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Jaren had been preparing to give Ziaram a final farewell when a shield that was nearly as big as he was slammed into him, with a grunt of pain Jaren stumbled backwards barely managing to keep his footing and get his sword up to defend himself at the same time. The Hero who had hit him was now unleashing a flurry of attacks putting Jaren on the defensive, the sound of metal on metal rang out as Jaren keep stepping backwards and yeilding ground as he parried and blocked with his strangly curved sword.

Things took a turn for the worst as a second sword on the left and then a third sword on the right joined the assult on the Green-haired myrmidon. Thankfully they weren't fast enough to gain any mortal wounds on him but as the fight wore on it became evidant that Jaren was steadily losing, superfical cuts and bruises were starting to decorate his body as every now and then a sword or a shield connected with him. Still however Jaren never once cried out or even spoke, occasionally he'd grunt as he blocked a particularly forceful swing or wheeze as his sweaty body took another hit, but all the while he kept his blank expression.

Suddenly an opening, the swordsman on the left darted in for what he must have assumed was a killing blow. The solider was much too egar however and had stepped right in the path of the Hero. The Learnian who had lunged forward found nothing but air on the end of his sword as Jaren twisted out of the way, a second later he felt the connection of Jaren's weapon on the back of his neck, then he was welcomed into blackness.

Even as the Learnian's body was hitting the ground Jaren was moving past him and his weapon clashed against the Hero's large shield, the other solider who had been attacking from the right tried moving into Jaren's blind spot and recived a side-kick which knocked him to the ground. Now Jaren was on the offensive and the Hero found himself losing ground, despretly he stabbed his sword out at Jaren past his shield which caught the myrmidon a nasty cut on the side. Unfortuantly for the soldier he left himself open as a cost, Jaren's sword slid inbetween his ribcage smoothly.

Withdrawing his sword Jaren let the second body hit the ground, and pressed his hand against his side. The pain was bad but the wound wasn't fatal nor would it cost Jaren to retreat just yet. A yell behind him reminded him of the solider he had kicked, reflexively Jaren ducked and narrowly avoided losing his head for about the fourth time today. Spinning around he flashed his sword out across his body, cutting open the final Learnian's stomach who with a wail of pain fell backwards holding his wound and screaming.

Jaren stayed in that pose for a moment, arms away from his body and on one knee, eye's dull of emotion but full of... something else.

"s**t son, the ******** you been doin'? Get yo a** over here and stop yo bleedin'!! Ya look like an a*****e." A voice behind him said.

"AHHHHHH!" Jaren screamed in response jumping in surprise and then falling over. "Ow ow ow owwwwww! Ali! You scared me and I fell on my cut! Owwwwww Why did you do that?!" He whined as he pulled himself to his feet. The dullness was gone and replaced by his usual demeanor... but it seemed a little forced. He hobbled over to Ali with dramatic flair. "The light will never go out Ali! Not as long as we are Heros of Justice!" Completly forgetting about his wound he raised his arm up and pointed his sword to the sky.

In response he side started bleeding more heavily. "OOOOOOOOOWWWW!"

xxxxxx"You foolish men who walk the earth like blasted kings!"
x "I will collect my trophies soon."


xxxxx"Disgusting! How dare you strike at me with those revolting hands?!" A soldier thrust out his spear at Jezebel, who knocked it down and pinned it with her foot. "You don't deserve to have any of those! I think I'll relieve you of them!!" With a heavy chop, the poleaxe struck right at the soldier's wrists at an angle, and though the hands did not come flying off, they were no longer usable anymore. While the soldier was screaming from the pain, Jezebel lifted the leg which was pining the spear and kicked him back.

Other soldiers were after her and while it pissed Jezebel off, she also wanted them to try to get her. It was easy to knock away the lances with her poleaxe, she was at a big advantage over the soldiers, weapon-wise. When the openings came, it didn't matter if Jezebel dealt precise blows or killing blows, the chops knocked them to the ground, leaving them completely vulnerable. After Jezebel kicked their weapons away, she grinned as she looked down at them in a dominating way. "Time for my trophies..." It only took one chop for each soldier. Once the task was done for each of them, Jezebel took out a pouch that was hiding in her coat and opened it. She then went to the morbid task of retrieving her trophy from each soldier she killed and placing it inside the pouch. With each trophy she pulled out and examined out of interest in each ones size, her hands became more stained with red. Once all the trophies were inside, the pouch was tightly bound and latched back into its hiding place.

As Jezebel stood, she remembered about the boy she had been fighting before those soldiers placed her in a daze of rage. When he had gone to retrieve his weapon, other bandits targeted him, since Jezebel was busy. They knew better than to assist in her kills lest they become her kills instead. But what they didn't know was that they shouldn't have underestimated the Learanian just because he was young. As the last bandit fell, Jezebel swayed over to him and was soon joined by a group of surviving bandits. All around, the battlefield was covered in bodies, but there were little to no Learanians left alive where they were. Jezebel couldn't help bug cackle. "Looks like you're on your on your own, cutie. You gunna run? I have to admit... I do like it when they try to run." She winked at him with a seductively psychotic look.

