect would be devastating; anything on the receiving end of so many missiles was sure to feel it, and it would do a fine job of stopping ice monsters trying to sneak across to Silverdale proper.

But the Bombardier wasn’t the only ship on high alert or putting in full effort; flights were landing and taking flight from the deck of the Jacobi Turkak with seemingly no pause, heading in several directions, to support New Snowdale and Penguin City, or make strikes on ice monsters identified in the Snow Sea. IRN Queen Mythra and IRN Queen Marron were, as ever, dutifully flanking the carrier, their own batteries on full readiness and multiple anti-submersible helicopters deployed around the fleet as a whole, setting a screen no underwater beast could penetrate without both luck and powerful magic, especially when combined with the support of similar helicopters from the destroyers that formed part of the escort.

Off in the distance in the southwest was the continuation of the battle between the Silver Aegis vs Mega-Sharktopus-Zilla! The allied channel that the Rohanian Fleet received was from the mystic ‘Druid of the Seas’, Queen Aurora, a Battleship Shipgirl who coordinated with the Carrier Strike Force to move away from oncoming powerful ice attacks! “All nearby fleets, keep a long distance away from this location and engage in long range missile strikes. The Silver Aegis will keep an updated marker on the kaiju.”

The Mega-Sharktopus-Zilla roared as it dived back into the water and jumped forward to chomp against Mythra! The girl dodged and slash her holy burning sword at it, and slash away one of its tentacles! However, the creature used its magic to deleopy icy crystal shards being tossed across the sky to hit any incoming missiles from jets and ships!

The ice shards did their job partially, but couldn’t quite cope with the sheer amount of distant fire incoming. Tens of missiles exploded harmlessly against the ice, or crashed into the sea where their detonations were wasted, but a few managed to detonate in the ocean close enough to force the monster to the surface on a swelling of superheated air. As the missile barrages died down, the sound of hypersonic jets coming in could be heard, as specks on the horizon began to appear, but more than would be expected normally from the Rohanian fleet; it seemed they might have picked up reinforcements from the mainland on their way.

Flesh and blood blasted away from the kaiju as the missiles harmed it greatly! However, in one last thrash, Bremoningdale yelped as she was hit and part of her armor (and clothes) were broken! “Ow! Better end this now!” She aimed her cannon and blasted it with a heat shell! As the creature roared, Arcana cast a spell and fired magic missiles at its eyes for Mythra to go in for the kill! “Oh light of mythra, vanish this beast from your presence!” She jumped and stabbed it in the head, destroying it with a light blast!

To add insult to injury, missiles from all fleets destroyed it so no regeneration antics could happen!

The aircraft sent by the fleet thundered overhead, circling to confirm the target had been eliminated, before splitting off and heading back for their points of origin. A moment or two later, the radio each shipgirl had crackled to life. “Good work, please return to the fleet now. We’ll see what we can do for repairs for you,” the voice of Admiral William Nielsen calmly and gently ordered the girls. “We’ll cycle you onto R&R, too. You earned it.”

“Why thanks Admiral!” Bremerton gave a gleeful smile.

“Finally…” Arcana gave a tiresome look. “Hot chocolate here I come! It beats this miserable winter any day.”

Mythra gave an awkward look as she thought about that one cruiser, but wasn’t sure if it was THAT GIRL from the academy or the ship itself. “Acknowledged. Returning to the fleet at once.”

As the returned to the fleet, the patrolling destroyers would split apart, giving them a clear lane to access the repair ships in the center of the convoy. While truly intended for emergency repairs of traditional ships while at sea, they had been specially outfitted to also be able to repair the gear of shipgirls, to better compliment the experimental forces that Silverdale and Rohane Alista had worked together on creating. They would pass by the Jacobi Turak and its escorts, where they would receive a few waves from sailors on board the aircraft carrier, and Mythra would receive a scowl and a small frown from a blond woman standing on the bow of the Queen Mythra, before she turned and headed inside the citadel of the cruiser.

Mythra gave a flat look before a small frown grew as the two things that shared her name were there! “By the light of Mythra, please protect me.” She muttered.

“Cheer up Mythra! Sure, the Queen can be so harsh, but she’s a sweetheart deep inside.” Bremoningdale winked. “In her good days. Usually. Anyway!” She bounced into the repair ship. “Let’s get some nice dinner!”

[Dyste]

(OoC: Co-written with Glaristant and LK)

Forward Base Magistral, Silverwoods City, Silverdale

Two weeks had passed since the arrival of the first wave of Glaristanti forces in Silverdale, with the members of the Arnwehr and Havoc company keeping busy preparing a proper forward base just outside of the city as they awaited the arrival of the main bulk of the Glaristanti force. The days had been long, with the troops laboring to set up fortifications, batteries, and accommodations for both themselves and the five thousand troops of the Fifth Brigade of the Glaristanti Army that would be arriving within the coming two days. Yet as the darkness of the previous night receded and gave way to the bitter cold of the next morning, two figures could be seen sitting on one of the ramparts at the edge of the base. One, a towering black and copper scaled and black haired tanager wore a lengthy forest green great coat adorned with a patch bearing the head of a silver dragon, along with a set of three silver stars on each shoulder board. The tanager sighed as she drank from a coffee cup, seeming to barely be bothered by the cold as she looked out towards the rising sun, “You know, sister….If you told me six months ago that I would be back in the field again after all this time, I would have called you daft. Yet given all that has happened, between that fiasco in Avalon and signing the covenant with Bracel….It is a quite the nice reprieve to be able to focus solely on commanding my men, along with fighting monsters with you. Well...I suppose it would be more accurate to say Veleon is doing the fighting…”

The other figure was a burly with Draconid of black and gold scales, wearing a red cloak; not her usual attire, but for this mission it felt appropriate. While not an official member of the Arnwehr, she had acted as an instructor in their academy. Compared to her sister, she drank milk, a habit picked up from someone she held dear. “I do hope all the time in a desk position has not made you soft! At least when I am teaching would-be knights, I am able to keep training alongside them…” reaching inside her cloak, she picked out a Mr. Moocow’s Burger, one of the many ones she had packed for this adventure. “I wish I had these when we started out! Would have made those marches in Rohane Alista easier to bear!” Even more important than usual, she had her Thermal Bag of Holding attached onto her cloak; it helped keep the burgers at a good temperature and retained freshness. One of the many Dystan inventions that helped make treks like this easier, especially given the cold weather. “I have to ask you, though, Ey… do you miss being on the field like this instead of as Veleon?”

The tanager smiled as she gave her sister a light boop on the muzzle, doing her best to avoid causing her sister to drop the burger. She would not admit it, but seeing her sister in the cloak of an Aegir Academy instructor brought her no small amount of pride. She had initially been hesitant to ask her sister to teach there, but after seeing how skilled Tynah had become during her career as a Royal Knight she knew that her sister had earned it. Yet what amused her was seeing the burly draconid drinking milk and munching on a burger, two rather odd habits in her eyes that her sister had picked up from a mutual acquaintance and her uncle. Granted she supposed she could not really fault her for the milk, given that she herself tended to drink quite a bit of it for breakfast at the insistence of her wife. Regardless, she rolled her eyes, never really having understood Tynah’s particular fascination with what was in her eyes a somewhat overcooked sandwich. If her sister had any taste she would instead have gone with the Mr. Moocow’s rib box, which to her was a meal fit for a queen! Nevertheless, she found her thoughts interrupted at Tynah’s comment about her having gone soft following her forced retirement from field duty. Eyvel held her left arm, feeling the faded scars that still lingered from the beast that had nearly ended her, “Sister….You know very well that even in spite of being desked and my injuries, I could still go toe to toe with you when did those practice spars for our students. Besides do you not remember that my best pupils tended to fight yours to a stand still during the Argent Week celebrations, right? At any rate, you need not worry sister...I am far from soft even in spite of my long absence from the field!”

Eyvel chuckled as she set her coffee aside, slipping a burger from Tynah’s thermal bag before taking a bite of it, “Sorry sister, you were wide open….You have got to be more careful with your food as you never know what hungry souls might take it, Oh that...I…” Eyvel sat down on a nearby crate, munching on her burger as she thought of how to best answer her sister. Admittedly, there was part of her that had come to prefer being Veleon over her normal self, as when she was Veleon she was not weighed down by the accumulated memories and baggage from her long career as a paladin. Yet at the same time, she knew she would be lying if she said that she did not enjoy returning to field work as herself, “I...If I am being honest, sister...Yes and no. It is exhilarating to be serving on the frontlines again as myself. You can scarcely understand how much I craved being able to return to field duty following Veske’s death and my retirement. Yet with that being said, I would be a fool if I did not recognize that Veleon is more adept for field work than my normal self, given the raw power of Brasa and that she can use Argente at its full strength….whereas I can’t anymore. Speaking of, I do have to ask...How are you and father coping with me having become Veleon?”

Tynah growled when she noticed Eyvel taking a burger from her stash, “Sister, do not take a burger without asking next time, or I will never tell you where the rib boxes are!” Much like their father, Tynah rather enjoyed prime rib, and her one issue with the Rohanian restaurant was the lack of a ribwich. It seemed such an obvious addition for them, too! Nevertheless, she chuckled when Eyvel mentioned their sparring, “You do realise that I deliberately hold back for those lessons, right? It would not do to knock out my sparring partner so early into them, GHAHAHAHA!” The princess chowed down on her burger, “And I still say you had a longer time to help your pupils practice, unlike some people who have field duties alongside diplomatic matters to attend to!” She was still a princess, after all, and retained the official duties as such alongside her job as a Royal Knight.

Tynah had heard of her sister’s issues with using her powers naturally, which were quite concerning. Of course, seeing as she herself did not use much in the way of divine magic or the like, she didn’t really have much to lose from her own actions, aside from letting her skills atrophy - one of the main reasons she always kept up on her training - but she knew it had been troubling her sister. “Perhaps this will be a chance to help you redeem yourself from your actions in the past… I once had to deal with a druid who turned against nature and lost all of his abilities, but with the help of Auntie Mishera, managed to find his path again. That said, I do not know how much this will go towards it… but if you are worried about Veleon, honestly I do enjoy being around her too! I mean, you are still a part of her at the end of the day, after all. As for father, well, in a way you are not too different from him getting power from Bahamut, though admittedly his personality and appearance do not change… erm, maybe it is different after all… but what I do know is he sees that you seem happier now than you have been in a long time… but I wonder, are you really?”

