Welcome to Gaia! ::

Something was wrong here. This person seemed like Ninian, to a point. If it was Ninian, then why would she not know together we ride? That was the common phrase most people here used. No matter...he would be able to help there.

"I'm Ziaram, a lone swordsman. For together we ride, it means that we all work together as one group I believe."

From the looks of it, the archers were taken care of. Huh...she must have finished them off with...that scarf. It looked familiar for some reason...that legendary dancer to the land. What was the tale, and what was the scarf she used? It seemed familiar.

If she had amnesia, that would be one thing. If this was someone else he was talking to, then he would have to get some answers. "Who are you? Why are you fighting these soldiers here? Because they are a threat to some peace?"

I fight for honor, for justice, for chivalry!
That will always be my only reason...
~x -{Leon}- x~
Justice's Crusader
And now, it got even darker. Really, all this darkness was starting to creep Leon out. Sure, he'd seen the dark of the night, but this kind of darkness that he was up against was unnatural! It was something that was both... surreal and menacing. It had served to further hide his and Rahkain's foes, making it far more difficult for him to pinpoint his enemies. Luckily, this went both ways. Just to be safe though, he drew out his iron lance.

For some reason, some of the archers stopped firing. A feral cry of a bird sounded through the skies, now so very distinct in the quiet darkness. Leon felt a chill go down his spine, urging Anri forward with caution and his lance ready to pierce anyone that came at him. Was the bird that cried out a friend or foe? I hadn't seen Annis transform in the midst of his own battle, nor was he aware of the mysterious dancer and the lone swordsman. All he was aware of was the darkness and the solitude... "Rahkain, stay close! This can't be good at all..."

Almost on cue, Leon's eyes saw a terror before him. Bolts, a rain of them, showered down in one area, temporarily lighting up the battlefield in an ominous glow. That's when he saw them. Their robes, their staffs, their tomes. Magicians. As if this couldn't get any worse. He too, felt as the ground shook over the massive thud the Fire Dragon's fall made. That was one of them down! Who would those spell-slingers target next?! Making sure to cover both Blythe, whom was in his line of sight and Rahkain, Leon again went forward with caution. If he could use the darkness to his own advantage and sneak-attack one of these deadly magic casters, it would be all the better.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
The defeated can rise again...
and fight for what is right!

Radboud was laughing as Abel's feeble attempt to knee him in the gut completely failed. He leaped backwards, shifting his grip on his sword to hold it in both hands. "C'mon, boy! Tha' can't be th'best y'can do!"

He laughed more loudly now, head tipping back briefly as Abel took a few moments to gather his current situation in his thoughts. "Don' y'realize, boy? You don' rely on no one if y'expect t'get outta this kinda battle alive!" He grinned wickedly. His eyes seemed to light up, though whether it was by virtue of the flames in the trees or his own excitement remained to be seen. "C'mon, boy! Let's dance!"

Radboud spun his sword in his hands once. As Abel ran towards him, he stepped to the side and lifted his sword up from below to meet the swing, metal crashing against metal. The force of Abel's blow seemed to surprise him, and he stumbled back one pace as Abel regained his own balance. "Hah! Tha's more like it, boy!" He stepped forward again as Abel took a defensive stance. "Ye've go' more strength than I thought! But unless ye've go' some kinda plan in tha' little head a'yers, then--"

His eyes widened. The screams of battle had left him unable to hear Andre's hooves, muted by the grass and soft dirt below the thick clusters of trees. He stumbled forward a pace as Sue rushed past, then slowly reached behind him and touched his back. When he drew his hand back, his fingers were stained with blood, the pinky letting a single drop fall to the grass.

"Ah... h-ha-ha..." he looked at Abel and Sue. His eyes, previously wild with excitement, changed; his pupils narrowed, seeming to disappear within his irises.

"HAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!"

He gripped his sword in both hands now, watching the two young children with maniacal glee. "Yes! Yes! Don't hold back! This battle is far from over! My blood will mix with yours as you beg for mercy!" He laughed again, watching as Abel swung his sword. The blast of magical wind careened towards him. His response was to lift his sword, holding it parallel to his body, and brace himself. He did not fall, nor did he even stumble, but multiple new nicks and cuts adorned his exposed muscles, leaving a few drops of scarlet blood to begin tumbling down his arms and legs.

