Fantasy Burning Skies (OPEN)

[StoneWolf18]

Vera opened her mouth to reply, but she didn't have a reasonable answer. Yet as he continued, the seemed inevitable until he paused. Looking around Ains they commanded that everyone unsheath their weapons, and the group soon knew why. When the thrills leaped out of the forest with a feral hunger in their eyes, the young woman drew her sword but was delayed in reaction for two reasons. The first being her deforming and mutating muscules screaming in protest to her movements. The second? The wide range of emotions that washed over her. Vera was staring into the face of what she was going to become. Clad in scales, claws, possibly even bent to the will of some dragon.


Whilst still frozen in a bit of shock and fear, a thrall jumped on her. Letting out a cry of surprise, she used the broad side of her sword to try and hold back the beast that was roaring, clawing and snapping is teeth, wanting to tear into her throat.


Fucking hell...


This day just keeps getting better and better...

 

[Soviet Panda]

Connor, not being able to really put away a pole arm, was perhaps the best prepared for this ambush. As soon as he saw them pop out of the brush, his spear was starting to whirl around him. He caught one across the jaw with the blunt end, and caused it to stagger to the side. Using the momentum of the swing, he spins the head around and leaves a deep cut across the chest of another. One didn't really have to worry about form when fighting a dragon, it was mostly just stab it in it's soft spot and run. But with bandits, and thralls for that matter, it wouldn't do for one to slip up on their form enough to have someone who barely knew the pointy end from the other stick you.

 

[RealityEntity]

Rea had been following this group for weeks now. Its a surprise they havent noticed her yet, especially with its infamous leader, Ains. Maybe it was because of her unnoticeable prescence, or maybe it was sheer luck. But sheer luck isnt gonna help her in this situation.


She was hidden, just a few meters away from the group, when she heard shuffling. It was quiet, but Rea's heightened senses said otherwise. The group also came to a halt, and drew their weapons.


To her surprise, just a few feet away from her, she saw one thing that made her want to follow this hunting group, a Thrall. Although she wanted to hunt dragons, Thralls were probably the next best thing. She gripped her bow, tensed. After a few moments, a lot of them attacked and the group was fending them off. Rea loaded an arrow and aimed for the head of the Thrall. She took a breath, and released. Headshot. She repeated these steps, some were missed, and she let out a string of curses. Its hard shooting a thrall in the head while it was fighting someone she didnt want to shoot.

 

[Kira031110]

Diwata is cooking her captured pigeon, when chaos broke out near her location, looking out to it, she saw a woman with black hair, targeting some thrall heads, but is missing occasionally. Diwata decided to join the party, shooting three thralls at the same time, all three lie down with her arrows sticking on their heads, which startled the woman who had black hair.

 

[RealityEntity]

'Competition, eh?' Rea thought as she shot more Thralls. Rea was as competive as a bull. She never backs down from a challenge and that is what she sees this fight as. A challenge on who could kill more Thralls than that archer. She glared at the archer, smirking.

 

[Kira031110]

'Why the hell she kept unto staring at me like that?!' Diwata thought, she knew that stare, a stare of a demon she is about to fight, Diwata only wanted to help, but seeing the woman's stare, Diwata facepalmed mentally, 'I did it again,' she thought, but what is done cannot be changed, Diwata accepted the stranger's call for a contest.

 

[Daniel Reaving]

When the fight all started isabella yelped and turn to run from the fight. She had never been i one with a normal person let alone the beasts that are to become dragons. The thought of trying to fight terified her greatly as she attempted to run from the battle

 

[Enkerzed]

Ains launched arrow after arrow at the oncoming thralls as he stood his ground, gritting his teeth with steel-eyed determination. His powerful longbow - strong enough to deliver death to even a dragon - thrummed with each shot and whether the enemy was dead or merely wounded mattered not to Ains. All he had to to know was when to shoot the next arrow.


It was just as well since each arrow was specially crafted to pierce through a dragon's eye and into its brain. On the half developed scales and flesh of the thralls, the effect was more devastating. Even the ones wearing scraps of plate and mail armour were felled like logs, but only because Ains had been aiming for their vulnerable points. Ever did his hunter's eye seek such weakness to exploit.