Eyvel listened intently to her sister, all the while smiling as she heard her sister’s comments about her own pupils. It was true that she had required a longer time to train them yes, but if only for the reason that her students would require every skill she could teach them to survive. When the topic of discussion turned to Veleon and her happiness, Eyvel’s smile faded as she recalled when she had initially lost her powers. It had been a slow process at first, with her having to expend more effort to use them which naturally left her far more fatigued than she had been prior to her injuries. However as the years had gone by, she had lost access to them completely with her instead having to rely on her skill with the blade and limited combat magic she had learned from her teacher. It had helped mitigate the loss of her divine spell casting abilities somewhat, but had left her increasingly unable to properly perform her role. That seemed not to be the case when she was Veleon however, as when she was in that form she had full access to her old abilities along with many brand new ones, “Perhaps you are right, sister. Lady Brasa has told me that if I were to pursue the path of atonement, some of my old abilities might return to me, given time. Maybe this will. Others however, she said would not due to the wounds I sustained at the hands of that vampire….”

The tanager felt over her left arm again, the image of the once fresh scar left by the beast’s gruesome talons ripping through her scales flashed before her mind once again, “Nevertheless, I suppose that we will simply have to see, but I do hope you are right. Regardless….I...suppose you could say I am. Ever since I turned over my leadership roles to Veleon, I have felt as if weight has been lifted from my shoulders. When I am her, I need not worry about the lingering….crimes from my past reign. Then there is what it has done to my home life….” The tanager smiled as she reached into her coat, pulling out a photo herself in an ornate green gown and what appeared to be a smiling black haired woman with feathered arms, who wore a blue bridal dress and matching veil. They were surrounded by three tanager with similar scale patterns, one female and two male, with the two males having wispy hair and patches of feathers. Additionally a dark skinned draconic woman with silver horns and wings and a black scaled tanager in a black suit stood on either side of the couple, “ So yes… being her, has brought me a measure of happiness. Between that and it allowing me to restore my bonds with you and father, I could not be happier.”

“In that case, I think you should embrace the changes,” Tynah was fully aware of Eyvel’s past, and how that vampire badly affected her reign over Glaristant. After everything that happened, she was glad to see her getting a fresh start with Veleon. Looking over the photo, she was happy to see that Ey had managed to find love again, and had reconciled with her children; she knew Kyara had cut ties with Eyvel for some time, Mihaly wouldn’t speak to her, and Tynah’s favourite nephew, Veske, had moved to Dyste. The princess had taken him into her own company during those times, and it was only after the attack on Glaristant that she had managed to convince him and the others to return to their mother’s side. She was glad she did so, since it seemed to help Ey’s recovery during those times and brought her to how she was today.

“By the way, have you noticed that today seems to be a little better outside than it has been over the past while? Obviously it is still cold and all, but compared to the previous days it almost seems… sunny. Do you think perhaps something has happened?” Not that she was complaining, of course, but it did seem to not be quite as harsh as it was before. “That must be a good sign for our adventure!”

Eyvel smiled as she looked out towards the horizon, watching as the sunlight pierced the storm clouds that had surrounded the city. It seemed that the weather had indeed improved from the previous days, even if it was still more frigid than a reinvelian winter. The tanager pulled her great coat tight around her as she chuckled, “I am not sure, sister….I will say this though, the air definitely feels a lot...lighter than it did when we arrived two weeks ago. I would daresay that it feels like a weight has been lifted from the land, but who can say for sure? That being said….This means we can finally deploy to see if we can’t do something to stem the tide of those monster attacks, perhaps we might even be able to find the source of them. At least it will beat cooling our heels here at the firebase….”

Eyvel set aside her now finished coffee, reaching up to press a silver pendant that dangled from her neck as she became enveloped in golden light. Her form shifted, growing taller while her hair grew and became white as the snow that rested on the ramparts. The light faded as she opened her eyes to reveal a pair of icy blue orbs that eyed Tynah warmly, all the while she offered her hand to her sister, “And since we’ll be leaving the firebase, it’s time for me to take over. Sorry to interrupt your chat with Ey, sister but we do have work to do. With this storm clearing up, we’ll need to start prep work for our upcoming mission to deal with that Thanatos. First and foremost we have to meet with that fine lady from Avala….” Veleon pulled in her sister for a hug as the snow continued to fall around them, all the while she softly muttered, “Sister….Thank you for what you said, by the way. You have no idea how much that means, both me to and to Ey.”

Tynah returned the hug to Ey… no, Veleon. In her eyes she just saw Veleon as basically a side of her sister that she had repressed for ages, but she supposed the changes were more than that. “Yes, let us get going, sister; I have been waiting for some action!” In spite of knowing there were plenty of aspects of the war besides just battling, she was a warrior at heart, and this waiting had made her on edge and restless.

Forward Base Magistral, Tarmac

After spending the morning training and securing their gear, the various members of Argent Squadron had been called to assemble in the helicopter hangar nead the edge of the FOB, with some of them wondering if they were at last being called to action. Others however laughed it off as yet another readiness drill or an inspection by Grandmaster Veleon, all so that she could keep them from becoming too relaxed. Yet as they approached the hangar they were shocked to see that the Squadron’s transport, a silver Kestrel VTOL bristling with weapons and armor, was parked on the tarmac seemingly ready for takeoff at any minute. Her pilot, a raven haired lamia by the name of Saiana who wore a white jumpsuit, stood by the vehicle along with Veleon and Princess Tynah. Veleon smiled as she motioned for them to join her and her sister around a makeshift table containing a holographic projector that displayed a map of Silverdale, all the while she called out, “Good to see you lot haven’t been slacking off during down time. I was worried I would have to come over to the barracks and haul you knightlings out of bed one by one. Anyways, hurry up and gather around. Our guest here has a fair bit to share about our next mission.” She motioned to a newcomer who stood waiting by the side of the projector, “Go ahead...The floor is all yours.”

The newcomer, or ‘oldcomer’ by the word of the Silverdaleans, was none other than General Arthurus and an arctic elf druid of Avala. The dinosaur reference by the soldiers and some Mystic Guardians comment was on how Arthurus, the golden blonde hair with a bun tied behind, wore such a silver to worldly pearl white celestial plate armor and rode a pegasus! Naturally, the pegasus corps were more mobile infantry and recon, which is a sad devolution from one’s grand origins of the days of chivalry. Beside Arthurus was a bluish girl under a heavy white parka. She was somewhat timid by the others, but as usual, embraced the others with a hug.

“My friend Hilda does this as a tradition of the arctic elves.” Arthurus explained. “Now, I am General Arthurus of the First Order of the Mystic Guardians, and Airborne Command of the army in Silverdale. Before we begin witht the detailed explanation, Hilda does wish to explain the gravity of this task.”

“Why thank you.” Hilda sighed as she gave a solemn expression to the knights. “To begin, the four seasonal goddesses are angry at Silverdale. As bad actors to the climate of the people were brought upon Garyx, Avala has refused to provide aid as we brought this upon ourselves. Hence this war is ‘divine punishment.’” She gulped for a second as it was awful news, which wasn’t really broadcast by the media beyond the religious right news outlets. “Now it does sound dispassionate, yes, but there is a path for us to win favor for Avala and change the tide of the war itself. A force of poison and disorder… That my friend Arthurus will tell.”

“Indeed. The Lich Thanatos and his cabal of cultists.” Arthturus narrowed her eyes. “Even if we win this war, this lich will hide away for decades in order to plant the seeds for another winter war to occur. Hence, that is where you come in to aid our teams to search and destroy this creature.”

Tynah returned the arctic elf’s hug; she was used to the traditions of them after spending time in Southern Silverdale. Apparently it was in part due to the need of sharing warmth in a cold land that led to such traditions, or so some believed. “Greetings to the both of you! I am Tynah Blackfang, Crown Princess and Royal Knight of Dyste.” She then sat and listened to the Silverdaleans speak, before standing up in excitement, “Finding and fighting a lich and his followers? Sounds like the sort of adventure Father would have gone in his time,” Tynah punched her fist into her open palm; indeed, she had read that King Tyroth and his own team, the Black Fangs, fought a Lich a few centuries past. She had always wanted her own shot as such a creature. “Now, admittedly I am no expert on the wills of the divine, but the Order of Bahamut believes one should show their faith by their actions. Perhaps this is a way that they are trying to test us? Regardless, I do not back down from a challenge like this. What of you, sister?”

Veleon and the other members of Squad Argent returned the hug, with a few of them seemingly caught offguard by it while others seemed to enjoy it. Veleon herself could not help but be reminded of a certain friend of her’s who also embraced that particular elven tradition, but nonetheless she pushed that particular thought aside. The tanager nodded as she spoke, “Warmest Greetings to the both of you, General Arthurus and Lady Hilda. I am Grandmaster Veleon Blackfang of the Arnwehr, and Grand Duchess of Glaristant. These are my fellow members of the Arnwehr, paladins and knights of Argent Squadron.” The tanager listened intently as Hilda and Arthurus spoke, their expressions turning dour at the mention of how the war was divine punishment for the sins of the Silverdalen people. The Glaristanti more than most could sympathize with them given that they too had recently faced retribution at the hands of an angered goddess, having only escaped it by the selfless actions of their new patron deity. Veleon for her part gave the General and Hilda a pat on the shoulder as she spoke, hoping to set them at ease, “Yes….we understand all too well what comes about when a deity, or deities in this case, are angry subjects. For that you have my sympathies, general and Lady Hilda. I assure you we will do all we can to aid in resolving the situation. Speaking of.”

