Welcome to Gaia! ::

Yeah… Northern Gate seems to have not been getting as much lovin’ as the Western and Southern Gates. So it’s only natural that between the precision and communication of Avery’s orders, the number of troops (and extra copious number of supplies available to them, courtesy of Sires), and the fact that it’s night already, that gate has definitely been busted. Biggs may have had to help with the battering ram himself, but it surely happened.

So Lieutenants Biggs, James, and Thelma and co. have been cutting bitches in the streets, Bonnie and pals have successfully climbed the walls, and are cutting bitches atop it, and Rosencrantz and friends are still cuttin’ bitches from a great distance with siege magic. Of course, just because they’re cutting bitches doesn’t mean some of the troops haven’t gotten cut themselves, but having a large portion of their troops able to attack from range, and having a large portion of the troops be mounted has presumably provided a pleasant advantage on that front. What does this mean? It means a lot Mordachean cavalry is past the walls, some good, well armored infantry is past the walls, and more infantry is atop the wall.

And Avery hirself remained where zhe was to begin with, seeing to it that orders for hir troops were carried out to the T., with Wedge, Clyde, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and more troops still in position around hir to act as additional waves of reinforcements when needed (or strike from afar with magic in the case of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern). They hadn’t been needed though. The only wave of reinforcements Avery had seen fit to send in thus far was the troops under Louise, subordinate to Lieutenant Thelma, to provide even more cavalry to help sweep the northern sector of Eyris of Learanians. And that’s what’s up. What does this all mean? It means if you’re looking for something to do or someone to fight, the northern side of Eyris has what you’re looking for. ;D

And as it’s been a long time since an Avery post, I’ll list the classes of hir entourage:
Avery hirself: Halberdier / Biggs: Great Knight, Wedge: Axe Pally / Bonnie & Clyde: both Halbderdiers / Thelma and Louise: both Bow Paladins / Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: both Druids / James: General, Jessie: dead)

These pests just didn't know when to stop. No matter how many were killed off, there was always another one to replace them. They were blending in so well in the night that the soldier's in the air couldn't figure out how many were left.

"There's.. too many!" Zeiss turned to look at Mihira, and gave her a nod. These pests wouldn't stop, and this was a bad situation for them. Sure they had the power to defeat them, but they were outnumbered, and slowly their weapons have been deteriorating with each pest they would take out. It was only a matter of time before they would have to resort to using their wyvern's as weapons.

Although the torch Mihira lit caught Zeiss' eyes. What is she thinking? Is she crazy? This will just draw attention to herself...damnit all. He didn't know what she said when she flew up to the Fire Dragon, but he could tell something was going on in her head and she needed his help for this. The idea better be a good one, and if not, she could end up hurting herself, or worse, losing her own life.

And he was right. While the other pests around the underbelly of the Fire Dragon, the ones that weren't attacking decided to focus on the new target. But this prompted an idea into his head: They would be distracted by the torch unit, but they would not expect a surprise attack. He took off, and sped towards Mihira. He may as well defend her, since she was one of the only ones he knew in this land.

She was able to avoid the incoming lizard bats, but he continued to speed towards her, especially since there were more lizard bats getting close to her. As soon as she made the way to the Fire Dragon's front, he then realized what she was planning. They would follow her, and lead them into a trap. They would learn the pain of a Flametongue and die.

Once she jerked on Darius' reigns, Zeiss shot up towards her, and extended his hand to keep her up. "Are you insane Mihira? If your plan had gone wrong at any moment, those pests could have taken your life! Not only that, but now you have put yourself at the risk of dying by the fire!" He wasn't sure if she had thought this out, but he wasn't about to let her life be in vain. If she would lose her life, he would be by her side. "Think about how Commander Vaida would feel if you lost your life in the battle field!"

Amelia shifted her weight and gripped the sword more tightly. As much as she tried to hide it, her side was beginning to pain her. The constant movements weren't helping it, not after earlier with the multiple rolling dodges. There was simply no easy way for a General to be nimble, not unless they could take a few bruises, and this one was starting to hamper her. Her endurance could take it, but she had to tighten her grip just to hide that her hands had begun to shake.

"You mean like one of your subordinates? Hah... even together, those two slurring, drunken buffoons were nowhere near as challenging as you." Amelia's entire body froze for a moment, eyes widening.

"Wh-Whah..."

"Don't worry... it happened pretty fast. You may not be able to recognize their remains, though... Just to warn you."

Her entire body tensed, pupils contracting as her lips curled back in an enraged scowl. "You... you b***h!"

Her adrenaline spiked as she pressed back against Drake, sword still swinging, even as she became unable to hide her uneven breathing. She had to keep going. Ghis and Steely Dan and everyone on the south side, they had all fallen, and Leon and Tibarn and Rath and King James and everyone else were counting on her, she had to protect them. She had to stop Drake, or stall him. As long as necessary.

I can't stop. I can't stop. Must keep fighting. You can rest when he's dead.

