Welcome to Gaia! ::

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A grin showed under a hooded young man in the crowd. Abel entered with the others and took his place in blending with the rest of the citizens. His sword was wrapped to hide it from possibly being recognized. Watching the whipping was hard, but he suffered through it. He gained more respect for Rath after seeing him get back up. When the fire was lit, Abel grew nervous, but was relieved when the binds were cut and Rath was rescued. The plan was in effect!

It didn't take long for the soldiers to react. As one came rushing through the crowd, Abel ran at him, slammed his arm into the soldier's gut, then grabbed and flipped him onto his back. Abel drew his sword and then removed his cloak from both sleeves and pulled it from his back, before tossing it aside. "Alright! Here we go!!" Abel swung his sword around, flinging a pair of guards back onto their rumps. "Ha ha! Don't think so! We won't let you have him!" As another soldier approached, Abel met with lance with his blade and smirked. He could fight them all day!

Volke had been hiding in the crowd, waiting for the perfect moment to kill Raetia; the assassin couldn't have asked for a better distraction since the Resistance had come to save Rath. The idiotic lord sent all but two of his guards to fight while he ran. Volke followed slowly and silently, careful to wait a little before engaging the noble.

A few minutes after the noble left, the killer-for-hire called out to his former employer, "Lord Raetia! Wait up!"
Raetia called his guards to a halt and turned towards his future killer. "Oh, Volke," the lord started as Volke released his wrist-blades and dispatched the two guards.
"Lorde Raetia, I just wanted to inform you that I have a new employer: Rogvald pays better. Oh, and he wants you dead!"

Rahkain watched as Leon took on the woman knight. He had never seen him so angry, but he hadn't known him that long either. It was a grim realization that that woman was his fight and the young man should stay out of it. Leon led the woman away from them.

He made a promise to himself to protect the Nomad and the cleric for Leon. He stepped closer to them. "Rotfold isn't going to get ahold of you while I'm here, that's for sure..." He said to the two.

He was worried about Leon, but he had to get his head in the game.

So, today was the day of the execution. The information the wyvern rider from the previous night was extremely useful, and with that, the Resistance was able to sneak into the castle. There were people already positioned at the posts they were assigned, like Elly to stir up some panic, Joshua where ever he was supposed to be, and Victoria closer to the stage. The rest was around somewhere in various points of the crowd. The young lord himself was within the crowd, but more towards the back. He tugged the hood a little lower to hide his red hair and his appearance.

My, how worn out Rath looked as he stepped up onto the stage and received his whippings. If he recalled from his studies, the public display of torture should have been made illegal when Nino took over. Did James... or rather Rogvald, get it reinstated with their position? Those dastards... His eyes flicked towards the area where the nobility sat. Quite a few people were missing... only House Raetia and Zeon were present. Was Rogvald's scheming targeting the lives of these nobles? Out of the trio, Raetia seemed a little too excited for this, whereas Zeon showed little expression about the execution.

The nomad was soon tied up to a pole and a torch was lit, intending on reducing the former captain to nothing more than ashes and a charred body. The young lord held his breath, waiting for the start. An arrow whizzed by, then another, then another. And there was the panic.

He drew his blade just enough from within his cloak to be seen, and the glistening of iron in the sunlight was enough to have the crowd part away from him, giving him a clear path, or as clear as one could have gotten with a massive panic. As he moved towards Victoria to provide some support, several others made their move. Abel was fighting some guards, while Tristai and Joshua made their move to protect the healer. Elly was providing some backup for them. Leon and someone he didn't recognize went to confront Isadora. Sue should be arriving soon to get Rath out of here.

The young lord's blade moved only when it was needed, and that in itself wasn't much. The guards were, quite sadly, not a bunch he could use for training. One charged for the young lord, lance in hand. However, he sheathed the iron sword as he stepped to the side, leaving his foot out to trip the guard. The moment the guard stumbled, his hand slid down the sheath as he turned, pulling the sheath and blade out from within the cloak and slamming the hilt end of the weapon into the guard's gut. Armor, chainmail, or neither, the blunt blow should have done some damage. He then spun around the guard before continuing on his path towards Victoria.

Another guard got in his way. Roy pulled the sword from the sheath as he continued running, then as he got close, jumped with a bit of a spin like he had seen numerous brigands do. With the momentum, the blade cut through the guard as if he were nothing more than paper.

"Too easy..." he said.

Once the guard was out of the way, Roy continued on towards Victoria and Rath.

((Edit: By the way, the second guard is not dead. Just really, really injured.))

O Father Sky, Mother Earth...
I pray that you give me strength.