At the mention of the Lich, Veleon could not help but smile. She had her fair share of encounters with various undead, be they higher vampires, ghouls, or revenants, but never had she in her long life been given the opportunity to face down a lich. She knew very well from her own reading and the stories from her mother, that her father and the Black Fangs had fought a legendary battle with just such a creature several hundred years ago. She could not help but chuckle at her sister’s excitement, seemingly amused that even at her age Tynah still was so easily excitable. That being said, it was not like she wasn’t feeling the same enthusiasm, “A lich and a chance to save the day? It seems Lady Brasa is giving us a chance to prove our worth as her knights sooner than I thought. As for your question, sister…..I have no intention of backing away or withdrawing in the face of an undead, even if it is a dangerous one such as lich. With that being said.” The tanager and her fellow soldiers saluted as she smiled, all the while the light of the polar sun reflecting off the silver lining on her uniform, “My men and I will not rest until this Thanatos is eradicated from Silverdale and his plans reduced to naught but ruin. This I swear to you on both my honor as Grand Duchess of Glaristant and as a Paladin of Brasa.”

General Arthurus gave a light nod, despite the small wince of the comment of ‘Paladin of Brasa.’ “It seems Brasa became popular in Glaristant as well?” She then added. “I thank you for taking up the task to hunt down this monster. I shall lend a personal squad to assist you in this hunt.”

“And I shall give my blessings, alongside supplementation of the druidic circles for you all to endure winter's wrath.” Hilda said. She then gestured for the supplies given in crates. “I made enough preparation, like protection from the cold, magical winter boots, potions to protect you from evil, and other necessary needs. Oh… One blessing is I as a guide through the uncharted mountains of the south pole.”

“Brasa does have a following in Dyste as well,” Tynah remarked, having heard that the dragon goddess did a tour of the land not too long after coming into being and eventually meeting with Bahamut himself. Of course, Eyvel, or rather Veleon, had a much more personal connection to Brasa. “But yes, any help is much appreciated…” she looked over the supplies with interest, “Oh, these boots… they remind me of a pair that are kept in the Fort Calberona Museum. I think they were a gift from Queen Aurora, actually.” When she was an infant, a Dystan diplomatic mission to Silverdale which resulted in what some feel was the first step towards the Dragon Sea Alliance took place. To deal with a mission in the southern winterlands, members of the Dystan delegation were gifted magical boots from the queen.

“Ahem… I see that you have come prepared, Hilda. ‘Proper preparation leads to a successful adventure’, as they say. I suppose that remains true no matter what manner of forces you belong to, though.” Tynah reached for her Thermal Bag of Holding and revealed her stash of Mr. Moocow’s, “As for myself, I brought along enough burgers for this whole mission, so at the very least we should not go hungry, GHAHAHA! … it is a shame I cannot summon feasts like my father can, but you make do with what you can. I am no mage, but I have never found a weapon or fighting style I cannot master. Everyone has their own strengths to offer!”

Veleon gave the general a slight nod, all the while a small smile crept across her muzzle. To say Brasa had become popular in the city state was an understatement, given she had become the city’s primary deity almost a year prior, “Yes. I understand she is at best a fringe deity here in Silverdale, but back in our homeland she is one of three major deities in our pantheon as well as the Arnwehr’s patron goddess. You could say…all of us in service to her, especially me, owe her our lives for her intervention six months ago. Had she not helped beat back the forces of the Abyss, Glaristant would have ceased to exist. I suppose you could also say, I have a more personal debt to her as well, with it not being inaccurate to say I would not exist without her.”

The tanager’s smile faded as she recalled how much she and her men had sacrificed in bringing Brasa to the mortal plane to save her city from annihilation at the hands of the Abyss. Still she did not regret the sacrifice, nor the changes the event had brought for both her city as well as herself. She nodded once more, adding, “It is my pleasure, General. Silverdale has been both a loyal ally and a good friend to Glaristant over the years, even during the….dark days of the Emergency over the last thirty years. At any rate, I look forward to seeing you and your men in action, especially given all of the stories I have heard about you.” She and her fellow members of Squad Argent eyed the supplies Hilda had brought along, with two of the tanagers of the squad taking a few minutes to inspect both the boots and potions. Veleon motioned for the rest of her squad to start loading the crates into the waiting kestrel, all the while she activated the display causing a map of silverdale to appear with Magistral and the South Pole highlighted, “Do not worry about your lack of magical ability sister, I can handle that side of things if need be. That being said, I think you will find you will have plenty of chances to test your strength in the days ahead. Anyways, Lady Hilda, I appreciate your foresight in preparing these supplies for us. Combined with the arms and other supplies we brought with us onboard on the Avalon, I believe we will have more than enough in terms of provisions and protective equipment to see us through our mission. Now given you are acting as our guide, I would assume you or Lady Arthurus have some inkling as to where this accursed Lich is hiding?”

“The lich’s location is rather difficult. What our scouts and intel gathered is in the middle of the icy mountains of the South Pole in the Icy Coast. There is one benefit with the recent increase of undead attacks is that the pinpoint location may become easier to find at this time. However, I expect when the coalition forces and our army destroy the undead menace, we’ll lose the location of Thanatos. The lich knows when to disappear within the arctic environment once his plans are unfoiled.” Arthurus replied.

Veleon listened intently as Arthurus spoke, all the while she ran through possible options in her head. She and her forces had some limited knowledge of the region from Veckne’s reports along with what they had been provided from their contacts in Silverdale, but it was barely enough to create even a fuzzy picture of the situation along the Icy Coast. Normally she would wish to spend at least a few weeks gathering a better picture of the situation on the ground before committing her forces, but it seemed like they would not have that luxury this time around, “I see. Hrm….It seems time is of the essence then if we wish to ensure the success of this operation. If you would like, my forces can provide us with transport to a suitable location in the region where we could set up a camp, with us perhaps using that as a base to narrow down Thanatos’s lair. Between the recon drones we brought with us and Lady Hilda, I would imagine we should be able to track him down within a few days at most. Would that be acceptable to you, General? If so, we can be ready to depart within the next six hours. Additionally, if we manage to destroy this lich, we at the very least deal a significant blow to his undead which will make mopping them up all the easier. Not to mention it will take some of the pressure off of our allies…”

“I am certainly ready to go whenever we are prepared!” Tynah grinned, “While we should of course be cautious, it appears that we must act with haste this time.” She had experienced times when an adventuring party had failed in a mission because they didn’t react quickly enough, and in the matters of war, time could always be of the essence. “Furthermore, I agree with my sister that it is likely that if we are able to stop this ‘Thanatos’, it might aid our allies fighting his undead forces; without leadership from a powerful source, they are often far less effective, if they are even able to do anything at all without their leader. Like how often golems cannot work without their controller.”

“His undead armies will crumble without him indeed.” Arthurus nodded. “Hence we’ll be slipping through the backlines to a site classified as ‘Zone: Skadi’ and begin our recon from there. It is active with undead, and we may be able to find one of the main sources to his base.”

“As you wish, general. I will have some of the members of Havoc Company prepare our transport for the trip to Zone: Skadi over the next few hours. Use the next few hours to make sure you are prepared for what lies ahead. I need not remind you what happens to a force that fails to adequately prepare for a mission, especially one as dangerous as this. Be ready to set by nightfall. Dismissed!” The tanager gave her men a quick salute as she dismissed them, before giving a bow to Arthurus and Hilda. She was admittedly a bit uneasy about the coming mission, especially one that involved a powerful undead given how her last encounter with one had ended. Yet at the same time the presence of the Silverdaleans, Tynah, and her men gave her some level of comfort that they might just be able to pull the mission off. As the group cleared out, Veleon waved over her sister, saying in a low tone, “Sister…I have a request of you? When we finally find this blasted lich...Promise me that you will not do anything reckless or attempt to take him on by yourself, okay? I...do not wish to see you end up like Captain Cavil did back in 1863.”

Tynah sighed at hearing her sister, “Look, what do you take me for, the young impressionable princess I was when we first met, helping out Lila with our friends? Sure, then I was so assured in my skills, but ever since Elwin’s near death I realised how important it was to support and work in tandem with one’s allies. After all, is it not one of my special powers the ability to enhance my nearby allies? I believe there is even a name for my signature tactic, the ‘Blackfang Charge’, which involves the aid of others for mutual benefit? You are not the only one who changed since our first meeting, Ey.”

Veleon chuckled as she heard her sister sighing, seemingly amused by her sister’s irritation, “Sister….I never said that you were still the naive little princess you were all those centuries ago. I have watched as you have grown from being the impressionable little nid you were when we first started out to a fine soldier, easily worthy of all the honors you have accrued. Hell...I would be remiss if I did not say that I am proud of all you accomplished since then, perhaps even a little jealous if I am being honest. With that being said…” Veleon disappeared in the same golden light from earlier as she transformed back into eyvel, all the while she embraced her sister with her one good arm. She gave the draconid a smile as she added, “With that being said, this is a different matter. We are going up against a powerful abomination that even father had trouble dealing with. With that in mind….you will hopefully forgive me for just trying to make sure you do not make the same mistakes I did.”

“Oh, do not worry, sister. If there is one thing I am bad at,” besides magic, resisting an arena challenge or kicking her burger addiction, of course, “It is falling for the same mistakes you do. My mistakes tend to be way different! Now, let us prepare for the upcoming battle.” she took Ey’s good arm and began dragging her to the training ground; it had been a while since they sparred together. “If you do well, I might even have a rib box waiting for you…”

[Princess Luna]

Silver Shoals, Equestria

The house was spacious, with gardens that extended out from the house and grounds that were discretely set in the acres of countryside surrounding Silver Shoals. There were few people about at the darkest hours of the night, and the high tower shone with the moonlight from within, a sign of the nocturnal occupant of the town. The tower was central, built above the main entrance hall of the house, three stories high, linked to the hall by a circular staircase, it made an appropriate roost, with a telescope sat on the balcony and high pointed windows that linked to the balcony.

Luna’s head bolted forward with a snort of startlement, not rising from her sitting position for a moment as she placed herself again, her eyes roving from place to place in the room before she settle, the edge of panic fading into mere alarm. She stretched her wings and rose to her full height, her mane falling from her back and then lifting into the air with its motion of captured starlight.

The curl pad in the tower was flanked on either side by crystalline trees of pale quartz that glowed with internal light, eerily like living trees, and from which six coloured stones hung, it wasn’t quite a bed, but a comfortable rest-spot for dream-walking.

Luna wore a mantle of white false-fur under a creamy ivory outer layer, comfort against the occasional chill from the balcony window she had left open. She rose and trotted across the room to a round table build under the circular stair that led to the open cupola above, with its lenses built for stargazing. There were many books in this workspace, most of them were manuals of dreams, cultural speculations and psychological texts, as well as books on how to comfort other ponies, and other species.

