Fandom Fire Emblem: Twisting Horizons

[GojiBean]

Sei'rina continued with the short gasps for breath as she was helped into a seated position.

"C-can't... Brea-... th... She wheezed.

She tried to keep her arms held up, but she was rapidly losing strength as her vision started to blur from the lack of oxygen.

Zombehs Bixir

 

[Zombehs]

Dansly Rimeholt
Rear of Caravan
Interactions: GojiBean Bixir Krishnas​

If he noticed Lucille's wariness, Danly made no sign of it as he paid more attention to Sei'rina and her faltering condition. "Save your breath and focus then. You won't be left behind." He didn't know how she had ended up in this state, and it seemed like she was pretty much ready to pass out anyways. If it was just a panic attack -- quite possible given the intense fighting they had experienced earlier -- then the symptoms should fade once she was unconscious. If not... well, he supposed she would need a healer's attention.

Despite nearly being the same size as her, Dansly seemed to have little trouble in simply holding Sei'rina up after he slipped his other arm beneath her legs. Adjusting his stance a bit to better hold onto her, his attention finally moved over to Lucille. "His name would be Curga, and he's a Wyvern," he explained to her before he raised his eyebrow at her. "Several days ago back at... well I have no idea what that village was called." He would have shrugged if not for the fact that he was holding onto a patient. "I'm surprised you managed to miss us. We aren't exactly hard to spot."

The sound of his name briefly turned the Wyvern away from his meal, but after a quick glance at the people around Dansly, he simply snorted before returning to devouring what was left of the deer.

"If you feel like it, go ahead." Dansly did shrug a bit at that to try and shake Sei'rina a bit and keep her from fading. He spared a glance down at her just to check on her condition before he looked back up at the grey-haired woman who had offered.

 

[Dante Verren]

Elenora
Interaction: Thanny


Her eyebrow's rose in confusion for a moment at his joke. Perhaps it was the way he spoke, or the accent but what ever joke he had made had definitely gone over her head. Still she gave a polite smile as she didn't want to be rude. Still she had to thank him for his recognition. "Well Mr. Varna, thank you for the recognition. We all have to do our part if we want to get to safety. Goddess knows we have already lost too much." a small frown crept across her face as thoughts of the many exhausting defeats rushed her all at once. Shaking her head lightly she focused back on the present, there wasn't time to think about what had been, only focus on what was.

Despite the fact that it might have been a little rude she gave a small chuckle at the thought of Varna blasting away with fire setting everything alight around him, then the book being taken away as soon as it was empty and safe to snatch away from him. "I'm sure it must have been quiet a sight to see. My name is Elenora and yes as you guessed I am a mage. A wind mage to be precise, so fire might have given me as much trouble as it did you." she replied

She glanced back at the ever growing group of people at the rear of the column and the ever increasing amount of chaos that seemed to be following them. "You don't suppose there is some kind of fight going on?" she asked with concern evident in her voice.

 

[Thanny]

Interactions: Dante Verren , later GojiBean Zombehs Krishnas

Varna cracked a grin at Elenora's responses. His chief aim was to lighten the mood with his story, so he was quite pleased with whatever amusement she could find. However, his eyebrow lifted when he found out that there were people trained under different elements.

"So fire's not universal for mages? That low-down, dirty, coin-pinchin' instructor lied t' me, teaching me 'the basics every mage knows'!" he groaned, or perhaps snarled. "Can't teach me how t' toss a fireball 'n' too cheap to give lessons in wind an' thunder, 'n' taking full pay. T' nerve o' some people."

It was then that his mind snapped back to the present and what was happening in the back of the convoy, causing him to smile sheepishly.

"Right. Uh, don't seem too troublin', but it is a ruckus and . . . ain't that our lady healer?" He pursed his lips, eyes narrowing. That assuredly looked like her being helped up by others, including that "scary-lookin' " individual. "Let's get hoppin'. She may be the first who needs this potion from a heroine-to-be."

With or without Elenora -- but to his hope with -- he would migrate over to Sei'rina and company and bluntly ask, What happened?" his hand feeling for the vulnerary given to him by Andrius, next to his own antidote. "She doesn't look poisoned, but she does seem blue in t' face."

 

[Dante Verren]

Elenora
Interactions: Thanny Zombehs Krishnas Bixir GojiBean


At first she was slightly taken aback by Varna's outburst, it was a lot more vocal then she expected. That surprise turned to a frown at his story, it sounded like he had been scammed by some kind of magic user posing to be a mage, that or they were a particularly strict magician who got fed up and quit taking full pay anyways. She thought about mentioning there was actually light and dark magic as well as the three base elements but decided against it for now. It wasn't important and it would likely make his current outburst a little worse.

Once he seemed to regain his composure she followed his gaze back to where she had been looking at earlier. She focused in a little more closely and finally saw that one of the people were in fact on the ground. A woman in a style of outfit she had never seen. "Let's get hoppin?" She said questioning the meaning out loud. Shaking her head she set that question aside for later and followed Varna forward. "I'm not sure who it is but they definitely look like they could use a hand." She added as she walked.

As they arrived at the group Elen watched the exchange ready to jump in if needed. She also made sure to keep her eyes trailing the surroundings, incase if the columm was being followed they would have someone watching out so they weren't completely caught by surprise.

 

[GojiBean]

Chapter 1: Survive​

Enemies: Gurein Military Scouting Group

Soldier (spear)
Fighter (axe)
Myrmidon (sword)
Cavalry (sword focus)
Archer (bow)

Allies: Zaerman Resistance

Northwest Flank: Branwen, Lucille, Seth, Blair, Darius, Varna

Southwest Flank: Sei'rina, Marnette, Dansly, Elenora, Danae

Objective: Survive The Ambush​

It had been a long day, and it was now past midnight on this cold, merciless day.