When there was time for it, Ains looked back to spare a glance on how the rest of the group was faring. There was fighting all around, but immediately apparent to him was Vera being pinned underneath a thrall, doing all she could to fend it off. Ains loosed a snapshot into the back of the assailant's skull and closed in to kick its body away.


"On your feet, dragon slayer," he said as he pulled Vera up, but a nearby thrall had noticed and promptly moved in to attack.


"Oh shit!" Ains uttered as he dropped Vera to pull his shortsword out of its sheathe, drawing it just in time to block the thrall's swinging axe. The thing roared in frustration as it reeled back for another blow, but Ains let out a bellow of his own as he crashed forward, tackling his opponent to the ground. Before it could bring its formidable strength to bear and struggle away, Ains plunged his sword into its heart and leaned in with all of his weight, snarling like a beast as he waggled the blade around, tearing up the thrall's chest.


Being considerably less skilled with the sword than the bow, Ains could only match the enemy's savagery with his own and when he was done with the one that had attacked Vera, he rushed on to stab another from behind, not noticing the strangers he had inadvertently helped.


"On me!" Ains shouted as he pulled his sword out and held its bloody blade aloft. "Everyone, rally on me! Fight as one!"

 

[RealityEntity]

Rea kept shooting arrow after arrow, rage evident in her eyes. She smiled insanely, enjoying every arrow that lodged itself inside the Thrall's head. She noticed that Ains wanted to gather his group to fight as one. She mentally scoffed. No way in hell was she going to reveal herself. For all she knew, they could kill her once this battle was over.


She looked at the other hidden archer, scowling at her. Was she issuing a challenge against her? Rea was apalled by the thought, but nonetheless went back to focus on shooting Thralls and getting headshots.

 

[Kira031110]

Diwata just kept shooting, concentrating on every thrall target, "They seemed to be in trouble, huh?"she asked the other mystery archer, looking at her, Diwata sighed, "Never gonna talk, Ms. Mystery archer-slash-hunter?". Thralls kept the group a bit unsteady, then recovering fighting as one, Diwata shall praise them after this encounter, the group slashed the swords and hacked the thralls to death, Diwata just supported them with her bow and arrows, so do the mystery archer, who stared like a demon, with her black hair, she may be even an evil goddess, waiting for some prey.

 

[nottulfr]

As the group tore into the horde of thralls they were deep in the fight against them, Libel had shouted to Isabella, exclaiming, "Hide yourself child! Avoid 'em like a plague!". Libel then turned, whipping his broadsword around at his waist with so much momentum it wasn't stopped by the thrall's entire body it cut through.


More.. more! More! Adrenaline was pumping through Libel's veins, he was reaching a state where he kept on taking thralls down every few seconds, until one managed to grab hold of his left arm, releasing all of the broadsword's weight onto Libels right arm. As the thrall clung on, Libel struggled to free himself...


Shit, you better let go you fucker, he continued to kick the thrall on it's leg and proceed to hit the thrall with a lazy hit from his struggling right arm. The blade cut through the thrall's scaly skin, the burning cut of steel. Libel didn't pay much attention to the others from the group, he only managed to see a few figures dash from place to place, slaying thralls.


It was a massacre. Blood everywhere, the clang of metal on metal, arrows zipped by Libel's head, Ains' voice bellowed and a few faces were seen that Libel was unsure of, he didn't have time to ponder, he took a few steps to his right to take out another thrall...

 

[Enkerzed]

Dodging and parrying, slashing and stabbing, Ains fought and fought until his whole body felt numb. How long had it been now, a few minutes? An hour? It felt like an eternity and Ains knew that if he managed to live past this day, he would be feeling sore for at least an entire week, but first he had to survive.


As he swung his sword across another thrall's body, he jumped backwards to avoid a swiping claw, only to realize that his foe remained unharmed. His blade had slid harmlessly off its scales, perhaps due to a bad angle of attack or the hardness of the scales. It mattered not. Ains quickly followed up with a thrust to its throat and kicked it away as it bled to death.


When it became apparent that no other thrall was immediately going to take its place, Ains risked a moment to look around and assess the situation. There were certainly more thralls than people, but the whole group had formed together in a tight ring, much to Ains's satisfaction. He now knew that he and his people had the advantage, despite the all encompassing attack.