She levitated a book from the shelf, entitled ‘Dreams of the Southern Lands’ and she opened it, flicking through it. She’d been consulting it often lately, and the sides of the pages were covered in her marginalia and thoughts. Without thinking she adjusted the lenses at the top of the room to shine moonlight on the book and flicked through to where she wanted.

“Hm,” she said and sat on her haunches.

Downstairs, the house was mostly empty, the Sisters did not live in a simple abode, Celestia had little taste for roughing it now, and even Luna had to admit she enjoyed her comforts, but it was less spacious than the castle had been, but still quite extensive, they had no shortage of nick-nacks and items, even in the hall, a stack of brollies and cloaks, saddlebags and other bits and pieces. The unicorn guards on duty there saluted as she passed and she bowed her head but didn’t pay too much heed, heading into the library.

The Library was spacious, well-formatted and with the customary texts, and the princess paused, closing the door before pulling one of the books, the door unlocking and letting her into the secret room behind.

Celestia’s long-standing passion for secret traps and rooms and devices had been put to use all across the house, but this was an old memory, a version of the secret reading room they had had in their younger days, with two external windows, one in pale yellow and the other in night-blue. The left hoof wall was dominated by another more extensive book-case, holding more dangerous books.

Beside it an archway led from the reading room into another room down a dark flight of stairs, and closing the secret door, Luna trotted into this. The room was an armoury of sorts, though there were no lethal weapons there, there were a few useful things, spare copies of various useful items. There were more items too, stranger things, an airship in a bottle that could form a real airship, a guardian-lion of jade that gleamed as though in bright sunlight rather than the wan magic light that Luna had cast. There were other little items, potions racked up and neatly bottled and here and there staff, orb or other items of magic-weaving, spell-gems and stranger things that had ended up in the Sisters’ home.

It wasn’t this that drew Luna here though, instead, it was the broad table with a huge bust of an ancient Pegasus on one end, strings of parchment and paper laid across the table, while the walls were adorned with items pinned to them describing dozens of projects. It wasn’t really that the prime of either sister was past - as much fun as being able to take a whole day to play polo might be especially for Celestia after a thousand years of ritual - but there was simply more opportunity to help out in more exciting ways.

This room was where the Sisters tended to keep their notes, written in a language that was archaic and at times nonsensical to others; Luna dipped a quill pen made from one of her shed feathers into the ink on a side table, and made a few notes on the wall-chart labelled ‘Silverdale.’

Then she headed upstairs, there was a chance that her sister might not notice where she was right away, letting herself out of the secret rooms, she headed to the kitchen, she knew that Celestia would always head down to make breakfast, and she wrote a shorter note on a chalkboard there.

‘Gone to get some things for the Silverdale situation, might be a bit late, save me some pancakes - Luna.’

With this done, she headed back to the cloak-room, fastened her regalia onto her person, magic flowing from the royal crown, petryls and hoof-shoes, the first two enhancing her already potent magical abilities still further, while the royal horse-shoes allowed her, when necessary, to strike with incredible force, yet spare anyone she struck from lasting injury or death, to subdue an assailant without lasting harm was valued in Equestria.

Adorned for public view, she called the captain of their contingent of Royal Guards over, to let him know where she was going; she would take other guardians with her, but it would not do to have them panic, and when that was done, she cast a spell that folded time and space around her.

The Nightspire lay thousands of miles away, in the south-western Tovyakan ocean, to the far edge of the Pony Lands region. She had asked for the structure to be built to diffuse tensions between the nations on either side of it, a reminder that she was watching, as the rest of the world was and a metaphorical message that if they wanted to fight they would have to go past her.

It had worked and had been built by the Great Civilization to such an excessive scale and scope that an entire city had grown up around it and more so within it, there were hospitals and temples, refugees and migrants seeking a better life within the realm of the Ponies and the wider Mystria.

She had brought herself to the personal quarters that she held in the upper reaches of the spire; guards saluted, but these were different in their style from the royal guard of Equestria, clad in living metal armour, the Night Guard were her protectors in the wild realms beyond Equestria.

“My Royal Princess,” Gudhir Henricssen said as he bowed on one forelimb, his Imerian name belied that he was an earth pony, “welcome, how can we assist you?”

“I will need a pegasus escort,” she said, “I have some errands to run.”

“Firewing and Rachette are ready,” Gudhir said, “I shall call for them at once.”

[Legokiller]

Dragon Fight

A splash of icy liquid-like blood sprayed across the dornie mecha, as the creature shrieked in pain! As it was being grappled down by such wrestling movies, it was unable to continue its flight. It began to fall down into the whiteout abyss. The white dragon flailed its wings to batter the jet, as its jaws madly attempted to bite down vital components of the plane itself!

The ‘Night King’ climbed up upon his dragon mount to get a good vantage point at Chesie herself. She can see the man as a strange creature of snow, yet some crystallize gaze of pure hate from its deep blue eyes. Its hand gestured for his magical powers to conjure up four massive stalagmite-like icicles to form in midair to become lances. He grabbed onto the newly formed weapons, and held onto the dragon dearly as he tossed those ice spears right at the cockpit of the mecha itself!

Arden Line, Defense line between New Snowdale and Penguin City

The once humble village of Boulder Rook was radically transformed into a pykrete fortress connected to a network of trench work that was right out of the horrified Great War of Earth. The numerous strikes, fire magic, and the flight of the 'Dragon Penguins' that swoop by to breath fire turned the once majestical wonderland of ice into a hellscape of barren tundra rock and slush in the kill zone. What made it worse is the ever pushback of the blizzards and ice magic to return, only to me meant back by water bending magic to other forms of ice to push back. The hateful ice monsters of the lesser kind tossed themselves through the gaps and barbed wires, only to get entangled by the metal or mowed down by gunfire. Just to add insult to injury, the plucky sap ditched close to the barbed wires allowed magi and druids to cast heat meat to turn the metal into hot rods of death! The shrieks of entangled monsters turned quickly into a pond of water was something to be both frightened and satisfied.

When the light of day returned, the monsters' broken armies retreated into the mountains to give the frontlines a chance of respite. The line held, but its strength dwindled away as the enemy's magical attacks formed pillars of ice across the defense line. As ambulances and medical teams rushed thousands to hospitals and medical fields, entire gardens of frozen people inflicted by the Curse of Garyx lined up from the outside. The leading cause of losses, outside of being killed, or fell from the harsh elements. The curse, placed upon the monsters themselves to the blizzards of Garyx, trapped the person alive and froze in place in an icy prison. By the stories of ancient times, a curse was placed by Garyx for a spiteful person to suffer the same fate as Garyx herself. The curse itself was difficult to remove except for the most talented of magi.

Due to pressure to raise armies and demand to spread divisions in a wide field for the invasion of the mainland, reinforcements became light. Only the donation of robotic operators called CUTIEBOTS, squads of summoners rushed into the ground to help cover some of the weaker gaps. Entire groups of monsters and other entities from the planes came to help out and fled off the next soft waves when night came.

Despite this aid from the beyond… an enormous creature from prehistory spearheaded it's away from the northern lines to penguin city itself! A great blizzard with a newly fierce horde aimed to attack the city itself!


Penguin City

A titanic beast, long mythicized as a mere name of those who choose sides with Garyx, broke free from its icy tomb to wreak havoc upon the putty morals. Chains of frozen crystals shackle around its white-furred quadruple sleek marine body, with a long tail for the sea, and a massive boney head of a hammerhead. The colossal being towered all over two hundred feet and known by the local folk tellers in penguin city as the herald of Garyx herself. The destoroyah poise to cleanse the land in ice, for evolution to begin anew to Garyx’s image.

The herald stamped across the assault of the Silverdalean forces, and in seconds heals up from any wounds taken from bullet and cannon fire. When the kaiju reached the southern walls of Penguin City, it raised its head to channel a terrorizing particle laser of force and breathed it at the defenses! The raw energy and power punctured the middle wall and caused it to crumble, just large enough for its size and the ice hordes to storm in!

To make matters worse, the undead menace began its assault at the north of Penguin City. The mindless dead was used as cannon fodder for the more well-armed undead to advance and attack any ‘weak points’ it could find!

New Snowdale


On the edge of the glacier, a snow woman with ghostly white hair observed the situation. Entire hordes of ice monsters moved in doves and disappeared into shush by long-range airstrikes and artillery. Creatures that passed the kill zone to the front were swiftly dealt with by the enemy's modern forces. By rough night and day, it continued. But when the auroras shined, the emotionless snow woman turned around to the glacier itself.

Words of ice spilled from the creature as it and many other icy children of Garyx gathered forth. In the mist and darkness, an awakening of the glacier itself took place with the sacrifice of many icy begins to awaken the ice sheet. The ice started to quake as the glacier arose upwards into a towering ice kaiju, and stomped forward. As the kaiju marched to battle, so did the army of snowmen, and the glacier itself followed.

The defenders of New Snowdale saw the skies darkened by the snowwoman magi's power. Lightning crackled forth from the new blizzard. Bolts of energy threaten to strike down and smite upon aircraft and vehicles alike! The ice Kaiju breathed out an icy beam towards the fortification positions of the Malgraveans to freeze as many of them! However, the kaiju's real strength was to take a large amount of damage before it crumbles apart. The kaiju was not alone as the snowmen advanced beside the ice creature. Icy magical artillery strikes were cast to the New Snowdale defense lines that exploded in cold energies, to teleporting battlemages who aimed to destroy their artillery positions!


Silverdale, Southern Coast

As the war continued on, the southern coastline of the mainland of Silverdale became embroiled in conflict. Icebergs floated across the shallow, and disembark their monstrous passengers to begin their assault. While their numbers varied, single individuals contained one of the most dangerous. Such as a dreadful linnorm, laid waste to entire villages and towns. The more numerous like the ice elementals caused quick havoc before being dispatched by local militia and military.