If her sword had been of a higher quality, then perhaps it would have lasted longer, but as Drake continued to push against her, the damage to her Steel Sword became more and more apparent. If she wanted to get in a killing blow, it would have to be soon, or her last short-range weapon would be lost, and he would have his broadsword through her throat before she could draw and fire an arrow.

And then suddenly, was that an opening? It was; he was leaping forward, closer than usual, well within her blade's reach. Amelia lifted her arms with an enraged cry and began to descend upon his left shoulder. The blade began to bite into his flesh, pulling down in a line of red--

Pain.

Amelia's eyes widened, and the Steel Sword stopped in her hands as Drake's broadsword dug deeply into her side, blood spraying out as his sword disappeared from her body. Her face grew pale as she collapsed to her knees, the Steel Sword's hilt slipping from her fingers and hitting the ground quietly, blade stained with blood. The General collapsed to the grass, arms vaguely clutched over her side as the ground below her began to pool with red.

Am... am I going to die? It hurt so much, she could feel the blood pouring out. How long could she bleed before darkness fell on her?

Rhys... where is Rhys... Aisen...

Murphy leaped down from one of the castle walls to a few meters behind and to the right of Drake, one hand pressed upon a knee while the other braced itself on the grass. The Assassin's footsteps were light as just a few small steps brought Murphy closer to the dying General.

It seemed Drake hadn't needed interference after all, but it never hurt to be certain.

"What do you propose we do with her?" Murphy questioned. One hand held a knife loosely to the side, but Murphy's entire frame held that of unassuming steadiness, a wound trap ready to spring. "Shall I dispose of her, or would you prefer we leave her here? Whether or not she lives, there's nothing she can do now."

Amelia's voice was faint, but she apparently still retained some strength. "H-Help..."

Murphy looked back to Drake, expression impassive. "Sir?"

Ignis Draconis sum. Thema fabulae, thema apologi.
c** igne sacrō, Flametongue, (prō amicīs pugnō) prō pace volō.

Fire Dragon

FD was still attempting to rid himself of the bat lizards, in vain, and shooting Flametongues randomly about to kill whatever was in fire’s path. But his inability to rid himself of the plague upon his stomach was getting to be a bigger and bigger problem for him. Out of desperation, the dragon was contemplating dropping out of the sky and deliberately crashing into the ground to deal with them. He could survive the impact of something like that– but the bat lizards would most likely couldn’t.

While he was contemplating such an extreme gambit, however, that same Wyvern Rider from before, Mihira, flew right in front of him- not the safest place to be considering FD had been firing off Flametongues just a bit earlier. The dragon hadn’t noticed her immediately since most of his attention was fixed on getting rid of the pests on his underbelly, but the torch she had on her quickly rectified that. "I.. I have an idea...! Just keep track of my movements... and then unleash your fire when I circle back in front of you...!" Asking him to unleash his flames explained what her plan was. Okay, this could work, and it would certainly be better than him dropping like a meteor. FD made a notion to nod his head to show that he understood her plan, though he wasn’t sure it was discernable as such.

As she flew beneath him, he immediately began ‘chargin’ his lazors’ as they say, readying his attack so as to make it more potent then it would be if he simply went about shooting a Flametongue when she showed up again. It would be the sort of Flametongue he uses to finish major opponents. As Mihara looped around again, right after she crossed his vision, the dragon unleashed the attack he had built up. And it fried all the bat lizards Mihara had lured around like moths to a flame. And it seemed it had missed Mihira and Zeiss, though they would certainly feel the temperature around them swell enormously, so the plan could be called a success!

Unfortunately, it hadn’t eliminated all the bat lizards that were targeting the Fire Dragon, and after unleashing flames of that magnitude, the dragon had just attracted just about every other bat lizard that wasn’t around them already towards himself. It would be too much to have to put up with that of them again and put the Learanian Wyvern Riders at risk. Many a rider had already been taken apart by the number of the freaky-flying foes and he certainly didn’t want that to be the case with any more, much less Mihira specifically. But it was the light of the fire that had attracted them, and so he could lure them away from Mihira at least – also an easy target to spot in the dark thanks to that torch she had. Time to lower to the ground, it seemed. FD dove down sharply, spraying more Flametongues as he did so before adjusting his angle as he got much closer to the ground, finally closing his wings and landing. It was a much harsher land than usual, but that was okay. He’d lost some of the bat lizards that were on his stomach from the dive, and the few that remained got struck by the landing. But the best part of heading for the ground was protecting the most susceptible part of his body from any more attacks. His outer scales would be much tougher to deal with. After adjusting the ground, the Fire Dragon noticed a good number of the bat lizards were indeed following him – which was good for the Wyvern Riders. He would unleash Flametongue upwards to deal with a portion of them and figure it out from there. He also noticed he was facing northeast and was quite close to the Western Gate. Not terribly near it, but closer than he was far.

The call of battle
The call of duty
They both mean the same.
x - [Leon] - x

The Bishop's light was a blessing. Leon felt his arms heal, and now he was holding his steel sword as if the weapon were weightless. "A thousand thanks for yer healin', Sister! Now, let's go get them shadow-walkers!" Leon exclaimed, leading a charge of himself, Victoria, and Aeolus to attack the Shadow Guild head on. That was how one won a game of cat and mouse that they were playing. They didn't run, they struck!