After the message had spread and the others had gone ahead, Sue was not that far behind them. Her eyes saw many sights. Her father, her proud father, was whipped as if he were a slave! She wanted so badly to act then, to go up to where he was and stop it, but she resisted. ”No, not yet… I cannot help him yet.” She had to keep telling herself that. To act too soon would be to condemn him. Sue clenched a fist when the fire was lit. She flinched when the arrows begun to scatter, courtesy of Elly.

But she found a smile, when Rath was freed, cut down and warped by a bishop’s light to a place where he’d both be safe and healed. They’d all come through, and now her father would be safe, thanks to the Resistance’s combined efforts! Now, she could act. Seeing Vaida charge Valter, Leon clashing with Acting Captain Isadora, and General Roy joining the fray, Sue rode onward, an iron sword only drawn to deflect arrows or fend off foes. Always, she’d rode and fought for a cause. Now, more than any other, was the most important ride of her life. ”Father, I’m coming!!!” He had asked her not to come, but… if she did, not to look away. From the sight she saw, her only family member wounded and worn, she did not look away.

Instead, she came to him quickly. Even when her horse stopped and she dismounted, Sue ran to Rath’s side, taking him from Victoria’s grasp and holding him as tightly as she could without bringing her father further harm. He was alive. To her, that’s all that mattered. Her father was alive, and now it was time for her to escape with him. Carefully, she got onto her horse again, holding Rath close to her. ”Father… do forgive my own foolishness… but I had to come. I had to rescue you. And now… I will never let go. We will escape, and re-take Learania together.” She whispered, whipping Andre into a direction towards the Soldier’s passage. ”Valiant guild members… cover us. You have done so well already in making sure he is here for me to carry alive. And… lady bishop… I give you thanks from the bottom of my heart.” Sue nodded, smiling. That was a signal, more than anything, for those who were defenders to keep defending. ”And no matter what happens, Father, I will protect you.”

<=|Nomad Trooper|==0

It has begun. Everyone in the resistance sprang into action. Fighting between the resistance and the soldiers had broke out in the midst of the civilians. They would need to get away from this whole mess. A blue haired boy covering his body with a cloak tried to calm down the civilians and told them to quickly rush away from the scene. Hopefully they would actually listen to him and get away from the battle as soon as possible. "Hurry This way!" Oujay yelled as he pointed towards the gates. This was quite the mess.

The swordsman turned his head to see Rath was in custody of the resistance members. This was a good sign. Roy and some other people he did not recognize were already protecting them from the soldiers's attacks. It seemed as they were still following Rogvald's bidding. However, them alone would not be able to hld off all the guards. Oujay looked back at the civilians and hoped they would be able to get out of here safely and ran towards the others that needed defending.

One of the guards had gotten past some of the members and charged at Sue, who was holding Rath at the moment. Oujay leaped into the air. As the soldier swung at Sue, Oujay landed in between and parried the soldier's weapon with a new acquired shield, he had been hiding within his cloak. "I'm sorry, I can't let you hurt them," he said to the guard as he pushed the guard back with his shield.

While the guard stumbled backwards a little bit, Oujay removed his cloak, allowing easier movement. The blue haired swordsman was now wearing new armor. "I got you covered Sue," Oujay said towards the nomad as he drew his sword sheathed behind his shield. The hero charged at the soldier and struck the soldier in the neck with the hilt of his sword. The solider fell to the ground unconscious.

Special music link as Sue gave the idea. And woot the invisible merc is now an invisible hero

A young woman ran as fast as her legs would carry her through the streets of a town she knew well. The sounds of battle echoed in her ears, but the sounds of her friend’s voices rung in her mind. The citizens she blurred past barely recognized her. There were some terrified souls running and screaming in the opposite direction.

Somehow, on her mind there was one thing and a million things all at once. Her guilt, her own selfishness, the pain she had caused, and her hope that she could fix what she had done. Silently, she begged the goddess that she would not be too late. She looked briefly at a little red haired girl who was flying next to her, then back ahead.

She would not tire, she would not stop... It wouldn’t be much longer. She was nearly to the town square, which is where she was sure she would find… Rath.

When Fefga pulled her back, she told her that Rath was in trouble. They thought he had killed her. Eyris was falling apart because of her. The little girl had explained how a descendant of Leander had taken the throne and was being controlled by his advisor.

As the young woman rounded the corner, the town square came into view. There, she did stop for a moment, watching. All her pain came to a point. “Eyris… what have I done? Rath...” She held tightly onto the staff in her hands. Sophos seemed to have become heavier with her guilt. Right now, she had a job to do. For now, she had to concentrate on fixing things… She had to find the king and talk to him.

Nino shut her eyes to force the tears back and began to run toward the battle. “Stop!” she screamed. She couldn’t suppress it any longer… “Stop please!!” As she opened her eyes to squint ahead of her, she spotted the young king whom Fefga had described to her earlier. She took off towards him, pushing past stunned guards and soldiers. “Please! Wait! Stop this!!” She called as she got closer to the king.