First the skirmish, then the travel with little to no real rest, and then a panic attack.

Thankfully their group pitched camp just inside the forest not too far from the border. According to those up at the front they should reach it by tomorrow afternoon. But with the night having descended, and this territory now officially being "unfriendly" to them thanks to Gruein's invasion, they had little choice but to hunker down and get what rest they could.

Sei'rina had taken up a spot to help continue tending the wounded near the Southern half of the camp where several of those still wounded had been laid to recuperate. However, the Healer's staves were beginning to run out of charges and would soon need replacing. Hers included. She felt a total of nine charges remaining in the Bloom Festival Staff she carried. If she could just find one other Heal Staff, even if only half full, it would be better than running around with nothing if and when her first staff ran out.

Not far away she could see the Wyvern which served as Dansly's companion, whom she had more or less formally been introduced to after finally coming out of her panic attack not too long after he picked her up. She had to calm herself, as the movement of being picked up had not helped her situation at all by collapsing her torso which crunched her lungs. But somehow she managed, and was put back down shortly after and said her greetings to them. Also nearby was a mage named Elenora, whom Sei'rina had said "hello" to as the group set up the camp earlier. Another one was a Thief, or a woman who looked like one. But she wasn't much of a talker so Sei'rina hadn't gotten to say hi to her yet. And lastly was a spear user named Danae, whom she said hello to while trying to help move the wounded.

As Sei'rina finished her rounds and sat down on a small patch of grass to rest, she noticed the horses not far away lifting their heads with their ears perked up.

"Hey, what's got them spooked?" One soldier asked.

"Probably just animals cracking sticks or rustling leaves." Another said.

Sei'rina sighed in relief at the thought that it was nothing and began to lay down when she heard the faintest whisper of a whistling sound. But a whistle, it was not. It was the sound of air rushing rapidly past her ear as an arrow just missed her head and flew past her into the body of a resting ally who she had just finished tending to. The man awoke with a shriek of pain, and the entire camp was on its feet almost instantly.

"AMBUSH!!!" Shouted another soldier before taking an arrow to the neck.

Sei'rina rose with her Staff in hand and darted towards cover behind a box of the supplies which had been lowered to the ground from one of the carts, and checked the soldier who had just been shot from around the corner of the box. He was badly injured and would bleed out in less than a minute if she didn't do something. But the camp was quickly compromised as the enemy charged their position with weapons drawn. Their allies met the attack as best they could, but the advantage was clearly in favor of Gurein's forces who pushed deep into their campsite and were now dangerously close to burning their supplies and killing the horses which pulled their carts.

Not knowing what else to do in the moment, she jumped out from behind cover to the man who'd been shot in the neck and yanked the arrow free before closing her eyes and concentrating her Staff on him. It was hard to concentrate with the sounds of clashing metal and battle cries, but she remained steadfast and the man's body slowly calmed as his wound closed and he was able to stop choking on blood and breathe more normally.

"Hahh... Thanks Healer girl." He said as he made it to his feet and drew his blade.

"Of course! Give them a sound thrashing!" She urged.

He nodded with a grunt and ran into battle to join his comrades as they all now had to fight once again for their lives.

Dante Verren noxrequiem Bixir Zombehs Kurteth Krishnas Iamyellow Thanny Nellancholy Obsidian

 

[Krishnas]

Just when she had just gotten all relax a fight haaad to break out, great.

Marn had been more or less just hanging out near the wounded, mainly to watch if that faint of heart girl fainted again, considering that she was hard at work healing the injured it would be less than ideal if she suddenly had complications while fixing someone's lung or something. So it was a nice and comfy place to rest her back against, almost nice enough to sleep on! Well, now it was a good place to not get shot by some stray arrow.

Speaking of, she ought to get rid of those guys.

In this admittedly troublesome position they had put them in, an archer had revealed themselves while trying to finish off one of their injured, and they hadn't even killed the guy! Losers. Taking a moment to assess the situation and her area a bit more she watched the healer girl send off that very man to the battlefield once more. She considered her fore a second, moving in a crouched walk toward her Marn pressed a hand to her back. "Stay back or hide behind someone bigger than you, your life is a little more valuable than some guy with a sword." And with those oddly calm, slightly morbid words, Marn was on the move to swing around the side and get a slightly more extreme flank on the archers while under the cover of both darkness and the forest brush.

 

[Zombehs]

Dansly Rimeholt
Southwest Flank (Supplies)
Interactions: Nada at the moment.​

Never let it be said that Dansly was a particularly good medic, even if he knew the basics of taking care of some scrapes and bruises. Still, he took the advice given by Sei'rina in stride and everyone involved had caught up to the caravan without any real trouble. As things wound down for the night, he and Curga had set up on the edge of the camp for the night. The warmth offered by huddling under his companion's wing let little need for Dansly to set up camp, and he had almost been on the verge of falling asleep. Curga would wake him up when it was his turn to keep wat-

The sound of combat roused him quickly though, and Dansly bolted to his feet in an instant as any trace of drowsiness all but vanished. With a single smooth motion, he swung himself easily onto Curga's back even as the Wyvern rose with a tremendous roar that drowned out the noises around the pair for a moment. No doubt it would have also attracted the attention nearby enemies as the presence of a Wyvern demanded the attention of archers and spearsmen alike.

Knowing just that, Curga didn't waste a moment before the pair shot upwards into the night sky with a few powerful wing flaps. Dansly had already freed his weapon from its holder by his Wyvern's side, and he rested the shaft on his shoulder as he peered down over the developing battlefield. The enemies hidden by the forest and nightfall were practically impossible for him to pick out, but those trying to set fire to their supplies and already in the middle of the campsite? They were easy enough to pick out.