"Your wangs shall be a fine addition to the others!"xxxx

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

The debriefing that Roy gave was informative enough to keep Leon spurring on into action. "We've got a few more of our own in trouble with things like giants and... that boy who went missin'? Looks like it's comin' at us from all sides!" Leon exclaimed. "I guess that just means Anri and I will have to be faster!" The knight said with an air of confidence about him. One by one, he would help to save the rest of his comrades, while driving the enemy back.

He looked forward to notice the bandits already lining in front of him, attempting to stop his advance to where the healers were in the back lines of combat. "Outta our way, ya axe-totin' brigands! If you think I'm runnin' you've got another thing comin'!" The watchman said, charging forward and slicing two before they came close to Roy or Aeolus. Before an axe could raise near him though, the Lieutenant watched as the wind blades from Aeolus's weapon cleaved into their enemies.

"Amazin'..." He muttered, only marveling at the power of the wind edge before focusing once more on the battle ahead of him. The way to the healers' was close, but it looked like a lot of fighting was ahead for this trio if they were to reach that spot first, before even considering helping out the others. They would get there though. Already, Lady Luck had graced this trio, and she should come many times more.

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

So short, the day. Already, night was falling.

"I told you to get those torches lit!" Amelia cast her hand to the side as a pair of soldiers scurried behind her, holding a flaming candle. The men, clanking in their suits of armor, were rushing back and forth, getting the area around the castle lit. As much as Amelia hated to make it more easy for the enemy to find them, if they couldn't see them coming, then they couldn't fight back. We're helping them no matter what we do, she thought, tightening her gloves. Her Spear rested to the side, and as soon as the fingers of her gloves rested snug on her hands, she picked it up again.

"Ma'am, we've received word that the southern side of the city has fallen to Sentria!" a knight hurried towards her as he shouted, yanking hard on the reins of his horse. The thoroughbred responded with a sharp whinny before coming to a stop, nervously raising and lowering its feet one by one.

Amelia simply nodded, her grip tightening on her spear. "That will be all. Return to your post."

"Ma'am!"

She watched him leave, waiting until most eyes had left her to let out a shaky, nervous breath. Getting authoritative was the only way she could keep herself from collapsing into a pile of worry. Rhys was with the healers in the secondary clinic, with Aisen, but there was no telling how long it would be before they would have to seriously risk attack. They were in danger. "Everyone's in danger," she mumbled.

Still she questioned why they had assigned her to this post. Her? Leading all of these men and women into battle? It wasn't a task she had the most experience with. And yet men like Ghis and Steely Dan were below her, taking orders from her. And there was no telling where Tibarn or Skrimir or anyone who was used to leading was in all of this fight, and in the rapidly-increasing darkness.

Amelia said nothing. She simply stood near the castle, directing her men in the courtyard. While some moved back and forth to monitor positioning and check on the injured, the others remained in their posts, weapons at the ready. The archers were lined on the rooftops, along the castle walls. They were ready.

They had to be ready.

"Leon's coming!" came the shout from a messenger, rushing past on his horse. Sure enough, a moment later, Anri materialized out of the dim air, Leon astride in the front, two riders in tow.

"Leon!" Amelia nearly dropped her toughened air and hurried towards him, allowing Anri to stop before coming to his side. "Leon, what's... Get them to the clinic. Over there, hurry!" She pointed at the simple brick building before guiding them there, one of the soldiers nearby helping to get Roy and Aeolus down and into the safehouse.

"Leon, level with me," Amelia said quietly, still holding onto her weapon. "How bad is it out there? How are we faring? The south has already fallen..."

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

Leon's eyes took just one moment to get a good look up at the sky. It was nightfall? Had that much time really passed, he thought with a slight sense of surprise. The Lieutenant had no torches on him, but luckily, someone else did. Seeing Amelia and the soldiers who lit the flames was like seeing a beacon of light. "We're here, at last!" Leon exclaimed to the two he'd escorted here. At least they could be healed now. They'd surely fought enough bandits.

With relief, he watched as the soldiers took Roy and Aeolus back to where the healers' tent was. Those were two less people to worry about now. Leon's focus on anything always became more clear when he didn't have to worry about someone. With his nerves eased only a little more than earlier, he took a short ride, coming to Amelia's side.

"If ya want me to be honest... it ain't lookin' good for us. The south has fallen, and it don't look like they'll be lettin' up on us any time soon." He responded, a hint of nervousness coming out in his tone as he spoke. "We can't give up though! Who knows what's gonna happen if we do? I for one don't wanna find out."