"We can do this!" he shouted as he fought on, careful to keep his shoulders side by side with the others.


It was then that Ains noticed that someone was still firing arrows into the thralls as they continued to surround the group, probing for weaknesses. Who could still be using a bow in such close quarters fighting? he thought as he watched an arrow fly into a thrall's head then traced its flight path to a figure amidst the trees, and another some distance aside.


Ains didn't know who they were or why they were here, but as long as they were helping, he thought it best to make sure that they could keep helping. It wouldn't be long before the thralls noticed them. "Close the gap," Ains said as he patted the shoulders of the people on either side of him before moving to the center of the ring. Positioning himself to face the archers, Ains recognized the three fighters in front of him to be Connor, Libel and Vera, and he moved around patting each of them on the back before saying, "You three, on me! We need to protect those- Argh!"


A thrall tackled into Ains from behind, bounding off the person it had killed, but Ains was quick to twist around and pin its neck to the ground with the point of his sword. "Close that gap!" Ains roared as he pulled his weapon away then returned his attention to the archers. Oh shit, he thought as he saw four of the thralls moving to flank them. Forcing himself between Vera and Connor, Ains helped to beat back the thralls in front before shouting, "You three on me, NOW!"


And then he charged ahead.

 

[StoneWolf18]

As Vera was helped up and the thrall killed, embarrassment flooded her. Though she had no time to actually collect herself before being thrown back into the fight once more. Forming the right ring Ains ordered, she aimed a high strike where scales had yet to cover on a thrall's neck. It gave a startled cry before it was cut off by the steal slicing its next. Satisfied with her kill, the dragon hunter continued to fight.


Then, she along with the leader noticed thrills dropping due to arrows piercing their skulls. Ains had acted upon it first, rushing towards a band of thralls that attempted to flank the archer. As he rushed forward and call for her and Connor to help, she ran along side him before leaping right into the center of the small group. They were a bit startled but immediately recovered as the group began to fight.

 

[Daniel Reaving]

Isabella had run from the main fight but one had followed her as she ran frantiacly before tripping on a root and falling. She screamed loudly as the beast neared and she scrambled to her feet in fear and continued to run as fast as she could to try and lose the beast that was closing the distance between them

 

[Soviet Panda]

'Why me?' He thought to himself as he rushed out with the others. Why couldn't they have just stayed in the formation, and left the archers to die. It wasn't like they owed them anything, or they were a part of their band. Then again, they were humans like them, and humanity was a dying race, and they were both female. So, for the survival of his kind, he opted to remain silent. He broke through the thrall line rather easily, his pole arm spinning around him knocking aside or killing anything that got to close. Now all he had to do was stick with Ains and not die.

 

[Kira031110]

The mystery archer-slash-hunter just kept shooting and shut her out of the world, so do Diwata, shooting a thrall after another, she noticed that, the leader of the group below noticed the two of them, she assumed he is the leader, for he was one who kept shouting "ARR!" and "CHARGE!" something like that, she unto supporting them, then there is this one charging the thrall's line breaking into it, then a kid running away from it, "Get her, or Keep shooting?"a question popped on her mind, "Get the kiddo," Diwata decided, she went out of the tree hideout/sniper point, if you call it that and went to get the kiddo out of the fire zone, a thrall came after him/her, Diwata shoot the beast and came to rescue him/her, then realized it was "her"," Hi let me help you,"Diwata said, offering a hand to the child.

 

[Daniel Reaving]

The mystery archer-slash-hunter just kept shooting and shut her out of the world, so do Diwata, shooting a thrall after another, she noticed that, the leader of the group below noticed the two of them, she assumed he is the leader, for he was one who kept shouting "ARR!" and "CHARGE!" something like that, she unto supporting them, then there is this one charging the thrall's line breaking into it, then a kid running away from it, "Get her, or Keep shooting?"a question popped on her mind, "Get the kiddo," Diwata decided, she went out of the tree hideout/sniper point, if you call it that and went to get the kiddo out of the fire zone, a thrall came after him/her, Diwata shoot the beast and came to rescue him/her, then realized it was "her"," Hi let me help you,"Diwata said, offering a hand to the child.