With a pat to Curga's neck, his Wyvern twisted around midair before the pair dived silently into the growing melee. With barely a noise, Dansly made his presence known as they cut off one of the enemy calvary's charge. Forcing the man's horse to balk as Curga suddenly appeared before it as he swung his naginata for the man's neck.

 

[Dante Verren]

Elenora:
Southwest flank
Mentions: GojiBean Zombehs Krishnas
Northwest flank Mention: Thanny


Elen sat on the ground in front of her small campfire, hood up, knees to her chest, bag on the ground next to her, and prodding at the flames as she watched them dance. Ever since they had arrived at the campsite she had busied herself with the last of the set up. She hadn't taken any breaks, merely ate while she was working. Setting up tents, setting up meager defenses, helping herd the caravan animals. She even helped pass out food to those who needed assistance getting it. It was just before midnight that she had finally gotten a chance to make her own fire, warm her own dinner, and take a seat on the cold hard ground.

She was vaguely aware of some of her companies that had made there own little spots within the area. Some included the Healer Sei'rina, the wyvern rider Dansly, and a few others. She had greeted them earlier once everything had calmed down, but Varna remained the only one she had spoke to in any real length. Perhaps tomorrow she could greet more of the others. This group seemed relatively safe and likely that they would reach there destination tomorrow, maybe more permanent. Perhaps she could stop running from battled to battle, each with less people she recognized. Then again it couldn't get much worse then it already was. She had already been left alone. Either she was the last from her home, or she had simply been split off from her fellow guardsmen. Not that she would ever know what was the case.

Her eyelids felt heavy, and sleep began to roll over her. She wrapped her cloak and rather uncomfortable blanket closer around her. Settling in next to her fire, but not too close as to burn herself or alight her clothes. Sleep was quickly catching up to her. She was right there on the edge, about to fall into slumber, and then the sounds of battle pulled her back from the edge. She shot up onto her feet as someone cried out about an ambush. She desperately grabbed out for her bag and slung it over her shoulder. Sticking her hand inside she pulled out her tome and looked around to see what she could do to help. She Sei'rina pick someone up and a thief looking woman talk with her a moment before leaving, Dansly and his wyvern shoot up in the air, but no sight of anyone else she recognized yet.

Before she was able to make a solid choice on where she could go, the sound of clanging metal came from behind her. She turned in time to see a solider with a spear . Steeling her resolve she stepped backwards and flung open her book. The breeze shifted and she swung out her right arm in a circular cutting motion. Magic flew through the book into her body and out her arm. The gentle shifting of the breeze hardened and sharped swinging itself forward in an arc. Like a flying blade it rushed forwards towards the soldier. The man slid to a stop and raised his spear in defense, blocking some of the slice as the rest rushed past and sliced his shoulders drawing some blood. He recovred a lot quicker then Elen had expected and thrusted his spear forward, catching her with a grazing wound on her left foreleg as she dodge away.

Remembering those battles fought before she steeled herself and ignored the pain. After moving to dodge the spear thrust she had positioned herself with the enemy between her and the fire. She let another blast of magic fly, but this time was faster then her foe. He raised his spear to block again, but the wind blade caught him in the chest, wounding and causing him to stumble backwards. The blast caused him to lose his footing, and he went cast cading backwards into the flame. It wouldn't be a peaceful end.

Standing up straight and breathing heavily she moved on to rejoin other allies.

 

[Nellancholy]

Danae took a few moments to stew in her own thoughts, the grim cloud of uncertainty hovering over her as visions of bloodshed played in her mind. It was indeed one thing to fight. And another altogether to fight in war. Even so, she was still walking forward on her own two feet, and her spear was still firmly in hand. Tension played throughout the procession, wounds of both the body and heart being inflicted. And they would get far more numerous and deep before this storm subsided.

And just like that, the tension was released in a single twang, coordinated arrow shots being loosed at the escapees. This was no rain, but a precise ambush. No army in force, but a smaller group aiming to harry and scatter them. And then, perhaps, pick them off later like wolves. Or more like ravens picking through carrion.

Several fell before the arrows. Only about half of them got back up.

Danae took off into the trees, the steps of battle growing as familiar as a dance. Against the archers, any cover was worth it. And just then, the branches parted-

"Going somewhere, scum?" A woman in light armor, a curved sword in her hand descended upon Danae. "Don't worry, you won't need to run any longer!"

Danae, in turn, swayed to her side, holding the haft of her spear by her head. Her opponent's blade screeched as the steel spear deflected the decapitating cleave. With a firm shove, Danae launched the myrmidon back into a tree. It was a devious move, this flanking maneuver. Her spear would be harder to use amidst the trees, any sweeping blows likely to strike her surroundings. With the split second of breathing room, Danae pulled her spear back, holding it in a shortened grip.

"Scum? You really seem to have run out of ways to besmirch the resolve of these honored ones who stand against depredation." She stepped cautiously aside, circling the swordswoman.

"Keep talking..." She sneered. "...I'll have your tongue out, just like this!" A blindingly fast blow flashed at Danae's throat.

This was indeed a battle, only a fleeting moment in a great war. And this woman had the mind for war, if not the skill for it. She directed a killing blow, not merely one to wound or disarm.

And her high stance presented an opening. Danae was just a tiny bit faster, the keen sword shaving off a lock of her hair as she dived down and thrust forward, the steel tip of her spear burying into the myrmidon's gut. A sound like a balloon deflating escaped her hips as pain overtook her cruel smile. And with a spin, Danae pulled out the spear, her next blow a strike to the jaw.