The worst of the brute force came to the state of Peppermintia. While the town of Everpine and others held by their defenders, the main port quickly fell by thousands of ice monsters that blitz for the prize: Peppermintville. The colorful and candy city, with many eco green suburbans were scourged when the blizzard came. Monsters stalk the streets. The rush of military forces to secure a parameter only did best to make checkpoints for masses to flee in droves. But the monster tide was too much as they consumed the heart of the city itself, and turned it into a frozen battleground. Although, at best, it is to delay the inevitable for the fall of the town for the Silverdalean army to regroup and strike at the horse's flanks.

It wasn’t the only mass horde, as another arrived at the shoes of the state of Riverdale. The horde by thousands with powerful monsters pushed forward towards Silverwoods itself! A straight line alongside other towns, villages, and sacred groves to be pillaged alongside their assault.

[Malgrave]

New Snowdale, Silverdale

In a short space of time, the consistent long-range artillery fire of the MalDef Mouse had proven rather invaluable to the ongoing efforts of the 3rd Infantry Division to repel the offensive operation from the seemingly endless hordes of monsters that were approaching the defensive barricades of New Snowdale, as plainly put the ability to strike at foes some 60 to 70 kilometres away meant that the civilian population had more time to escape via the mixture of aircraft and seized MalTra civilian liners that were being used by the Malgravean state to take the Silverdaleans to a more secure and warmer location.

Yet the constant barrage of artillery didn't deal with all threats and the information centre of the 3rd Artillery Brigade was awash with reports from MalDef Guardian drones about the existence of a new larger threat that put the evacuation at danger.

"It is quite an incredible feat to be able to shrug off so many artillery shells and keep moving," a middle-aged neko said stroking her chin in thought as she looked at the footage being broadcast by one of the MalDef Guardians.

"Comrade Junior Colonel?" a younger woman said, the solo thin chevron bar on her uniform identifying her as a Lance Corporal.

"I take it that thermobaric rounds have had limited impact on this large creature, Lance Corporal?" the Junior Colonel said looking as several well-targeted rounds impacted one of the legs of the creature to little impact.

"It has proven ineffective so far, Junior Colonel but it is possible that the rounds could have a larger impact as the creature gets closer to the city proper." the Lance Corporal said as if she wished her words would become true in the next few seconds.

"It is also possible that the ancestors themselves could swoop down from the sky and destroy these creatures, however, we shouldn't pin our hopes on such unlikely situations and instead rely upon our training and determination for victory," the Junior Colonel said hoping to put some inspiration into the Lance Corporal, "In the meantime, we need to prepare for that creature to reach the walls, so instruct the MalDef Mouses to focus fire on the vulnerable creatures around the larger one and instruct them to start slowly pulling back to new positions further from the fighting."

"Of course, Junior Colonel," the Lance Corporal said firing off several orders in Malgravean Ancient to the MalDef artillery units, a few seconds passing before a couple of the artillery units broke off from their firing engagement to move to a new location further away from the fighting, with a few units of regular conscripts joining them to continue providing defensive cover in the case of continued harassment against the positions from infiltrators.

The Junior Colonel released a small sigh of relief as she listened to her orders being carried out, and as the atmosphere in the room turned from nervous confusion to focused professionalism the neko couldn't help but look towards the small desk space that had been turned into her unofficial office of sorts, her gaze focusing on the framed photograph that she had of her daughter, a strong reminder of what she was fighting in Silverdale to protect.

"If I remember correctly you have family waiting back for you in Omsk, Lance Corporal?" the Junior Colonel said looking back from her desk to the present situation unfolding in front of her.

"I do, Junior Colonel, my parents and a brother and sister," the Lance Corporal said as the footage continued to roll in from the MalDef Guardian, the footage becoming rushed on occasions as the pilot took evasive action to avoid being struck down.

"I imagine they'll be taking part in the snow festival?" the Junior Colonel asked with a soft smile on her face, the neko had received some photographs from her daughter earlier on showcasing her adventures trying to build a snowpuffin and she had quickly added it to the photograph collection hidden in her desk.

"Of course, Junior Colonel. I believe they'll be taking part in the festival with their local ASG centre and taking in the hot chocolate." the Lance Corporal replied fondly remembering the hot drink.

"In that case, we should ensure that you can return to Omsk so that you can enjoy some hot chocolate. I imagine they'll host another festival for when we return," the Junior Colonel said extolling a feeling of confidence despite the understanding that the orders that the 3rd Infantry Division had received to defend the civilian population and ensure their safe evacuation at all costs meant the increased chance that herself and a large portion of her colleagues wouldn't return home but that didn't mean that she couldn't do her best to prevent that

"Lance Corporal? Let's talk to the Dornalians. I have an interesting solution to our monster predicament."

[Glaristant]

OOC: Collab with Legokiller and Dyste

Everpine, Peppermintia
Silverdale

“Hiyaaa!”

The illogical yet highly effective demigoddess foxgirl bounced over to sucker punch down a wide grin ice elemental and shattered its face! But for the sun blessed paladin in her bikini, she had magical powers to protect her from it, and well her tails were blushy snow white. All added with a flurry of fiery punches to melt the creature down and help protect this corner of the street of Everpine.

Everpine, the lovely beach town known for its traditional dragon elf style of the green dragons, was once the lovely tourist destination. The local taffy shops made sweet candy, to the folklore of the forest and water plays were presented in the local theater. Then of course was the Yellow-Eyed Penguin hill houses known from a cute halfling story. All embroiled by deep snow and the rampage of monsters! The place was mostly smothering ruins beyond the defense line at the central block where the townhall and the great sacred tree grove was located. The Silver Maidens, National Guard, and the dragon elf militia fiercely fought to hold the line against the tide of beasts.

Yet in this state where in all logic that the town should fall, the rumors of the guardian dragon seemed to appear in hours of night, and disappeared back into the forest.

Members of the Black Army were helping as well in this fight, it being one of the many areas members have been dispatched. A Fire Draconid Mage summoned a group of Fire elementals to combat the icy foes, sending them to key locations to aid the militia.

For her own part, Shana Goldenheart used her shurikens of light to take down a series of smaller elementals while her foxy friend took down the big one. “Nice one, Sunny! But it appears at the rate we’re going things aren’t going well for us. Strong as we might be, they just keep coming!” That said, she had heard the rumors of the dragon like everyone else, “It might be risky, but if we can get that dragon on our side, we might be able to hold them off.”


“A dragon?” Sunny cocked her head. “No no, we should pray for a miracle from Solis to give us a better chance against these fiends.”

“Oh please.” Alicia scoffed. “We have a chance to get ourselves a dragon. That way we can push these monsters back. I recommend that we do so.”

“Honestly, it sounds like the best idea,” Miraden seemed to be getting worn down from the constant attacks, “Besides, Shana’s got some experience in dealing with dragons now!”

“Ahem, I suppose you could say that…” Shana was a demigoddess much like Sunny was, but when with Brasa, she had her own encounters with dragons. “We can make a miracle with our own hands. But don’t be careless with your words, don’t want to offend them or anything like that.”

“Offend a dragon? Well I don’t know this dragon, so I can’t say for sure!” Sunny then lean over to Shana. “But whatche mean by make your own miracle?”

“What do you think, Sunny?” An aasimar with black hair that contrasted with her pale skin joined them, having taken down one of the larger ice elementals. Her body was covered with black draconic features, like wings and a tail, but she was still distinctly humanoid. She stretched in front of the others, “Gee, Shana, I thought when you summoned me I thought you might’ve wanted a date, not to fight off a bunch of creatures for you! You’re gonna have to make this up for me later!”

“Yeah, I know, Lux,” Shana sighed; Lux was her former sensei in Clan Dragonlover, having taken on the role as leader once the original leader, the famous dwarven ninja Javia, had retired. However, she in turn has retired from the role in favour of Javia’s descendant Hinoka, who Shana had heard had just finished her most recent investigation. “I mean, this is the sort of thing Brasa would do, right? Use her charms to convince the dragon to side with her?”

“Among other things, yes,” Lux had spent most of her time around Brasa ever since she had agreed to become one of her celestials, so she was all too aware of her methods, and had used them herself plenty of times since then. “Naturally the ‘miracle’ Shana is talking about is to win the day by using her own skills and the aid of her allies instead of wishing for someone else to save them. Of course, Brasa is in full support of your cause, which is why I can be here. And hey, I needed the exercise anyways.”

Avril, for her part was locked in combat with a an ice elemental, seemingly struggling to take the creature down with her urumi. She had managed to cut deep into it with the whip like blades of the weapon, but was having difficulty pulling them loose as they become lodged deep in the creature. She huffed as she at last managed to pull the urumi free, leaving a large gash in the elemental’s chest where the blades had cut through. The werepanther chuckled as she reached into her coat, pulling out a small black sphere which she thrust into the cavity she had carved into the creature. Diving back she heard a small wine before the creature exploded into numerous shards of ice, all the while she chuckled, “I’ll have to thank the boss for that one when I see her again. Who knew I would actually end up using it after all this time!” She said, as she eyed the being Lux had summoned, not sure what to make of her.”


“Oh.” Sunny blushed red. “No no no! I don’t mean wishing for help, I mean prayer as invoke of Solis. There’s a difference as in I call upon the help of Solis and she empowers me with said skills to win the day.”

“Exercise? Calling upon miracles? You people are so-” Alicia facepalm.

As the party finished up the fight with the ice monster wave, one of the Silverdalean battlemages at the defense force rushed over to toss dust of phosphor and cast a spell to create a massive wall of fire! As the blaze was 20 feet wide, it melted away the lesser of monsters and discouraged the rest. A squadron of helicopters flew over to suppress the wave with chain guns and missiles. The lend had a bright sun of Solis on it’s side.

“Well now… there’s my miracle and I didn’t have to pray for it.” Sunny chuckled. “Now, let’s use this time to see that dragon.”

“I think that’d be for the best,” Lux said. “Solis gave us a blessing there, now it’s time for a little gift from Brasa.”

“If you all think I can do this,” Shana said, looking a bit more nervous now that the time had come; she wasn’t quite as used to this as her half-sisters Marron and Sandy were, and they had the advantage of being part-dragon. Her family tree was an odd one to be certain. “No, we have to. And who knows, Alicia, you might learn something.”

“Honestly, those dragons need to get their butts up more often grandma.” Alicia said. “Now, let’s go.”

“Ahem, I believe you can do it.” Sunny nodded. “Just keep a bright smile, and press forward.”

