Welcome to Gaia! ::

For a brief moment, what with his eyes being closed, Ruuvan thought that the embrace might've been coming from a physical representation of the bow, but he opened his eyes to see D instead. Not that this mattered, a hug was a hug and that's exactly what he needed. With one hand resting on the bow, he lifted the other around the child's shoulders and squeezed him gently. It was at that time he heard a female laughter in his mind, something which he would need to do at the same time. Ruu had been saying all this to the bow only to have D think he was talking to him and go to give him a hug, that was pretty funny in itself, but it was hearing the bow laugh that started him off.

Ruuvan broke the embrace slowly, peeling D off from around his shoulders and standing up slowly with the bow in his hands.
"What do you say? Will you give this old warrior a second chance?" He was hoping to appeal to the obvious relationship they had in the past, even though she was a bow and he was an Elf, but it was still a bond that Ruu wanted to keep and help him remember his past.

-=Latent Docks, Afternoon=-

A ship was seen in the distance, slowly drifting into port with the light wind, sails flapping in the breeze. It was an old looking ship, one of them oldschool ships you would have seen during the seventeen-hundreds, large billowing sails, wooden build and all. In fact, as it slowly got closer, those on the shore could make out a flag blowing in the wind.

Well, maybe the security of the area would do something, and maybe they wouldnt, either way, as the pirate ship came into range of the docks, the holes on the sides of the ship would open up and produce cannons as the ship anchored...

BOOM!

Every single one of the cannons fired off heavy cannonballs into the surrounding dockside of the town, some even made to explode after a bit as the wicks burned through to the gunpowder filled insides, leaving the immediate area trashed and burning.

Luckinly, it seemed that most of the civilian population had been at the stadium during the finals of HoH, run away during the time of the firing, or ran away before when they had first seen the ship come into view, so there were no or few casualties.

The forest north of the city of Latent rumbled with the sounds of movement. The animals of that part of the forest were on the move, and on the move rather quickly. A chill breeze had developed, blowing through the canopies and swirling about, gusting out toward the outskirts of the northern part of the city. Something had frightened all the animals off. Something big.

* * *

"Move out!" cried an armor clad figure riding atop a black steed, with glowing embers for eyes. The Death Knight wore blackened, twisted armor, and wore a visor helm that let its skeletal jaw clearly show. It clutched a sword in its gauntlet covered hand, which trailed frost in its wake as he swung it forth, and glowed an evil aura.

Masses of undead warriors - skeletons, zombies, abominations, golems - shuffled forward in tight formations into several shimmering portals that swirled open before them. They filed in ten at a time, vanishing into its coils and instantly travelling across the vast distance to where the portals opened on the other end.

Skeletal knights and the necromancers that kept their designated hordes under control kept the ranks together, forcing their undead minions to hold their relentless hunger back for just a few moments more - or for however long they deemed to hold them. They numbered over a thousand, golems and cavalry numbering among their ranks, with the mages and necromancers without minions to control to the rear. Their very presence corrupted the air around them, tainting it with their evil auras, their putrid stenches, and unnaturalness. It had sent all the wildlife scurrying off in fright, deadening that part of the forest with complete silence, with the exceptional moans and groans from the zombies.

* * *

BOOM!

The explosion was distant, but The General recognized it for what it was. He raised his icy sword, and gave the signal for the mages to begin their casting.

The signal was passed down along the lines, until it reached the rear where the mages all awaited. A pair of liches split command among the magic-users, and upon receiving the signal, raised their hands and began incanting words to a spell. As the liches cast their spells, the skeletal wizards and necromancers behind them raised their hands to begin the same, though the words to their spells were quite different.

Balls of flame licked about the hands of the first rank of mages, ten in all, and as the final gestures of the spell were made, cast their fireballs into the sky, scorching holes through the forest canopy. The fireballs arced through the air, coming down like comets to smash into random parts of the city and the wall, exploding upon impact and spreading flame and chaos. As the second volley of fireballs was launched from the forest, the first wave of undead were unleashed.

They came out of the woodline howling, screaming, moaning for blood. The charge was led by one-hundred skeletal warriors, wielding swords, axes, morning stars, etc. They were followed by slower moving zombies, some wielding weapons, others not, fifty in total. Though slower than the battle-hungry skeletons, they were a tad stronger than their undead counterparts, and just as lethal. Bringing up the rear were six constructs of stitched flesh and hide, seven feet tall, and lumbering after the charging undead.

The undead horde would fall upon Latent, bringing Death along with them, charging the gate as the second volley of fireballs smashed into it, the walls, and the city beyond.

"E-Explosion!?"

A Shield rose up from the desk he'd been lounging against, as the voice on the other end of the phone blared at him.

"Y-Yes! On my way!"

s**t! s**t! s**t! Markus grabbed his rifle, even as his boots thudded against the polished floor. He'd been a fresh recruit, the last time Latent had been assaulted. He had seen many of his friends die right before his eyes, not too mention the true horror of those...things...he faced.

The barracks were empty, as he was sure every other available Shield had long since been on duty. At best the dock's patrol was scattered at the moment, doing their own rounds and other business.

Eyes dead set in determination, he nevre wavered even as he ran along side the dock.

I'll go straight forward, no matter what! For them... for them at least! Ill--

His head turned to the side, as he saw a strange sight. Even as an explosion went off to the right of him, the screams of people echoing out, he watched. Something was riding the water!

Pulling his rifle into his grasp, his hands shook even as blood spurted out his mouth. The sword bit deeply into his abdomen, peircing the body armor and uniform as easily as butter. His head jerked backwards, eyes wide.

F...uc...k...!

In the inner city of Latent. A small stone building tucked between many other building of same construction displayed a painted sign reading Yaits Insurance. It was a small unassuming branch of the insurance company headquatered in Durem, and had been there long before the latest owner had graced the company. Inside was a lobby and open offices blocked off by a receptionists desk, behind the desk the desks of the office workers were set in rows for all to see. At the very back of the building was the managers officers, and a door to the side led to a celler that was used for a shelter in emergencies.

The office manager was on the phone in his small office when the first explosion was heard from the distance, off in the direction of the port. It was followed by a second, then a third, then multiple explosions. In the office everyone became flustered, fumbling their work. The panic began when a stranger burst through the doors.

"The city is under attack! The city is under attack! Every one for themselves. The city is under attack," He screamed before running off.

The manager left his office and addressed the employees, "Stay calm, this might be nothing more than a rumor," the sounds of explosions in the distance did nothing to calm anybodies nerves.

"If you feel at all threatened," he said, "Don't hesitate to go to the shelter
for the day, your pay will not be docked."

Back in his office, the manager put in a call to the main office Durem, to inform them of the present situation.

Their instructions were simple, basic even: breach the walls and kill everything in sight. They intended to do just that, mindlessly clustering up before the gates and the walls around it, bashing it with their weapons or pounding it with their fists. Some even attempted to scale the wall. The golems probably presented the only real threat, as their inhuman strength would likely make it more easier for them to bash the gates down. They stepped over the zombies and skeletons that failed to move out of their way in time, charging up and bashing the gates with all their might.

In other news, rain of fire had stopped.

But that didn't necessarily mean anything good was happening.