Just like that, her foe fell. Whatever story she may have had, whatever goal she sought marching to war, all cut short. A story that would never be told.

And there was no time to falter. As Danae sprinted ahead, her gaze met Marn's through the trees. A flanking maneuver would be most decisive coming from two fronts.

Krishnas

 

[noxrequiem]

Branwen Corax
Pegasus Knight

- Northwest Flank -

---

It had been days since Gurein’s forces had overtaken Zaerma’s capital. Days since the royal family had been slain. Days since Branwen had abandoned her post.

The pegasus knight had fled quietly and without a word into the night, the day the horrid deed was done. She couldn’t help but wonder what those in her former battalion had thought about her disappearance. There was no doubt that by now they knew she was gone, but did they know she was now about to be a traitor to their kingdom? She thought back to the moment she had begged Prince Leon to spare the Zaerman royal family, and put a stop to things then and there. Of course, he hadn’t, and now she wondered most of all what he now thought of her. Nothing good, no doubt, and she was only going to make it worse from here. The thought was making her sick to her stomach.

Whatever the case may be back in Zaerma’s capital, any reports that may have concerned Branwen had not yet made it out this far. She had ridden hard and fast towards the southern border, following reports of the resistance fighters’ retreat towards Lenmea. A couple days back, she had run into a Guereinian scouting troop that had been stealthily chasing these rebels down. She had lied to them then, saying she was sent by the prince himself to help make sure every single rebel had been slain. It was a lie they had all easily accepted; after all, what reason would they have to doubt someone of her standing?

Now, they were creeping up on the resistance group’s camp for the night, hidden by the trees and the blanketing cover of nightfall. Branwen noted that it was currently a new moon, which helped to explain why it was so suffocatingly dark. The atmosphere was uneasy as her group stalked closer and closer, so much so that she wondered how the Zaerman’s hadn’t quite yet picked up on it. Or, perhaps, it was just her. Branwen took a deep breath and held it, trying to slow the rapid beating of her heart. What she was about to do was insane. There would be no coming back from it, she was sure. And more likely than not, the end result would be with her buried six feet underground.

She was positioned towards the back of her column’s advance, emerging from the northwest reaches of the forests surrounding the rebel’s camp. She silently watched and waited as her fellow Gureinians prepared for their attack. As much as she wanted to shout a warning to the resistance, or take matters into her own hands and just start swinging her sword, she knew she had to wait for the right opportunity. Wait for the confusion and chaos of battle before turning on her own men. The reality of it all sinking in was making her sick, making it hard to breathe. But what else was she to do? She had already made up her mind, already had come to the conclusion that this was simply the most logical step to take to both aid Zaerma’s resistance and live long enough to see it through.

Her mind was snapped back to the present moment as she watched several archers nock arrows and draw back their bows. Branwen held her breath, watching one soldier in particular. She desperately prayed to whichever deity would listen to her, for him to please, please miss. He didn’t. And with that arrow, chaos was unleashed.

Branwen kept towards the back of the column for a moment, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, making peace with what she was about to do. Her pegasus, Crow, stirred uneasily beneath her, pawing at the ground impatiently. One more deep breath, and she steeled herself, unsheathing her sword. No regrets.

The pegasus knight charged forward into the frenzy of battle, sword drawn and ready to fight. But what she did next, no one of either side was expecting. In the darkness, she spotted one of her own men, former men, raising his axe above his head, about to land a killing blow on a Zaerman resistance fighter. She quickly swooped in, raising her sword and catching the axe, blocking it. She grit her teeth from the effort of pushing it away.

The fighter before her widened his eyes in surprise as he looked upon her face and recognized the woman before him. “L-Lady Branwen…? What are you doing?!”

Branwen clenched her jaw harder, whether from effort of fending off the axe or guilt of her actions, she wasn’t sure and she definitely wasn’t going to think about it right now. Either way, the fighter before her was taken by surprise and figuratively knocked off balance. Now would be the time to land a solid blow on him, but she found herself hesitating.

 

[Thanny]

Varna Husk - Northwest Flank
Mention/Secondhand interaction: noxrequiem
Open to: People in the Northwest Flank

~~ xx ~~

Varna was one of the probable few who first went to sleep. Comfortable in his furs and wrapped in warm cloth, neither of which giving much quarter to the wind's efforts of blowing through him, he kept himself at manageable distance from his axe and drifted off. Dreams came readily, but disaster struck in the thick of it as his mother vanished from existence, consumed by a yelling blackness.

That yelling was still evident as he opened his eyes, and he quickly realised what was happening: combat! He raised himself, drawing his axe from the ground and stepping over his cloak that served as a makeshift jacket. He knew what he had to do next: end life and try his best to finish this battle quickly.

The distant allied campfire proved dangerous. Light meant people can see those inside the light. He would have to break away and join the darkness, or else become a target to arrows.

Of said arrows he saw several whiz by, embedding in the ground, trees, or sometimes -- worse than both -- people. He felt compelled to take the archers down first, allowing allies to fight unhindered with the looming threat of being shot from any angle. Archers were often protected, but he did not know if it was the same here in an ambush. The enemy may have stretched themselves thin.

Varna ran to the forest line where he had seen arrows fire towards his fellows, stealing a glance toward an unexpected pegasus knight (Branwen) who was fighting on his side's behalf. Surprised by yet another lady who had picked up arms to fight the enemy, he looked about for the archers. He found one notching an arrow to target the pegasus knight clashing with an axeman and decided to intervene, rushing the archer without considerable thought.

In terms of speed, he was fast enough to get close to the archer who looked over and, panicked, fired away from combat as he attempted to dodge or block while on his feet.