“I have the brightest of smiles, of course,” Shana gave her grin, making her resemble her own grandmother during speeches when she was the President of Silverdale. “Let’s get going, then.”

“Shana, trust me when I say that you can do it! After all I have seen you do over the past twenty years, dealing with a dragon should be a walk in the park!” The werepanther said, chuckling as she watched her friend give her trademark smile. She knew of Shana’s grandmother’s famous smile and had to admit her granddaughter's was a near perfect match, with it actually being one of her favorite things about the aasimar. Yet beneath her smiling exterior, Avril could not help but feel a sense of unease at the idea of dealing with a dragon, even if some members of their group had experience it., “Um...yeah..Let’s go!”

The gang moved down the defense parameters and streets to arrive at the ‘Green Grove’ of the city. It was a park that had many natural paths of ancient forests that stood for thousands of years before the foundation of the city itself. It was heavy and dense, with a few pathways and tree walks that made some path of exploration. Only markers of where one is at came from the many large stones, and wooden pathways. Then, a sign at the front of the path that leads deeper into the grove.

“HERE BE DRAGONS!”

“Well, that’s pretty on the nose, isn’t it?” Lux said, “But I guess it makes sense, even if the populace did trust the dragon it’s still good to be cautious around them. We aren’t dealing with Draconids, those big lugs are like teddy bears compared to these.”

“Depends on which type, really,” Shana said, “But yeah, most of them aren’t too scary,” Shana said, “We’ve even got a few in our clan, after all. But this, it’s good to warn people who aren’t used to dealing with them. Even dragon elves need to be careful.”

“Most draconids are fairly easy going, especially his majesty’s kids. You would not believe how much of a teddy bear Mr. Mahks can be.” Avril said as she eyed the sign, “Anyways yeah...We should probably heed what it says. You never know just how dangerous this dragon will be, especially if it is anything like the umbrals back home.”

“Oh please, Silverdale can overcome any dangerous bad dragon.” Alicia boasted. “Besides, you have a magical girl here!”

As the party moved forward, they noticed a small and curious elflet boy who gave a very curious glance at the group! “Oh, did someone say a bad dragon? I don’t see a bad dragon around here.” He chuckled. The child was quite lithe and well… wild within his puffy red winter attire, and a brown beanie on top of his bob green hair. He wasn’t afraid about the situation of the war, as he was very carefree!

Shana leaned forward and give the elflet a smile, “Hi! Yeah, doesn’t seem to be any bad dragons around, but there could be good ones here. What’s your name? I’m Shana!” She was used to dealing with kids, having had many children of her own over the years.

Avril smiled at the elflet, “Hiya. Nice to meet you little guy, the name is Avril. And we weren’t saying that there were any bad dragons here, just wondering about the sign was all….”

“Me? Oh I’m Tiki.” The boy chuckled. “Tiki Turner! So… Oh about that sign, yes yes… What was it, oh that’s right! My guardian said that the dragon loves to put whimsical tests to see what they're character is like, and reveal who they are before going to the shrine! I think… Something about knowing the land’s true nature, and all.”

“Ohhhhh, I see, I see!” Shana nodded, “It sounds like fun!”

“Didn’t you put Avvy and I through some tests like that when training us, Shana?” Miraden spoke up, “Like when you had your sheepy daughter dress up to trick us into what our opponent was like?”

“Well, c’mon, we had fun, didn’t we?” Shana giggled, “But it probably isn’t like that. Either way I’m up for it.”

“If by fun you mean spending hours getting beaten up by sheepy. It took me days to get my fur straight again...but yeah I suppose it was fun.” Avvy muttered as she rolled her eyes, “Anyways, it probably isn’t like that. It’s probably something far more difficult, but...regardless, I’m game for it.”

“Oh I’ll warn you!” Tiki jumped up and ran to a wooden bridge that loomed over a frozen brook. “It might not be pretty.” With that, he rushed into a mystic whiteout that began to shroud the path ahead! Only lights and voices that were… familiar to each person spoke forth to them.

Shana could hear the voices of people from her past; they sounded like some of her own children. “No… why this…” she had lived for a considerably long time, and not all of her family had lived as long as she had. But she knew this had to be some sort of trick as she went towards the whiteout.

“Oh gosh! A fiendish… Wait no.” Sunny became determined as she stormed into the whiteout.
Avril’s smile faded as she heard the clanking of chains and the wails of those whom she had accompanied her during her darker days, all the while the laughter of the guards echoed through the cold. She heard the scream of a young woman as she entered the whiteout, “No….no...not again.” She muttered as she stumbled through the whiteout

“Moonstone stone and…. Oh you gotta be kidding me…. That awful comparison to that weird human.” Alicia winced as she went inside the whiteout too.

When Shana entered the whiteout, she was separated from the rest of the group and heard the words that followed: “Disharmony. True self.’ As she went to an opening from the whiteout, she found herself at a ceremony where all the children she had were laid to rest. As the voices cried out in pain, the true threat that Shana could see was a black cloaked skeleton with a small scythe that overlooked the graves.

“What the-” Shana rushed forward towards the graves, having seen the figure that was around the graves. “What are you doing here?! This… isn’t a place for you!”

The grim reaper gazed over to Shana and then turned away as it pointed to the next grave. The same one that he began to collect the soul of the recently fallen as its tombstone was engraved with the name: Sharena Goldenheart the Sheepling ninja.
“How could you mother!” Sharena's voice echoed into Shana’s mind. “I thought you could have saved me from… getting old.”

“Wait… no!” Shana pulled out her weapons, “You can’t have her! It’s not her time yet… and I won’t let it happen!”

The grim reaper ignored Shana and took the soul of the sheep away. The distance between Shana and the undead creature grew wider no matter how far the chase she can put up, or try to prevent it… She can’t.

The scene vanished as Shana entered an opening of snow and a wooden shrine where the same elf boy looked at the girl.

“In the face of disharmony, you’ll fight the face of death.” Tiki said. His voice was a little… serious than his usual carefree tone. “But it is something that one cannot win in the end… Even as the winds of winter of one’s rage of Garyx… Such wrath will end when nothing remains and she too will perish.”

“In my line of work, there’s always the risk of death,” now it was Shana’s turn to go from her usual cheery self to a more serious tone, “It is the life I chose for myself, as did my students and many of my children, and there’s always the risk that the next mission could be the last one for us. But that doesn’t mean we simply give up and accept it. I won’t accept it as inevitable that this is an unwinnable battle. Call it stubbornness or foolhardiness, I call it having the will to press on in the face of adversity.”

“Death is a reality we face every day with our line of work, it’s simply part of the risk in our line of work. Each of us knew that taking this path required us to accept that each mission may be our last, but that nonetheless we have to put our lives on the line to ensure that those back home and those that have yet to be born have a world free of the evils of our foes.” The werepanther’s golden eyes narrowed as she regarded the elflet with barely concealed contempt, “It may be foolhardy to say this, but each and everyone of us would gladly place our lives on the line if it means we can ensure that this Garyx is put down permanently, along with his cultists. I...I owe both my ninja and those whose lives I have taken that much.” Avril’s scowl faded as her fists tightened around three crescent moon pendants which dangled from her hand.

“I see, I see! But don’t allow your battle to mean that you control who lives and dies. It’ll lead to a more… destructive path. Now…” Tiki jumped down on the ground to shift into an entirely different creature! A large and greenish scaly creature of the green dragons! Shiny, branch like a tree, and glammered in emerald color, and complete with stag-like antlers for the sharp head. It flexed out its bat-like leather wings, and looked down on the two. “As the great Tiki, hear my warning on your quest to destroy Garyx. You must see that your hearts are free and those of you care do not fall in disorder. There is one who would be doomed to repeat the same mistakes as the Ice Legion, and in their quest for a new rebirth of myth brought Garyx upon them.”

“Oh that’s nice.” Alicia, now angered more than ever, approached Tiki. “I have no ties with that awful party. Besides, my presidency won’t end in some weird end of civilization warlord. It will be civil and ruled by order.”

Avril nodded as she glanced towards Shana, trying to make sure she was alright, “Aye. Obviously we will be trying to minimize casualties during our campaign here, but we will keep your words in mind, great one. I...know I at the very least won’t make the mistake of allowing my heart to be burdened again by that which Garyx represents…” She looked towards Shana again, whispering, “You okay, Shana?”

“I’m fine, Avril,” Shana replied, “I know that there are many involved in this war who wish to stop Garyx,” Shana said, “But I know that with the aid of Brasa’s love, we won’t succumb to disorder. I just hope that others will be able to do so as well…”

“Well, it won’t always be with Brasa’s help,” Lux added, having mostly been unfazed by the trial, “But I know at least one of her paladins is working to stop that lich. But I’ll make sure these people at least remember to heed your words.” Having worked as a celestial under Brasa and as a leader of their clan for centuries had made the aasimar all too used to situations like this, and assessing her allies.

Sunny jumped out of the whiteout and whipped her tail to the side. “Geez… That was a bizarre adventure. Peace and wrath for a person who is so lost… I supposed that I need to think more of Solis’ teachings.”

Miraden arrived right afterwards, shivering, “At least I’m not the only one in this group wearing this kind of attire, but the foxy doesn’t seem to be cold!”

Shana patted Sunny’s ears, “Ah, there you two are… and Mira, maybe dress appropriately for the mission next time? You aren’t blessed by a sun goddess after all. Anyways, I think that’s all of us. Guess we passed that trial at least.”

“It seems like it….and she is right Mira, you really could stand to cover up a bit more next time.” Avril said, giving Mira a chuckle as she handed Mira her overcoat, “Here, this should at least help a bit, Miri.”

“Passed? Hm, most are open to it, but Alicia is in denial of the logical end of her ideas to bring disharmony and widespread death.” Tiki said.

“Oh you just compared me to the worst beings out there and rubbed it in.” Alicia then sighed. “Besides, I do wish for Silverdale to be true to its values. Not some… well easily parodied to people who don’t believe it as their ‘friends’ poison it.”

“If I may be so bold…He is right. I do not know what all is going on in that head of your’s, but you do seem to be walking a path that will only lead you to ruin. I have seen it before in a former employer and you are making the same mistakes they did. Just...mind where your “Ideas” lead you.” Avril uttered as she eyed Alicia

“Former employer? Look I have no idea, but my ideals aren’t going anywhere like that… whoever it is.” Alicia said. Sunny did give a dirty look as she was ready to knock some sense to the aasimar at any second.