But before he and Anri could advance a foot, Murphy appeared with his words of warning. "A fight that dun' concern us?! Ha, you should heed yer own word, and not interfere with us!" The knight retorted. And soon enough, the light went out, but the Watch's Lieutenant wasn't worried. He had the strength to lift his shield, and two boon companions at his right and left! There would be nothing stopping him now.

He blocked one of the Shadow Guild's strikes with his trusty shield, before clashing blades with him. He had to admit, this one was fast! However, that speed came from a lack of heavy armor, from any sort of protection from weapons that could really bite. Maneuvering Anri, Leon evaded another strike of one of the first of the assassins, and then rushed forward, making a mighty slice of his steel sword to fell his assailant.

In the distance, he thought he heard a familiar voice calling out. That one word she said was enough to show that she was in some kind of major trouble. "Aeolus! Sister Victoria! I'm gonna rush 'em, cover me!" The Watch Lieutenant said, now sheathing his and switching to his steel lance. It was better to have a weapon with a bit of a reach when these guys wanted to get up close and personal. "Let's rumble." He muttered, grinning. So what if they were outnumbered? That never stopped him before.

x - [Watch Lieutenant] - x
To always fight
For what is right
By my knightly name!

O holy light,
Smite my enemy!
Bless my friends!
₪Victoria₪

And just as she healed the knight, there they came! Like bats fluttering to the moonlight, the assassins of the Shadow Guild came around Victoria and the rest of her group, her healing staff acting as if it were some kind of beacon for the dark. Victoria held her ground, even if inside, she were quivering, just slightly. Assassins, they were never a merciful bunch. Facing them would have to be done with caution.

She stayed quiet when the knight was boasting. Such a foolish thing, to boast when the "shadow walkers" were a dangerous bunch! She couldn't let her fear cripple her though. Victoria left the walls of the healer's ward, one of the only safe places left in town to help these people, and by Elimine, she would do that! She had no idea what Murphy meant by "fights that didn't concern them", but he was gone before she could say a word.

The Bishop held out her staff, letting it emit a faint glow. It wasn't a healing spell or a light spell she cast, but just a small torch she made with it, giving better visibility to the two warriors of the trio. When one of the assassins came close to her though, she emitted a spell, sending a holy light upon him.

Just then, she heard Leon's shout, that he was going to rush them. "You're going to what?! I told you not to be reckless!" She replied. It seemed like the knight was giving her and Aeolus little to no choice of covering his rear!

ΘжElmine's LightжΘ
Saint Elimine,
I give you a prayer!
Grant us fortune.

Okay. A Sage-researcher, healer-for-hire, shape-shifter of some sort, two-headed animal, and a horse. Everyone was on board! For the most absurd, insane escape plan imaginable. Still, what other viable options were there? But first: just before their eclectic ensemble was about to head off, Blythe explained, “I’ll use the Torch Staff to temporarily blind them from here, which should make them easier to deal with,” readying the said staff in his right-hand. The shamans outside were presumably making their way down the hallway already, so Blythe had to guesstimate where exactly to aim the bright light. One casting later, they could see the other side of the doorway shine immensely for a moment.

That was the cue. Time to escape! The next instant, Blythe nudged Cesario to get moving and their incredibly reckless venture had begun. The trickiest part was getting Cesario to turn right after crossing the doorway without losing any momentum, but fortunately, the halls of Fefga’s were wide enough that it didn’t go too badly. Their sides might have come into contact for a moment, but no one had fallen off. Better yet, the shamans had hands covering their faces, indicating the Torch Staff trick had worked as intended. One of them had even dropped their tome! Blythe kept nudging his steed to go faster and faster, as Cesario wasn’t used to carrying this many passengers and was going slower than desirable. Blythe had the horse just charge right past the tomes and didn’t look back to see if Soren had sent a spell their way to deal with them more permanently or not. There wasn’t time to look; already they were at the staircase. Cesario charged down it and for the frontdoor, which was most fortunately left open by those Mordacheans who had entered. The rushing sound of the horse’s hooves within such closed quarters coupled with the image that accompanied it likely flabbergasted the Shamans who were searching through the first floor, completely stealing their attention, but the party was out of there before they could take any actions.

Which takes us outside, where the main battle was taking place. It really was quite a site even in the darkness of night, the attempted siege. Ballistae were being fired, siege tomes acting like a lethal, long distance light show, some sort of fire or torch in the air, blackish flying monster things you could only notice the outlines of thanks to the moonlight striking against them… It was really a lot to take in at one time. The sounds of war and death only emphasized it. Would charging for the city that was actually getting besieged even make any of them any safer? Whether that was the case or not, it was their only real option at this point, as going any other direction would lead them to Mordache’s troops and reinforcements, and worst of all, their commanding officers. And so Cesario kept charging forward. The path to Eyris was a long and dangerous one.