Had he dodged by dropping or rolling, or not putting his weapon between the two, the archer would have gotten away unscathed, but instead was much less fortunate. The iron axe bit into the unlucky man's weapon, snapping the top of the bow and causing the once-taut bowstring to fall useless.

Varna raised his broad-headed axe again, towering over the young man who collapsed below him, paralysed with fear. The dread in the archer's eyes was proving unpleasant, so the axeman looked away from the fearful stare as he tightened the grip on his weapon. An preventive arrow from the enemy sailed into his offhanded arm, causing anguish to Varna, but it did not and could not prevent the axe from falling. The youth beneath him's lifethread was cut short.

Wounded, unsatisfied with himself in the end, and unhappy, Varna tried to get back into the cover of thickets to pull the arrow out or snap the shaft, but another axeman intervened, angry and fearsome. The enemy seemed poorly equipped, toting what looked to be a lesser axe, yet this still a real problem. An archer and an axeman had their sights trained on him. Should he not regroup, the odds would not be in his favour if the fight was prolonged. What to do? What to do?

((If anyone wants to pair up against an archer and an axeman, or try to solo either to reduce the heat on Varna, I wanted to give an option. =)

Edit: minor word tweaks and corrections.))

 

[GojiBean]

So much blood...

She looked left. There was blood everywhere.

She looked right. There was blood there too.

She looked straight ahead, blood. She looked behind her, blood. She looked down at her pants, blood.

She just couldn't escape it. Everywhere she looked there were bodies beginning to pile up and soak the ground red as the moon shone down on the battlefield through the lightly populated tree canopy.

"I'm not feeling so well," she mumbled as she felt her stomach churning from the stench.

No time. Another comrade fell just next to her with an enemy on top of him stabbing his gut with a dagger. Sei'rina froze, unable to move. It was as if time stood still and she saw it all happening in slow motion. The draw back, the thrust, the slicing of a blade through fabric and flesh, and finally the spurt of blood as the blade was pulled free. The sound of her comrade's screams were garbled and muted, almost like he was underwater.

Move, Sei'rina. She thought.

The slow motion stabbing of her comrade continued, and her body trembled.

Move!

She took a half-step towards the pair, but was taken out of her frozen moment by the sight of a spear through the man's neck as one of her allied soldiers cleaved his throat open before kicking him off their fallen comrade. The Soldier lifted his helmet visor and motioned for Sei'rina to come help before an arrow flew through the opening in the visor and struck him straight in the right eye.

Sei'rina shrieked as the man dropped to his knees in front of her, and she staggered backwards before falling onto her rump and scooting away from him as he hit the ground. Her other ally was still gasping and reaching for her, pleading for help, but was also hit with an arrow in the side which only caused him more pain. Sei'rina looked over her shoulder and saw the archer on a low hanging branch in a tree aiming down at them. Evidently he didn't consider her a threat since he wasn't paying her any attention.

However, she understood why a few seconds later when she brought her Staff around, which had previously been blocked by her body being in the way of his line of sight. The moment he saw her Staff he notched another arrow and took aim at her. She scrambled to the side in an attempt to escape, but he led her perfectly and loosed an arrow which sailed clean into the meat of her right thigh, bringing her to the ground in agony. Through her screams of pain she managed to turn and see over her shoulder that the archer was pulled from the tree and stabbed to death by another ally.

Sei'rina's own screams were cut short by another ally leaning down asking if she could still stand and help their friend who was lying down with the arrow in his side. Somehow he was still holding on. Sei'rina saw his tears glistening in the moonlight, and her own tears suddenly seemed woefully insignificant. Against the pain in her leg from the arrow she managed to make it to her feet with help from her ally who gave her his shoulder and helped her walk over to the man. She carefully sat down and used her Staff to Heal him, and their ally had to leave to take care of other business around them.

She was totally exposed now. Just her and her fallen comrade. If someone attacked her now, it would be the end for both of them.

Krishnas Nellancholy Zombehs Dante Verren

 

[Zombehs]

Dansly Rimeholt
Southwest Flank
Interactions: GojiBean​

In the end it wasn't Dansly's superior skill or reach that allowed him to win over his opponent. It boiled down to the fact that even if the man's horse had been bred for war, it was ultimately much less suited for it than Curga. Fangs and claws tore into the poor horse and wrenched its rider straight into the path of Dansly's swing. His arms strained a bit as he cleaved through, but his opponent's head went spinning into the air all the same in the end.

There was no time to savour the small victory though. Not with the battle still far from over and people dying all around him. "Up!" He snarled after a sharp pain suddenly pierced his shoulder as an arrow from the dark found him. Between the flickering flames and the dark of night, it was impossible for Dansly to keep track of every threat and danger while stuck in the thick of things. Even as a few arrows found their mark on Curga's wings, his Wyvern easily took up and shot back up into the safety of the dark sky.

Thankfully his armour had kept the arrow from punching too deep, but it still hurt something bad as he reached up and snapped the shaft to keep things out of the way. He took a brief moment to survey the battle from above, and scowled from more than just how his body ached. The enemy was pressing the momentum of their ambush for all it was worth, and he didn't know if they could even protect their supplies anymore at this rate. They had to survive the night for that to even matter!

"Damn it." Curga wheeled around midair and the pair of them abandoned the battle for supplies happening below. Crashing down in front of Sei'rina and her patient with a spray of blood churned mud, the pair interposed themselves between the enemy about to spear her. His own weapon came down to bat aside the deadly tip that tried to skewer Curga before the Wyvern replied in turn and nearly bit the enemy's head off for their trouble. Off balance by their dodge and knocked aside weapon, Dansly seized the opportunity and put his entire body into the swing. Even as his injured arm protested the wide motion, he brought the naginata's blade down in a cleaving blow that split the lightly armoured man from shoulder to hip. The brutal follow up of Curga's tail coming around like a whip to send the lifeless corpse flying back towards his comrades was just the finishing touch before both of them let their voices out. A war cry and a bestial roar, calling for any and all to come meet their deaths!