“I’ll tell you this...before Shana recruited me I worked for a military group way up north who had a leader similar to yourself. Young, determined to save their country from the corrupt elements who were destroying it in her eyes.” The werepanther’s eyes narrowed as she continued to eye Alicia, her words being as venom as she spoke, “You are just like her in that you and your little band of miscreants think that forcing your ideals will bring lasting peace to Silverdale, when all you will end up accomplishing is destroying that which you wish to save. I do wonder, though… how many will die at the tip of an assassin’s blade or be imprisoned behind bars of iron before your ideals are brought to fruition?”

“Excuse me, but I haven’t slaughtered my country men! I want Slverdale to be first, so you don’t know what you’re talking about. Now why are you rude- '' Alicia was cut off as a simple punch to the face came from the fox woman. The aasimar collapsed on the ground, and looked at Sunny, shocked by what she did!

“Heh...See that’s just how she started by saying she only wanted to make her domain first, then it went downhill from there. Say what you will, but people like you are the same no matter whether its here in the south or up north Regardless, if you wish to keep pursuing this path then that is your prerogative, but do not say you have not been warned.” Avril gave Sunny a nod, thanking her for cutting Alicia off, “And I wouldn’t call it being rude, but rather trying to help you. Anyways, thanks for the assist Sunny. I appreciate it.”

“Alicia,” Shana took a more calmer voice with Alicia as she offered a hand up, “You idolise Sailor Chione, right? You want to be like her? Well, she does value love and friendship more than anyone I know, and loves her family deeply. Perhaps when we survive all this and you get to meet her, you can show how much you learned from her?”

“I’ll not allow those who speak of Solis, only to be an ‘abritor’ of who desires the sunlight’s protection or not.” Sunny gave a firm gesture to Avril. “Our people share our kindness to all, and even the deities allow it. It is not a chosen group for the hateful beings to poison the flock with false promises of greatness. Besides, I didn’t even vote for you!”

Alicia tied to punch back at foxkin, but she quickly dodged away. “Why do you people need to make this so difficult!” She pouted as she slowly got up. “You’d all agree that my ideas aren’t wrong, then why harm me over some maybes?”

“Because this winter war will be for naught as the next cycle is determined by those who come next.” Tiki answered. “I’ve seen the lack of guidance torn the land into sunder and its people lost their way a near century ago. As your position is of interest, you must let go and see the original source of the celestial body of cold than the diluted and conspiracy. It is a difficult path, but the fruits will be splendid."

“Look, I’ve seen way too many people think they are right and are so set in their ways that they close themselves off to new ideas,” Lux added, “I’ve spent a decade in Nirvana in order to gain enlightenment, and I will tell you, it opened my eyes to new possibilities.” While the Goldenhearts’ own holy blood comes from the lawful archons, Lux’s was from agathions, which viewed law and chaos as extremes that could take away from the right path. As such, when she met the animal-like celestials, she found her old ways had been too set and she needed to break away from her old conventions. She tried to strike a balance between the order of Clan Dragonlover and the Chaos of Brasa. “Keep your mind open to new ideas, Alicia.”

Avril sighed as she hefted Alicia up, all the while giving a heavy sigh as she locked eyes with her” She had many choice words she wished to say, ranging from wishing to further lay into here that the follies her nationalist policies would bring to the inevitable repression which she would resort to. Yet as she watched Shana, she could not help but wonder if she was perhaps approaching Alicia with the wrong tone, “Alicia...I understand that you believe that your ideas are what Silverdale needs and….while that may have some grounding in fact. Let me show you something.”

The werepanther shifted back into her fetchling form rolling up her sleeves to show a number of brands along with a string of golden numbers emblazoned on her ashen flesh, “See this...This is the brand I received when I was rounded up and thrown in a camp in one of the purges back home because I did not fit into her or her cohort’s vision of our homeland. The person responsible for this espoused similar rhetoric to what you and your fellows in the Ice Legion are. My point is that you may not be doing this yet, but eventually you will if you keep going down this path as that ideology you cling to will end up poisoning you in the end, as it has done to so many in the past. It may look alluring from a distance, but the path you walk will only end up bringing suffering, not just to you but to those over whom you would rule.”

Alicia looked at the golden numbers emblazoned and looked horrified by the barbaric practice by it! She then scoffed and puffed up her chest. “Right. I’ll … Allow me some time to think about it and speak with my companions. Although to be frank, I know a few… friends who had some ideas on how to ‘save Silverdale.’ Even then, this is going to well kill my career if I back out. Either way…” Alicia looked at the dragon. “You’ll help save this town from the ice monsters right? You're a sage and must protect the land from these vile beasts. Don’t you want to save those trees from not being destroyed in the near future? Even that means changing my mind.”

“Yes, aasimar.” Tiki winked. “I see the growth of life and death throughout the century. Although if you promise to change, I’ll lend my aid.”

“F-Fine!” Alicia admitted. She hoped this doesn’t turn her into a loser and mockery across Silverdale at this rate.

Shana gave Alicia a hug, “I’ll help you out with that, sweetie. I’ve trained a lot of people over my life, not just in combat but to help with their lives. I helped Mira and Avvy be better both as fighters and as people.” Shana’s official job was as a teacher, but what that actually meant was she trained ninjas. But she in turn learned from many people which allowed her to pick up skills to help a wide variety of people.

“That is all I ask. I hope that both mine own and your grandmother’s words will help set you on the right path as you lead Silverdale in the coming months and years.” Avril didn’t show it, but she was somewhat happy her little display had the desired effect on the aasimar. Under normal circumstances she hated showing her old camp brands, but in this case she figured it was worth it, if only to show Alicia what awaited her if she continued down her current path, “It will cost you yes, but if you play your cards right you may yet well earn some new friends or a new opportunity in your career if you take our advice. That being said, I do believe we have more important matters to attend at this time” She had to admit that the very least it would be interesting to see what happened with the aasimar going forward, especially if she actually did end up changing, “By the way, Tiki….We all appreciate your aid, but I assume you have a plan for helping us avert the coming destruction that awaits us?”

“Simple: friendship!” Tiki chuckled. “Now, behold.”

The Emerald dragon shivered as he spoke up the song of the trees, and cast a very gribblish and clicks of branches of a spell. Lastly, a song of the sea to call upon an ocean maiden. An avalanche of snow fell from the everpine trees, as they began to uproot themselves. A stomp of root and branch rumbled the forest, as a treefolk fir tree with an ember axe awakened from the greatest of trees. There were other treants and fey creatures that marched as a bronze-blush dragon flew overhead.

“The time to standby, and allow the people to fight their own battle is over. Now is the time for the world of nature to take a stand against our foul enemy who distorted Avala’s winter.” Tiki said.

“Well, well, I just wish Brigit was here to see this,” Shana chuckled. “But I agree; Garyx’s forces aren’t just threatening people, after all, but the land itself. I don’t think you can afford to simply stay out and expect things to be okay for you all.” She knew that Silverdale had a strong druid culture in its history, and while none of her own team were druids - she might have to check in with the Black Army if they had any, come to think of it - they always had a connection with nature, back with Queen Aurora even before she founded the nation. “As long as you’re willing to fight alongside us, we’ll be happy to have you here.”

“Impressive...truly impressive.” Avril whistled as she beheld the druids and dragons, seeming particularly taken by the bronze like dragon. She had encountered druids before, having run afoul of them during her old life prior to becoming one of shana’s students, but never ones like these, “Er sorry...it’s just this is incredible. But yes, the time for inaction on your part is over, especially now that Garyx’s forces are beginning to spread like wildfire throughout Silverdale.” The kayal smiled, happy that Tiki’s group was joining them, “You guys will definitely be a great asset to the team, Tiki. Between us and your group, I think we might just be able to make it through this mess….just maybe. At any rate, welcome aboard.”

“I must speak with the elves of this town. For now, we’ll be off to face Garyx’s children.” Tiki began to fly off into the sky as the forces of nature began to march to face the ice monster horrors in the urban area.

“Wow, with this we’re sure to be able to fight back against Garyx’s forces!” Miraden said as she looked in awe of their new forces.

“Don’t say that like it’s a sure thing,” Lux chastised the Bovinian, “It’s not an assured victory even with reinforcements. All of you must continue to give your all to the effort and make Brasa proud… or Solis in your case, Sunny.”

“Right, we can’t be complacent,” Shana said, “But with the help of them and the Black Army, we might be able to make a stand here where we couldn’t in Peppermintia. And hey, getting a few cute dragons to help is always nice… erm, sorry, that’s the Brasa influence talking.”

As the ice monsters began their next assault upon the defense line, the forces of nature charged forth! Tiki swooped down into the streets, breathing a hot burning acid that melted away many of the monsters. Entire trees and treant slammed their way from the lesser creatures, and the storm of Silverrdaleand push forward to shut down the enemy towards the coastline. The day seemed to turn, but the blessings of the Green Dragon of Everpine is one boon from the Seasonal Nature Deities.

[Malgrave]

OOC: co-written with lego (thanks lego!)

Cerne, Research Colony, United Kingdom of Malgrave

The homeland of Silverdale was under siege by the wrath of winter. Once again, the war fell upon the people of the Icy Coast and many others, which the Ice Tribe fully members of the horrors of the civil war and its chaos, destroyed their homes. Such decades old were flesh on how cold and malevolent the creatures came to destroy entire lives, and become frozen in the merciless prison of Garyx.. it was terrible to say the least, and to live through it again was awful.

The matriarch Nina Snowclaw can remember those days in her dreams as she rested on the plane to the Research Colony. Even in the moments of peace, the flash of nightmarish cold war that disrupted the family. Anger. Hate. Frost. It was foggy even as a teenage elf. Only the roars of a stamping dragon of the lost of her grandfather and the tears.

“Nina, we’re almost here.”

Nina looked back at her well fitted couch husband, Jack. He was an arctic elf, and well slender of a runner. Clearly he was worried about something.