The beast had grabed isabellas folt before it had been killed nocking her to the ground as she desperately tried to get up before a woman came to save her and she gladly took the womans hand. Her grip made it obvious this was to much fear for her as she was soon squeezing the girls hand so tightly it was cutting off circulation despite the fact that she had tiny hands and she wasnt strong at all

 

[Enkerzed]

Ains no longer had time for thought as he bent every shred of his will into fighting, reacting to the slightest movements and moving on sheer instinct. He could see that the archers were close now, fending off the thralls that had noticed them. More were alerted by Ains's mad charge and it seemed that half of those that were attacking the group were now trailing after him and his small rescue team.


I've made a terrible mistake, he thought as he lopped off a thrall's hand then bashed it in the face with the belly of his bow. The archers were right there but there was just too many thralls. Time seemed to slow down as Ains looked around, taking in everything that was happening within an instant.


The main group had been weakened. The thralls were now attacking both them and the archers. Ains and the three others were caught in the middle. There was no choice now, no turning back. "Protect the archers and go!" Ains shouted as he suddenly broke off then started shouting at the top of his voice, "Come get me you ugly bastards!"


Barreling into the nearest thrall and shoving it towards another, Ains waved his sword around as he taunted them into following him. I'll use myself as bait to relieve pressure on both groups, he thought as dashed off into the woods with no intention of ever coming back. Now's your chance, all of you run!


After a short chase, the thralls pursuing him seemed to wise up to his plan then turned around to harass the others again, but as they faced away from him, one of them suddenly fell dead with a bodkin point arrowhead sprouting half its shaft's length from the creature's chest. "Don't you dare turn your backs on me!" Ains said as he readied another arrow, plucked from the head of one of his earlier kills where his shortsword was now planted, standing upright in bone and flesh.


Silently, he prayed for strength as he prepared to face down the renewed wave of aggression from the thralls, and he also prayed that everyone else had the brains to understand what he was trying to do here. Although, he had the feeling that he'd be greatly disappointed, but then again, that was nothing new ever since he began leading these hunting parties. These dragon slayers.


Please prove me wrong, he thought as he felled another thrall in mid-leap. The next one nearest to him was just a few steps away now. Ains dropped his bow to pick up his sword and draw a dagger from his belt, then he bent down into a fighting stance. Please don't be the fools I think you are.

 

[nottulfr]

Libel continued with the small group Ains had gathered of himself, Connor and Vera. Arrows were zipping past, blood was fkying through the air and thrall corpses were everywhere.This is a fucking mess Ains.. we should've stayed with the main group...





A short yet fat thrall came tumbling to Libel at a rather slow pace yet with fire in his eyes, as the thrall came within good distance of Libel he lowered his sword and brought it up, creating a fatal vertical line, slashing through the thrall's scales and releasing blood, the thrall continued to fall on his back and remain still. Libel didn't have the time to notice that Isabella had been saved by the archer until now. Holy shit, I pray that these people are good to her... Otherwise I will tear their hearts out with my steel and hands...


When Ains proceeded to order Libel and the others to protect the archers, Libel pulled a look of confusion...


He knew exactly what Ains was doing. Using himself as bait?! Ains fights with honour... Thank you Ains, but please... Please don't sacrifice yourself unless you truly cannot go on.





Amongst all the violence, the metal gliding through the air, the howling of thralls and injured comrades, the blood gathering in pools on the dusted forest floor. Libel continued to look at Ains, it felt like these few seconds were in slow motion, Libel was trying to catch his eyes with Ains', wanting to let Ains know that Libel was acknowledging his courage.

 

[Kira031110]

Diwata went back, to the sniper point, the hunter-slash-archer's mysteriously gone,"The hell?"she commented, she went back to the kid, "Yo, you watch for enemies while I shoot," she requested, still puzzled about the disapperance of the mystery hunter-slash-archer, she went to her sniping position, then went back unto supporting the group, then he saw the leader, making himself as a bait, "Idiot," Diwata thought, then satrted to kill the thralls, who are in the rear ranks, killing two, three or four at once.


The arrows ran out, then she remembered that she had some bunches back at her temporary camp, where Diwata is still cooking her pegion, "Kid, come with me, let's get my arrows, and food," she said, she waited for the kid to reply.