It was the only thing he could do to attract attention from the more vulnerable healer who was also a damn priority target as she worked to save lives. Dansly would have liked to tell her to get out of the open, but where the hell was even safe at a time like this?

 

[Nellancholy]

A great screech from Dansly's wyvern and the sounds of slaughter pierced the air as the battle raged. Danae proceeded on her path, her pace not faltering for a moment. Thank the stars, the shrine maiden that followed the procession was intact for now, if not exactly safe. And the wyvern rider formed a solid shield for her, dissuading anyone from getting closer. But they weren't at all out of the woods yet. Danae was in position, and it was hardly the time to wait any longer.

The archer that struck Sei'rina and her companions was still in range. Would they try to finish her off or eliminate Dansly first? Either way, they weren't about to flee with their tail between their legs. Another arrow went on the string...

"En garde, cur! Your eyes should be here-" Danae's exclamation was interrupted as the archer spun around and loosed their arrow swiftly and surely. But her charge was not. With nary a gasp of pain as she kept her steady pace, Danae was well within reach before they could ready another arrow.

A wound for a wound. Striking into flesh was second nature by now, for better or worse as she thrust her spear into their thigh, punctuating the scream of pain that mixed with the cacophony of battle by landing a blow into their skull. As they fell, Danae continued her sprint to get into position and help protect Sei'rina.

"Eyes up, valiant knight! Ergh..." The arrow embedded into her bicep invited a pained grunt from her. "...there's...more, at least one more. We may have need of your noble mount's scales soon!"

Cautiously, Danae scanned the treeline. Would that thief Marn be able to handle whatever was lurking around?

Zombehs Krishnas

 

[Krishnas]

Of course, Marn liked to keep her head low and cool during times of panic.

And this battlefield was no different, the screams of various people either in pain, in raged, dying or killing rang out too loudly for Marn's foot falls to be heard. She could hurry, then. This archer was causing too much trouble to be ignored after all, so his voice could easily join in with his comrades as he fell. In just a few moments her positioning had paid off, she was facing the back of the archer holding back their line and the man was luckily none the wiser.

Her dagger had already been drawn so it was simply a matter of waiting just one more moment, watching him draw yet another arrow, closing in, notching, closing in, pulling it back, he wouldn't hit another mark. Her dagger sliced cleanly through the back of his neck, and a short lived scream marked his apparently short lived life, he had to be at least around 20 or something by the looks of it and by the sound of it, she still had a few moments before this side realized they had lost an archer.

But then again, these were a scouting group, weren't they. The intensity of the fight as well as the advantage betrayed the thinness of their numbers, which means they had a good chance of making out of this alive. Her eyes locked onto the two that had flanked the healer girl, though one looked worse for wear the other was on top of a very mad looking wyvern that had tossed a body like it was a doll, so she was fine.

With that assurance in mind Marn simply kept moving along the edge, the northern effort was too dangerous to simply sprint toward and there may still be others to take out within the brush.

Nellancholy GojiBean Zombehs

 

[Dante Verren]

Elenora
Southwest flank
Interactions: GojiBean Zombehs Nellancholy


Madness, chaos, and death had enveloped the camp as the defenders fought desperately to simply survive the ambush they found themselves in. Ellen was no different, and he breath's came in gasp as she swerved left and right trying to through off any archer's that might be firing at her. Her caution was warranted as arrows were scattered across the battlefield, stuck deep in the ground, supplies, or for the unlucky few... corpses. She slid to a halt for just a moment, throwing out two more Wind blast at what ever enemies she could see before diving behind cover. She didn't dare peak out to check and see if she had hit anything.

From her cover she could see a small group starting to form. Sei'rina who she had briefly lost sight of looked wounded and was accompanied by another wounded looking soldier. A man wielding a spear charged them and for a moment Elen thought that she was going to watch the girl die, but in the last moment the shrine priestess was saved. The Wyvern rider decided from the sky with a furry and the due made a fearsome wall that any enemy would dread trying to get through. Elen wasn't a coward and she wasn't going to sit there hiding forever. She gave her self a light pinch on her right cheek and sprinted free from cover rushing to join her allies.

She caught sight of a swordsman trying to flank around the side of the wyvern and sent out a blast of wind, the arc rushed forward landing straight into the man's side. He was sent spiraling, hopefully he wouldn't stand up. Taking advantage of her clean strike she slid to a halt joining her group of allies. "I'm here to help," she said as she readied her book again. "We need to get moving. Standing out here in the middle is suicide. We either need to drive forward or join the retreat."

 

[GojiBean]

...

...

Success! Sei'rina's Blossom Festival Staff had done its work and saved the life of her fallen comrade. However, the healing had come too late to prevent scarring in the areas he'd been stabbed. But a few scars was a small price to pay for remaining alive. And to make things even better they'd been joined by a host of other allies including Dansly and his wyvern, Danae, and Elenora.

"He's up!"

Her comrade grabbed his weapon and rose to his feet, shrugging off the soreness which had built up from the injuries Sei'rina had just tended to and remained in formation with the group.

"Looks like it's thinning a bit." He noted.

Sure enough, their immediate area was thinning rapidly of enemies, and the arrows in the trees had stopped flying. With any luck that meant there weren't any left. Sei'rina turned and saw that Elenora's left foreleg had taken a glancing strike.

"Elenora, hold still a moment please."