"I will drip your body asunder! The rivers shall run red with your blood!" He ran right for the pair at that moment. Suddenly he seemed to be moving faster than before, and with an insane laugh, he leaped up and swung his mighty sword in an arc diagonally downwards, aiming to slice through both Abel and the legs and chest of Sue's horse at the same time.

Also most of the bandits were dead.

[[TO BE CONTINUED... LATER... EVENTUALLY... YES.]]

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

Abel's opponent seemed like someone whom either didn't get hurt by much, or was simply uncaring of what kind of damage he took. Either way, her swipe (as expected) hadn't done much damage because it didn't intend to, but she at least expected her ally to do some damage. So far, it seemed like nothing. Instead, Radboud was just... laughing.

His swing was sudden, and nearly unexpected. Sue was barely able to get Andre into enough speed, where Radboud's strike would miss her! Abel had even gotten in front of her, to make sure she wouldn't get hit! He took such a risk, and was struggling to hold back his rival's strike. Oh, how she wanted to turn her horse around, but he was already bounding in one direction. Away from the battle...

"Abel!" She said. It was more than obvious that she was concerned for him, but there wouldn't be any aiding him at this moment, at least not until she did one thing. "Andre, stop!" she commanded her steed. Pulling on the reigns, she was able to halt the horse, and turn him around. Abel and Radboud were still visible, enough where a carefully aimed arrow could still be fired to help. Drawing out her iron bow, Sue nocked a single arrow. Letting it free, she was certain it would hit the menace Abel faced, it was just a matter of where that made the difference.

<=|Nomad Trooper|==0

The swordsman looked at where the fire dragon had landed to see it's human form had replaced where he impacted. The fire dragon would need assistance surely from his fellow resistance members. As Oujay was about to rush to his rescue, he caught a bandit on the corner of his eyes. The bandit was going straight for him.

Suddenly the large wolf leaped at the bandit and took down the bandit that was going to attack him. The wolf had saved his life. He was surely glad they he was most likely on his side for now. As the wolf was growling in the direction of bandits, the mercenary turned back to see a healer was already helping FD. The healer would need assistance. Oujay turned back to the wolf. Not sure if the wolf would even understand him or not, he would try to communicate with it anyways. "Hey...Mr. Wolf, " he said a little bit reserved like, "We should protect him," he said pointing at Blythe.

Oujay was planning to protect Blythe and FD when he spotted Roy nearby. His eyes opened wide as he saw the Lord get shot by a poison arrow. "Roy!" he yelled out as he broke into a sprint towards Roy's direction. He could see the mage near Roy already preparing a spell. However, Oujay was not planning to not planning to let that happen.

Before the mage casted his spell. Oujay pushed Roy and tried to move away from the spot of where the lightning would hit. Luckily Roy made it out of the blast, but a burst of pain was flowing through his leg. The mercenary's leg had been hit by the lightning. Oujay winced from the pain, but focused on the mage. He moved away from Roy for a moment and charged at the enemy, he was not going to let him cast another spell. Oujay swung his sword upward and his sword slashed across the mage, finishing him off. Oujay dropped to one knee after he finished the mage. "Are you alright Lord Roy?" he asked trying to stand back up.

This... wasn't going to end well.

The poison was doing its job very well, dulling the young lord's reaction time. The mage had finished the incantation and attacked.

Instead of an electric discharge coursing through his veins, Roy felt something push him out of the way. He rolled from the push, groaning a little from the pain. The young lord managed to use the roll to get back on his feet though, and he turned his head to see what had saved him from the thunderbolt.

"Oujay!" he called out, seeing the merc taking the blow for him.

The swordsman must have had some excellent resistance or something, because he was soon on his feet again and slayed the mage. Roy would have assisted, but the pain kicked in and left him not able to move as fast. He reached the blue-haired swordsman just as the merc took a knew.

"That's my line." Roy said, helping Oujay back up to his feet. "Thanks though..."

When Oujay was helped up, Roy took a look at the arrow in his side before his face paled a little. The shaft had snapped (probably from being pushed), so there wasn't much he could grab onto to pull the arrow out of his side. Thankfully, it was dark enough so that Oujay couldn't see the darkened expression on the lord's face as he looked away, as this was not going to end well for the redhead.