Nina, as a highschool teacher, knew one of the key topics on why. In fact, as a druid of the arctic, she knew exactly why. “Is it the wealter? I know this ‘Research Colony’ is cooler in climate, but it isn’t a desert per say.”

“That is one positive of this place. Although I am concerned if they’ll turn us to guinea pigs for a social experiment. You can’t be sure about it.” Jack said.

“Oh that’s nonsense.” Nina chuckled. “Open your heart up a little Jack. This is only a temporal state of our lives in Malgrave. It may take a decade, but we’ll return home once everything is rebuild, and a new age of peace is founded.”

“Alright…” Jack then turned to his fellow companion, the purple maiden Velvet. “You heard that?”

Velvet the Equloine girl with purple eyes, and equally matching era, nodded off. “Heard it. Please don’t rot my brain with such junk food.” She teased. “Let’s enjoy ourselves when we arrive.” Naturally, Velvet was a starsoul sorceress, and buddy girl who crashes in the house at times.

“Now arriving at Cerne, Malgrave.”

As the announcer continued its processor for the people to strap up and remove any items, Nina made sure her three children were ready for the day. Lillie, the blonde haired eldest and half dragon elf child of a human, made sure her two arctic elf brother and sister were awake. It’ll be a long day to settle down. Nina knew that her children, alongside the rest of the people she’s with on the plane, will need to work together to figure out this new land.

Malgrave was uniquely prepared to deal with the onset of refugees created by the rampaging flower of monsters troubling Silverdale, as overestimations in regards to the predicted number of migrants that would flow to the Research Colony combined with the consistent construction of state housing in the Malgravean mainland meant that for the past decade or so Malgrave had been suffering from an empty-property shortage, a situation that it was certainly reluctant to admit to the international community but one that meant that the government could provide plenty of shelter to the Silverdalean people now.

In the moments since the start of the Malgravean involvement in Silverdale a mixture of civilian and military transport aircraft and ships had been involved in ferrying the fleeing Silverdalean civilian population to safe harbours in both the Malgravean mainland and the Research Colony, with the latter being handled in large international port and airport that had been constructed around twenty-years ago in Cerne.

In addition to the effective conscription of MalTra assets elements from the Territorial Defence Force traditionally stationed in the Research Colony had been called to assist the foreign civilian population transport to accommodations across the wider colony, although given the scale of such an endeavour units from the 1st Infantry Division had to be recalled from training exercises near Luban.

As soon as the Silverdalean refugees exited the aircraft they wouldn’t be greeted by conscripts but from officials from the local public health service and escorted to medical examinations room, with the doctors and nurses both being tasked with ensuring that the Silverdaleans were fully-fit and in the rush to flee the country hadn’t forgotten to take essential medication items with them, with the latter being provided in such cases. It also gave an opportunity for nurses to provide the Silverdaleans with toothbrushes and sanitary items that could also be forgotten in the rush but would’ve made people quite uncomfortable if forgotten due to the nature of being in a foreign country.

It was only after these public health checks that the Silverdaleans would get their first glimpse at the conscripts of the Territorial Defence Force, a mixture of humans, beastlings, nekos and elves wearing the standard uniform of service, complete with neatly arranged beret and AR-2 bullpup rifle.

Sub-Lieutenant Moon Ji-Eun was one of these conscripts, the young elven woman had only recently entered proper service as an officer in the Territorial Defence Force following her training and induction into the service as a Soldato a few months earlier but due to her previous history with the tourism sector in Aurora now found herself greeting Silverdaleans with the traditional bow.


The teal haired matriarch approached the sub-lieutenant shortly after providing her husband his own toothbrush. Nina gave a slight bow with a bent knee, and smiled at the elf with an offer for a hug! “Greetings! I am Nina Snowclaw, a humble teacher from the Icy Coast. I hope all things are in order for our refuge.”

Sub-Lieutenant Moon once again bowed in greeting after the brief introduction was made and accepted the offered hug, although somewhat reluctantly. In Malgrave the gesture was reserved for family members and close friends and certainly wasn’t performed in a professional military environment, however, she had also been instructed to make the local Silverdaleans feel welcome and she understood that they were quite a bit tactile compared to herself and her fellow Malgraveans.

“I am Sub-Lieutenant Moon Ji-Eun of the Territorial Defence Force, 1st Infantry Division, and I have been assigned here to assist your transfer to residential accommodations here in Cerne, so if you could just follow me I shall be able to escort you to a bus that we’ve pulled out of service.” the Sub-Lieutenant said speaking slowly to allow the information to sink in and for the newcomers to deal with her local accent, “I will also be assisting your transition here to a more Malgravean-style of life as we don’t know how long you are going to be here and in that time we wouldn’t want someone to be hurt for misreading a sign or something that they could’ve picked up by speaking with a local. You can also call me Ji-Eun or Sub-Lieutenant Moon whichever you are more comfortable with.”

Nina gave a big and nice warm hug to Ji-Eun and listened well to what she said. “I understand Ji-Eun. It may take five or ten years for our homes to be rebuilt, if the worst comes to pass. However, I believe you’d understand that a short amount of time will fly in due time. I am optimistic about that part.” She then winked. “Know I am curious about this malgravean style of life.” She said as she followed. Right as her husband gave his bear hug and tried to hide his worry. The children were quite gleeful in their hugs!

“If that happens you'll probably become more more family with living in Cerne then myself and my fellow conscripts,” Ji-Eun said as she returned the hugs referencing the fact that a majority of the conscripts serving in the TDF rarely got assigned to serve in the region that they were raised in, with the Sub-Lieutenant being raised in Aurora herself before making the required transfer to the Research Colony.

Ji-Eun then indicated for the Silverdaleans to follow her as she continued to speak, “I imagine that our way of life is somewhat familiar to the experience that you’ve had in Silverdale, although the weather will be somewhat wetter and perhaps slightly warmer to what you are used to back home. It is rather miserable, nothing like home....or well my home back in Aurora which is considerably sunnier but sadly quite closed off at the moment due to the defensive preparations being made,” Ji-Eun said silently missing her family back home, “It is also likely that we’ve got some differences in how tactile we are. Malgraveans tend only to be so with family members and friends due to MIDD which weakens our immune system, however, I have noted that you’ve already adapted to this front rather well by offering hugs instead of assuming that everyone would be open to them, quite nice since while a portion of Malgraveans would be resistant some like a nice hug.”

“Oh, I am aware of cultures, including Malgravean, value a more personal space circle between each other. I merely informed myself and taught my family to at least be a little respect. Of course, I’m not sure how long that’d last, but we may get to know each other sooner.” Nina nodded. “But for this defense preparation, would that be any concern for us staying in the Research Colony?”

“You’ll be perfectly fine here in the Research Colony, Comrade,” Ji-Eun said with a smile as she led the family through the airport, the Silverdaleans being able to see other families receive the same sort of welcome from various members of the 1st Infantry Division, “Aurora, my home is located on our mainland. It is currently serving as one of the main staging points for our ongoing efforts within Silverdale itself so additional preparations are being made in case it comes under attack, so for obvious reasons it is quite restricted.”

Ji-Eun then led the Silverdaleans to a waiting area outside of the international airport, something that was perhaps a little bit smaller compared to the zones outside of other airports due to the reduced usage of cars in Malgrave, the Sub-Lieutenant saluting to a small neko as she passed by the exit, the rank on her shoulders indicating that she was a Captain in the Territorial Defence Force.

“If you could disp...no pass your luggage over to the awaiting conscript they can load it into the bus for you and we can be on your way,” Ji-Eun said partially stumbling over her usage of common as she highlighted a small human that appeared to be younger compared to the rest of the conscripts, the rank on her shoulder reading AU or Officer Cadet which indicated how far the government was dipping into its reserves to help the Silverdaleans, “...and please Officer Cadet be careful this time?”

“Yes, Comrade Sub-Lieutenant,” the Officer Cadet said almost tripping over her own feet as she approached the Silverdaleans, the actions causing the Sub-Lieutenant to suppress a sigh and place her palm against her head for a few seconds, “I am Officer Cadet Sabina Campo of the 1st Colonial Training Regiment. If you pass me your bags then I should be able to get us started.” the young Malgravean said highlighting the fact that the coach was prepared to leave once the Silverdaleans had entered.

“Careful Cadet, this one might be a little heavy.” Jack said as he placed down one large blue luggage bag. “Oh, and be careful with this one.” He placed the well prepared backpack, stuffed with druidic, books, and magical items. In fact, a few bags attached opens up to another dimension of a whole library and goods! “It’s fragile.”

Sabina grinned as she looked at the bags, although as the trainee conscript had been lifting massive bags into the back of the coach for the past hour or so she was just grateful that it would soon be over, “You don’t need to worry, Comrade. I am quite prepared to lift all of this cargo,” the Malgravean said her muscles revealing themselves as she began the process of filling the coach, although she did say something in Malgravean Ancient to the Sub-Lieutenant that was responded rather swiftly with a smirk and wink from the elf.

“If you follow me now then we can make our way onto the bus proper,” Ji-Eun said as she made her way up onto the bus, a rather standard arrangement with several rows of two filling the vehicle, with a few empty seats for the Silverdaleans and the Sub-Lieutenant.

“Wow! Sabina was strong like Antoney Hilltop!” Nevada the elflet boy said.

“Come along now.” Nina said. “Let’s not keep the Sub-Lieutenant waiting for too long.”

The family quickly jumped into the car! Outside of a small fight with the twin elflets on ‘who gets to sit in the front’ of the picked empty seats, it ended with Nina taking that spot. Lillie looked dismayed by such antics, while Jack made sure to text Velvet and friends that he’s alright.

Ji-Eun smiled at the antics, the conscript wasn’t that unfamiliar with the process of fighting for relatives for the best seat on the bus but she did make sure that everyone was safely secured with seat belts before she put her own one on.

A few moments later Officer Cadet Sabina Campo, the young Malgravean looking quite tired after having lifted a backpack with quite a few magical compartments hidden inside for extra storage and the tired conscript practically slumped into her seat before quickly moving into a ramrod position when poked by a grinning Soldato.

“It shouldn’t be too long until we reach the residential complex now, Comrades. I estimate it will take around 30 minutes via the autoway.” Ji-Eun said as Officer Cadet Campo started the engine, a low artificial whine emanating from its electric engine.