 

[Hydreus]

It was a glimpse when Ains so an explosion near him. Then he found another explosion after another.


Hydreus was firing canons in top of the hill. He has no choice but to do so since the people down there didn't planned everything. There location for camp is the most disadvantage thing he had ever seen. No one camps beneath a mountain. Anyway, he lights another canon and hears a loud bang which is so deafening but it is for the group down there to survive. I hope they would find the paper and understand that this is just a distraction and they will try to escape while I try to fire these things.


After I light another canon, I reached for a paper and write as follows:

Dear stranger,



I have no time to explain to you where the canons came from. All I want you and your group to do is up hill to the opposite hill to where I was firing me canons and use the gravity and altitude to you advantage. The archers have the advantage to point there arrows to the thralls once you reach a high altitude. The thralls will try to come to my direction since my canons have more agro than you do so good luck and survive.

From Hydreus​

I roll it and tied it to my arrow and prepare my position to fire near any person down hill.


I hope they would read this letter.

 

[StoneWolf18]

As Ains broke away from the main group, Vera wanted to scream.


You fucking idiot! I understand you wanna be brave an all, but still...


And, ignoring orders like she normally would anyway, the woman grit her teeth and began to tear though the wave of thralls trying to reach the group's leader. She was about half way before exhaustion began to set in deeply. That and her current affliction as well as various wounds weren't helping much. While struggling to aim a blow at one of the hideous creatures in front of her, many swarmed her back. Before Vera had time to spin around, they had already used their claws to tear a sizable hole in her armor. Letting out a cry, she stabbed one and tried to move onto another.


This was bad for two reasons. One was quite obvious. They were in the heat of battle and armor was kinda important. The second was a bit more worrisome. They had torn the leather but cloth tunic beneath as well, making it so the slowly growing patch of black scales was clearly seen if one was looking. Which, if you were trying to stay alive, why would you?

 

[Kira031110]

Diwata assumed that the kid went to get supplies with her, as she went back she can now see and hear explosions coming from the cannons uphill, she saw a silhoutte of a man that looked like in his late thirties, "He seemed to be also helping them," Diwata thought, she held kid's left hand and drag her gently, to her destination, where the man who shoots cannons located.


Exhausted Diwata is now face-to-face with the old man, "Hydreus, the legend,"she said, then kicked the man's bifurcum, "Long time no see, old man," as Diwata laugh so hard, seeing the old man, curl up and agonize in pain.

 

[Mistory]

gah. the noise, the noise! why does my head hate me!


a short grunt was the only answer as the figure moved through the wasteland, always moving in a walking crawl as it followed the sound. metal clashing, explosions, and the roar of a dragon. everything made him hurt. if the it unholy screech of the beast driving him up a wall, it was the multiple explosions. the thrall snarled, crouching above on a jagged boulder as he watched the carnage unfold. the battle didnt seem to have an end, and their was no coordination. some where using bows, one was firing a cannon, and one was trying to lead them away. but none of it seemed to be working. the cannon fire was only disorientating, confusing the humans even more. the archers tried their best, but only pulled the attention back on the group. the man that tried to draw the horde away was cutting them down slowly, but at that rate the humans would be dead before he got half way.


what to do, what to do! they cant control the horde. they wont last long unless something shifts the fight!


a grumble escaped him as he watched. what could confuse a horde thats only focused on killing...


the thrall managed a grin as he moved, heading along the side of the battle, avoiding the attention of the combatants. soon he slipped inside the cave they had retreated from. he managed to crawl through the winding path of the cave, until he found his target. of course the dragon remained to eat. its thralls would do whatever it needed.


he didn't need to kill it. just get it angry. the one thing that can change a thrall's mind is its master, so if the master changes its mind...


a boulder, about the size of a curled up child, collided with the dragon's jaw, before another flew toward it. just get it mad. get it to call the thralls. one trying to escape was a lot easier than twenty. a snarl escaped him as he taunted the beast.


come on,you scaly freak, come on! im right here!

 

[Hydreus]

Oh you stupid archer


What did you did that for


I didn't light the last canon making the explosion comes to halt


I lie on the ground making me immobilize after she hit's my critical point


I remain on the ground for the longest time. Making me think nothing at all but the pain


@Kira031110