He took a deep yet shaky breath before grabbing the broken shaft with his hand. He tugged slowly -- oh gods it hurt-- so that he wouldn't lose the arrowhead in the process. Otherwise, he'd really be ******** tremendous effort and one final grunt, the bloodstained arrowhead dropped to the grass along with a spurt of crimson. Blood flowed from his torn tunic, dying his white trousers a deep shade of red. His own hand was stained a deep color. His breathing was shallow and shaky, and his body trembled. Thank the gods he didn't need to carve himself a bit to get that broken arrow out of his body, else he'd really be in a lot more trouble. How little-- how little time did he have to have it treated before the poisoned claimed his life?

He put on a strong face as he turned to Oujay. Right now, Hikaru's survival was more important. The young lord could hold out a little longer.

"Let's... let's go cover Blythe... until FD is on his feet again." he said slowly.

... Did his voice sound a little strained? He didn't mean it to. But damn, this poison was killing him... literally. It wasn't fast acting, but it was still fulfilling its purpose.

As Roy and Oujay made their way to Hikaru and Blythe, as well as the wolf (if the wolf had gone that way), a mage had gotten in their way, preparing a new spell. That was... until his head was lopped off by some force. Now, where had he seen something like that before...?

"Stay away from my son!"

That voice... he thought.

Granted, it sounded distorted for some odd reason or another (probably the poison's fault), but there was no way he would ever, EVER forget that voice. His head turned slowly towards the direction from which it came. An elegant female was standing, with a blood stained scarf in her hands. Her hair shimmered a tealish color. And then it all made sense.

"Mo...ther..." he gasped before he dropped down to his knees, his sword sinking into the grass as his other hand pressed against the earth.

He then pulled his head back before lowering it forward, mere moments before he retched.

...Nasty.

…
…..
…….Success! It had taken an enormous amount of effort and concentration on Blythe’s part to heal the redheaded man on the ground before him Blythe had healed him sufficiently enough that he would definitely be okay. Of course, the Troubadour couldn’t help but note that he had used his Heal staff on this man at least three or four times and STILL this man’s stamina hadn’t been completely restored. How much HP can one person have (120 kthx)? Regardless, FD had definitely been healed a lot. Blythe was unsure how unconsciousness correlated to healing, or if even if completely healed of his injuries, the man would actually awaken, but he was definitely in good shape at this point, so perhaps it was possible.

This was all thanks to the efforts of those protecting him as he worked, or course, so that he was able to do so without fatal interruptions. But it was now his very defenders in need of Blythe’s abilities, and he wasn’t about to let them down! He didn’t want to leave FD’s body by itself, but everyone was guarding the area, so perhaps he could return to it after healing the others.

Roy looked to need healing the fastest, by the looks of it. As Blythe was rushing Cesario to get right close to him, his employer suddenly fell to his knees to vomit!... gross. But all the more proof that Roy needed his services. “Hang on Roy!” he cried as he withdrew his Restore staff yet again, and immediately went to work on fixing the condition. It was dealt with relatively quick. Yet again, on to using the Heal staff...


-------------

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

Fire Dragon

FD’s head was spinning. The sounds of fighting rung out from every direction, it seemed like. What was happening? Nils… Roy… Ninian… Mel… Aruna… Host Club… FEF… friends… everyone! He had too much to fight for to be useless, to be a liability right now!

Suddenly, his previously unconscious body lurched forward and FD’s eyes opened. The battle was still going on? A quick glance of his surrounding certainly seemed to say so. It also depicted his nephew on his knees in pain! And… Ninian? Ninian, his sister-in-law, who had been missing for months, was here too now! There was also another dragon, white, unlike quite any FD had before seen, in the sky. The same one whose presence he had noted earlier, it seemed. All the more reason to keep fighting, he internalized! Of course, they were more than capable of defending themselves, eliminating their enemies, but an innate instinct within the dragon to protect his own kind, to protect his family, had been ignited when he had regained his consciousness.

With minor difficulty, FD got to his feet, his eyes towards the forest and once again transformed to his natural state. Lifting himself into the air, he let out a tremendous roar, a triumph over those who had cast him down, and hovered over where his nephew was. Any bandit that dared to approach the young Lord would be struck down on the spot, should Ninian not strike them down first! FD was back in action.