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 Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 9:33 pm
 Ambiance~
Aura of Peace Oh, if only I could have been there
I'd be a hand for the sinking
As much as Ambiance was prone to throwing hugs, she hadn't expected one from Link when he began to feel better. She blinked and felt a flush of heat to her face. Just as soon as that hug had been exchanged, and as she struggled with the question of whether she should hug him back, they were off and heading back down the hill toward the training grounds again.
~
Time passed and the lessons continued. She was outside with the commanders now and again when she wasn't studying the past and with strategies that have worked anciently. Sometimes they analyzed an ancient fight and picked apart what went well and why it did so. There was the environment to consider, there was the weather, the state of the men and their loyalty, among other factors that intricately wove together. Her goals were simple. Get as many people out alive as possible. Win quickly.
Ambiance wasn't far from the commander when he made his comment about the way training was going. The people here seemed more coordinated than they had been at the start, and they were much stronger than before. They worked together and one could feel that they felt a stronger bond in this time they had spent there. Yet still, while Ambiance felt for them and felt her worry over them, she still felt strangely disconnected from them. Would they heed her advice and could they trust her in leadership?
Interrupting her thoughts was a familiar earthquake... The forms that seemed to be forged of darkness and rock charged down toward them. Their battlefield found them here in the place where they had been training. Suddenly, this pocket outside of the city changed from a safe place to ground zero.
Ambiance felt her heart fall as anxiety poked at her nerves. She remembered the burning touch. She knew too well how tall they were up close. She remembered her panic at being close to them. She remembered how her blade sung in protest to the attack she made, it did damage, but was essentially useless. A strategy leapt to her mind.
"We need the mages to each side, to form a gauntlet. Have infantry goad the enemy down the center..." She said this, though even as she spoke she barely trusted her words. "They're weak to magic."
However, regardless of her feelings or instinct, the decision was with the Commander, who remained her superior officer.
I wish I could protect you here
Oh, please don't cry, now, smile
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Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 8:20 pm
▲═════════════════════════════════════▲ ▲═════════════════════════════════════
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════From out of the tent came James, furious and flanked by two of his best men. They were the ones from earlier, who with him became generals rather than policemen when the chips were down. He took a swift, terse scan of the area and confirmed for himself just what they were in for--perhaps just sizing it up--and started snapping orders like some bigshot at some would-be four-star restaurant--if not for some terrible reviews by you-know-who--before sidling up to Ambiance with a bolder, harder line than he previous displayed, for jaw and spine.
"Put this on." He was holding a mask down somewhat low, still watching as the avalanche with teeth bore down on them. "Some of the soldiers reported a burning in their lungs when they inhaled that fog."
It was around this time that the first of the Shadows tore into the lines of infantrymen at the front. It was like watching a bull run through paper mache. The Commander rushed off, presumably to rally some of the soldiers, meanwhile the Hero of Legend was tumbling down the side of a hill, trying to catch the enemy before they got to camp.
His sword was glowing; it was the only indication that he was really alive in the cloud of destruction up ahead. The men weren't fairing so well. Each time they managed to kill one of the brutish beasts, they just came right back up, stronger and faster than before it seemed. Whenever Link struck them they stayed down longer, but even that wouldn't mean the Hero could keep this up forever; though the look in his eye might suggest otherwise. Link was imbued with a new kind of determination. Cut him, bite him, break his legs even! The Hero wasn't slowing down.
The mages, some versed in healing arts, were a great asset. All things factored, the battle looked as though it might go on forever. The magicians who could do more fancy tricks, like gravity augmentation and such, were few, but strong. When too many of them fell the Commander would surely call a retreat.
But before all this could play out, Ambiance would have to concern herself with what would happen when they finally broke through into camp. The generals waited, holding their swords white-knuckle in the grip of their mind, evening out their breath so as to strike clean through the scenarios and into a true focus. Believe me when I say this was the only time these men could truly be "in the moment."
... And finally, it happened. The dam of "volunteer" soldiers cracked, and in poured the inky fog--literal fog--of war. About five of the creatures were running toward the tents were Ambiance was.
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Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 9:18 pm
Ambiance~
Aura of Peace Oh, if only I could have been there
I'd be a hand for the sinking
Ambiance mechanically obeyed the command to strap the mask to her face. She knew too well the danger and pain from mere contact with the creatures, and if the cloud did the same. She adjusted it until she was certain it would not move. Her eyes would soon return to the fight below. The men were being torn apart. The familiar and fearful apprehension clawed at her heart and she felt tension in her back and shoulders. Her healed burns tingled. She remembered.
She shuddered and reached for the sword at her side. She armed herself beside the more seasoned generals. The warriors who were at home here, fighting for their men. They knew what they were doing. They had trained themselves to accept danger on instinct. They could fight and fight well.
Ambiance lacked their experience, their practice, their nerves... she lacked their spirit and courage. She drew the blade and gripped its handle tight. She saw out of the corner of her eye that the blade began to glow, its color gently and gradually increasing in brightness....
I shouldn't be so terrified. She thought to herself, barely hearing her own thoughts before all words faded entirely.
I wish I could protect you here
Oh, please don't cry, now, smile
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