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

Amelia shakily started to turn her spear around in her hands, watching the sharp metal head rotate. Roy and Aeolus were being tended to, thankfully, and the soldiers were still keeping a sharp eye out. "Is there any word on how the rest of the city is faring? I've been here the entire time and the only way I can get news on what's going on is either by seeing glimpses of air combat or getting reports from the scouts..." She removed a hand from the shaft of her weapon to brush her hair from her eyes. The helmet she had donned went rather low down, but not so far as to completely hide her face from view. She had to see, after all. "This really isn't looking good..."

A soldier on the roof began to shout of an impending attack. The attempt was struck down by a knife through the throat.

"At least you're all right, though, right...? And what about the other leaders? Have we lost anyone? How are the tacticians coming with the strategy? Have we gained ground anywhere?" Amelia paused. Get the desperation out of your voice. Get a hold of yourself. She let out a long sigh and looked to Leon. "Do we know where the enemy commanders are?"

An archer panicked as the cloaked figure appeared in front of him. "TH-- he started, but fell short to a knife in the back of the neck. The sound blended in with the combat elsewhere.

Amelia gripped her spear more tightly. "You're right, though. We can't give up. We can't let these bastards steal our home and destroy everything we've worked for over these years we've been in Learania. We might have only known each other for a short time, but dammit, none of us wants to see our only home go up in smoke."

A scout let out a panicked shout as an archer dropped from the rooftop and in front of his horse. The horse in turn whinnied in panic, bucked, and started to sprint, the poor scout in tow.

"We have to win. I don't know how we'll do it, but--" Amelia paused. The scout in question went right past, holding on for dear life. "What the--"

"Aw, determination..." Amelia turned her eyes to the man speaking to her and gritted her teeth. She instantly shifted her stance to balance her weight, both hands on her spear. She flinched as bodies hit the ground rather hard, but she didn't move. Her eyes stayed focused on the b*****d speaking in front of her.

"The only way you're getting into that castle is in chains," Amelia hissed. She watched him run, and as his sword lifted, she raised her spear and parried the attack with the metal shaft. His weapon was heavy and his strength was definitely not to be underestimated. Amelia spat at his face before giving a mighty shove, attempting to throw him off-balance just for a moment, enough time for her to leap back and spear him through the throat before moving to the side. Had to make sure that he couldn't get an opening to slice her open, of course.

Amelia was unsure as to who precisely this blonde p***k was supposed to be, but he was no pushover. Literally or strategically, to boot; the spear simply rebounded off of his blade, and she barely had enough time to block his swinging attack with her spear again. As he continued the weapon's path around and back at her, she leaped to the side and out of the way, tucking into a ********, I forgot this doesn't work as well when you're more heavily armored... She pulled herself up rapidly, ignoring the bruise that was undoubtedly developing now on her ribcage. She said nothing though, offering Drake a little sarcastic grin.

"What's the matter? Can't beat a girl?" She readied her spear and spun it once in her hand before taking one step back, adjusting her stance. "I can take anything you dish out."

Leon was scuffling over to the side. She could only pray he would be able to handle himself against his adversary. Amelia didn't have the room or the time to be able to run to help him unless she wanted her opponent's broadsword wedged between her chestplate and her hip pauldrons. Feinting to the left, she rushed at him from the right, spear in her hands. With hopefully enough room to attack him without a chance of a counterattack, Amelia moved as if to slash towards his face from the right, then abruptly rolled to the left again to both dodge any kind of counteroffensive and to throw him off-guard before giving a mighty slash of the spearhead at his ankles. Thank goodness spears had reach.

Amelia had to keep the low sound of frustration from exiting her lips as Drake managed to avoid that attack, too. Either he was much better than she thought, or - hopefully not - she was worse. He was definitely adaptive, though, she had to give him that. Well, inbetween getting her weapon effectively ripped from her hands and a boot slamming into her stomach.

She was sent rolling back against the gate, and a few heavy coughs came out of her chest as she pulled herself back up. An attack like that couldn't be enough to knock her down, no, no, it couldn't be. She got herself up to her feet right as Drake approached her, eyes wild. "Let's try this again!"

Amelia's breath caught in her throat. The sword was coming down, steel glinting, and then... his sword stopped in the air, digging into the wood of the gate, but not moving any farther. A Steel Sword was braced against his, Amelia using both the weight and strength of the wooden gate and her own defensive stance to keep him back. She gritted her teeth, pushing hard. "Stay... away...!"

Meanwhile, in the trees nearby, a lone shadowed figure lurked. Form wrapped in black and purple cloth, the unknown observer kept round brown eyes focused on Drake's battle. It was still uncertain as to whether or not any sort of intervention was necessary at this point, but the General was giving a commendable fight.

Too bad it will have been essentially pointless, the spectator thought.

A pair of daggers were drawn, and if anyone nearby happened to see the tree, they might have seen a flash of light, for only a moment. Then, as if from nowhere, a low cricket-like sound could be heard, if one listened specifically for it. A call of some kind?

[[ENTER MURPHY, WHOOOOOO]]