Sei'rina knelt down on one knee next to Elenora and closed her eyes as she held her Staff up and began healing. For a smaller wound like this it would take only a moment. It was the larger wounds that would take more time. Time they didn't have. But this one was over in seconds with the wound closing and the pain being replaced by simple soreness from the body mending the damages.

"There."

She rose to her feet and heard something behind the group. Turning her head she noticed that the enemy had successfully set fire to one of their supply boxes. There were several other boxes that were spared. But losing even one was a huge blow to the group and they'd be feeling that the further down the road they traveled before reaching true safety.

The Northern sector of the battlefield still looked to be engaged in a good amount of combat. And while the numbers had thinned down here they weren't done yet. A few Fighters and Myrmidons began rushing their position, and Sei'rina took up a safer place near Dansly as she kept her Staff up just in case one of them came near enough for her to have to use it to protect herself while her comrades dealt with the new rushing foes.

Zombehs Nellancholy Krishnas Dante Verren

 

[Zombehs]

Dansly Rimeholt
Southwest Flank
Interactions: Dante Verren Nellancholy
​

Danae's advice came at a most apt time, and though Dansly was not skilled enough to simply cleave the arrow in half, his reflexes did prove enough for him to lean out of the way and avoid another arrow. Grit teeth betrayed his annoyance at the lack of javelins lining Curga's side as he lakced the means to retaliate without charging forward and leaving his less protected allies exposed. Yet the gleam of steel in the dark signaled that one of their numbers was among the enemy's back-line. Hopefully the archers would be dealt with soon, but until then Dansly winced as he squeezed Curga's neck again.

The Wyvern's raised his wings to serve as shields for Dansly, and at the same time its whip-like tail came crashing down atop the swordsman knocked aside by Elenora's magic. Perhaps the man was already dead, but it did not hurt to take a quick moment and make certain of such things. The numerous wounds Curga had earned during the ambush did little to improve his mood or temper his savagery either, and enraged snarls leaked from his maw as his attention flicked from one foe to the next.

"Right, right. Tide seems to be turning, let's salvage what we can!" Yelling to be heard over the battlefield, Dansly tapped one of Curga's wings before he leaned forward and braced himself. "Get those axe wielders," he barked out towards Elenora as his Wyvern suddenly beat his wings a few times. What would have normally been used to take flight was instead directed at the charging enemies instead. Kicking up a cloud of dirt and dust before Dansly leaned into his mount's charge. His wide sweeping slash forced three of their foes to stop their charge.

Not entirely though. The Fighter might have balked a bit at the sudden attack, but the two Myrmidons barely flinched. As one caught the swing with their sword and forced the blade to slide off in a spray of sparks, the other pressed in and swung. Quick as Curga might have been, the sword's edge still cut through the armor on Dansly's leg and he had to bite back a scream. It wasn't deep enough to hit bone, but the nasty wound bled heavily as Curga hopped back to open a bit of distance. He couldn't even care about the Fighter looking to edge around him, his attention was focused solely on the two Myrmidons. As much as it could be as he leaned forward a bit and tried to breathe through the searing pain creeping up his leg.

 

[Nellancholy]

"Hrrrgh..." It was a flesh wound, only a flesh wound. The shrine maiden had revived her comrade, before being distracted by their supplies going up in flames. Danae's assumption was right. Why would their enemies bother finishing them off in a single blow when they could wear them down with a comparatively smaller force? Even swine had more honor. With Sei'rina distracted, dividing their attention would mean death here. So she could take it, at least until they were actually victorious in this battle. Her hand reached up to her bicep, and she steadfastly repressed her cry of pain as she twisted the arrow slightly, her death grip wrenching it out and hurling it to the ground. Now the wound was open, oozing blood, but perfectly ready for a healer to attend to. Once this was done.

Dansly and Curga were keeping the swordsmen at bay, but the fighter with the axe was able to flank him.

"Grrr..." Danae took a few more quick steps forward. "Your steps are akin to that of a mule, brute! You shan't wound such a fine creature today!" Spear gripped tightly in both hands, Danae aimed a feinting sweep at his head, which she stopped short and turned into a sharp thrust at his neck.

But with the wound in her arm, the weapon did not thrust as swiftly and forcefully as she needed it to. With a bellow, the axeman brought his weapon down, parrying her thrust and sending her off balance. But with the weight of his weapon...they were both momentarily open, allowing a chance for anyone else to follow up.

Dante Verren Zombehs Krishnas

 

[Kurteth]

Fuck.

Seth's eyes darted open in the carriage as the scent of blood crossed his nose. He knew those sounds. There was a battle brewing, and he was still sleeping.

Gods damn it all, how long had he been out?

With a hazy step he rolled to his feet, and out of the carriage back, stumbling a bit as he landed. Barely able to stand, though leaning on his sword. His eyes took to the battlefield in an attempt to scan his surroundings. He wasn't sure exactly where he was, but he recognized some troops. Running, some fighting. If he wasn't so injured...

No time to think about that. It doesn't matter. He's here. And the enemy is in front of him. No need to think. Time to act.

With as much strength as he can muster, the man rushed forward towards the nearest group he could find, seeing two warriors both wielding axes (Varna) facing off. He recognized one of them...maybe. Damnit, he couldn't tell. But that's when his eyes spotted the archer. A regalia he could recognize. Poor fella.

Seth rushed forward, staggering only slightly as he yelled in a roar. A generally unfavorable move to give away your position, but this was in an attempt to distract the archer from his current target. And it seemed to work. Seth rushed forward, past the pain, past the chaos, and swung his blade hard and true diagonally against the archers shoulder, hoping to rend the man clear in two.

Let's hope that it was enough.

 

[Dante Verren]

Elenora
Interactions: GojiBean Zombehs Nellancholy


In just the span of a few seconds the present stinging pain of the slash from the spear she had suffered was gone. Sei'rina's magic worked wonders as any trace of the wound was gone minus the torn fabric of her clothes. Considering the list of problems they had right ow, a minor tear in her clothing was pretty far down the list. Elen raised her head to look her comrade in teh eye and gave a thankful smile. "Thank you, but please save your healing for those more in dire need. If our healers run out of magic focusing on little wounds like that, someone more deserving with worse wounds will lose out on a healing spell." With that being said she turned to see what else the battle held.

She saw just in time the wyvern Cuga tear apart one of the soldiers she had knocked off balance with her magic. She grimaced lightly at the display of ferocity from the beast. Even though the victim was an enemy, she hoped he died quickly and did not have to suffer to harshly. She tore her gaze away from the gruesome display and let her eyes fall on the now engaging battle between the spear woman and the axe fighter. Dansly call for her to target the axe wielder only spurred her forward. Moving in ranger she channeled the fearsome wind between the book and her fingers. In one quick slash it rocketed outwards aiming to strike straight into the axemen's center. If it killed him then that was great, if not then the spear woman could get the upper hand.

 

[GojiBean]

(normally would wait, but I'm an impatient bean today, lol)

Despite the sense of protection she felt being near to a Wyvern and its rider, Sei'rina nearly lost what little food she'd eaten earlier today when she saw the brutality of what the beast could do to a human body. Her legs grew shaky, and she fought back numerous times against a gag reflex which arose from the sight of such carnage. Forcing herself to look away helped a little. But the smell... This battlefield was already soaked with so much blood it was literally becoming a suffocating scent which made it both undesirable to draw a breath, as well as more difficult thanks to how thick the air had become.

Her comrades around her were continuing to engage in combat, such as Elenora who offered support for Danae by slamming an enemy with a powerful blast from her Wind tome which severely cracked the light armor the man was wearing and knocked him flat on his arse and left him wide open to any follow up attacks either Danae or any other ally nearby would throw his way.

Sei'rina, meanwhile, with her staff gripped tight to her chest, surveyed the battlefield around her while trying to remain as close to Cuga as possible despite the gore which followed him. And as the fight continued it seemed that their group was beginning to thin the herd to the point where enemies began retreating from the immediate space either into the trees, or to reinforce those in the North sector.

"They're running!" She shouted.

She was sure the others saw it too. But she also knew that in the heat of battle it was easy to develop tunnel vision and only see the enemy immediately in front of you. Hopefully nobody was falling prey to that phenomenon. But if they were she hoped her voice would help bring them out of it to see what was happening.

She wasn't sure if she should start moving North, or if she should stay with the others until they made a common decision to move or stay put.

Zombehs Nellancholy Dante Verren

 

[Zombehs]

Dansly Rimeholt
Southwest Flank
Interactions: Dante Verren Nellancholy GojiBean
​

Sei'rina's shout proved necessary to snap Dansly out of single-minded focus he and Curga had found themselves as they focused solely on the pair of Myrmidons that had pushed them closer to death than anything else this battle. As they beat a retreat with the rest of the surviving enemies, Curga managed another step before his wyvern stumbled and was forced to kneel on the ground for a quick breather. As much as he hated not even being able to bring down one of the bastards, Dansly was in no position to pursue either as his naginata was buried blade first so he could lean on the shaft. Between the arrow to his shoulder, the slash that opened his leg, and the other smaller cuts, he was conscious and fighting through the pain... but in no condition to keep fighting.

Wasn't it great that they had a healer who could help fix up their condition enough to continue the fight? Curga didn't sport any massive injury like Dansly did, but the dozens of smaller wounds did add up and slow his companion down through the pain. He'd likely take the bulk of Sei'rina's attention, though in truth he had no idea just how her healing magics worked. "Need healing to keep fighting." His voice was a bit raspy from how parched his throat felt, and Dansly had to reach for his waterskin before he could retrieve the dried Herbs from his pouch. The leaves were crushed in his hand with a grimace before he put it all in his mouth and started to chew.

Swallowing the juices that resulted helped to ease some of the pain, and the resulting paste was spread onto his leg injury to stop the bleeding and numb the area almost completely. With another grunt, he wrenched his weapon free of the muddy ground and glared towards the northern section of their ruined camp. "Need to pursue. Keep the pressure up so they run instead of regrouping."

 

[Nellancholy]

A blast of wind hit like a fist, pulling the breath out of Danae's lungs as it bowled the axeman over. A most opportune moment. If the mage hadn't saved her in that split second, maybe someone or some other miracle would have. Or he would have struck his next blow a split second faster than her, and laid her low amidst the trees, her blood and flesh staining the soil just like everyone else who had fallen today, and would fall before the day was out.

But simple luck would have things differently. She couldn't miss this opportunity. With the last measure of her strength, she drew her spear up with both hands. "I'm sorry." She muttered. Not something like "forgive me", for she needed no forgiveness from a pillager like that which lay beneath her. But she was sorry they had to meet like this, like all the other people she had met amidst crossed blades and the point of a spear. And her spear fell, down into the right side of his chest. Skin tore and ribs splintered as he strangled his last breath. The finishing blow landed far from his heart, but ended him just as surely anyway.

"Rrrrgh...!" Danae was barely able to pull the bloodied spear out before falling to one knee. The exertion and the loss of blood from the mostly-clotted wound in her arm had taken their toll. "I thank you truly, mage." She glanced at Elen. Holding her spear in the shortened grip with her uninjured arm again, she lifted it in a token defense of Dansly and Curga as they recuperated. "The light of hope will not be extinguished here...but the sun sets, and with it our chances dwindle..."

Dante Verren Zombehs