Fantasy Four Suits Volume 3: Shadows Of War

[LazyDaze]

XIXIX VALENTINE|IRIS BASTILLE
Collab with myself. xD

After consoling her Queen, Iris bid her farewell to resume her original mission, rather, her role. Right now she needed to rendezvous with Arimand and help anyway that she could to make sure the operation was a success. Strange it was, moving on her own in this situation. Given the quirky nature of the Club royals she was always ripping and running within their vicinity to assist them with the endeavors...and she was doing that once more, only this time she was aiding another royal. Even in the midst of this grand battle she couldn't help but pause. Was this all her hard dedication, diligence, and desire amounted too? A royal slave? What was her worth when she stood alone. Before she could fall deeper into that self induced chasm of doubt she noticed the barriers began to fail. Her head swiveled as her feet helplessly shuffled to act in uncertainty. Why now, while everyone was getting ready...while the soldiers were fighting to the last breath? What the hell was going on? With a slight quivering hand she placed her hand on the hilt of her blade as she prepared to draw it. Maybe now, she could find her worth in the midst of battle. Surely the generators just malfunctioned...nothing to worry about. However, should there be another cause, she would have to deal with it along with her doubts. However, just before she could fully unsheathe her blade someone grasped her arm, sending a deadly chill down her spine only to have that same chill turn into relief and then annoyance.

"Mind if I take this one," said the masked silver haired mage. It was X. He had just left the original meeting place after deciding it was probably time for him to get moving like the rest.

Iris snatched her arm away and sheathed her sword. She hated herself for being relieved, but after having this moment to think clearly even she knew that selfish acts for glory would not win this war. "...Why are you asking me your Kingship?"

"Holy shit...you're right. I hereby order you to not be stupid."

"Very funny X," Iris said rolling her eyes. "Why are you here? I thought you were waiting out in the frontier somewhere,"

X smirked beneath his mask as he ignored her question. "They got the barriers huh, or maybe we were just cheap. This is the Heart country after all."

"X! What if someone heard you say that," Iris said as she looked around as if someone were listening in our their conversation at this very moment.

"Someone did hear me..."

"Someone other than me you ass. Like a Heart soldier perhaps."

X shrugged his shoulders as he once again ignored the topic of the conversation to shift to a more important one. "Things seem to be deteriorating, but this is expected. Although a few things went off script the plan should still be good to go so don't panic and do anything rash. That is an order."

"...Understood King Valentine," Iris said quietly as she turned to walk in the direction she originally intended.

"...It's X, and one more thing Iris. The Diamond King doesn't seem like the kind of person who likes to carry around dead weight. Show him your worth," X said as he took off to investigate the status of the barriers. Iris managed to actually crack a smile as she hurried to the front line.

---------------------------------------
IRIS BASTILLE (cont.)

After finally arriving at the back line, Iris stopped to catch her breath. She had never run that fast for so long; however, she quickly gained her composure after remembering X's words. Moreover, she had to focus on the matter at hand rather than how to avoid being pathetic. Nevertheless, something seemed strange about Arimand in comparison to how he was earlier in the meeting. Perhaps it was to be expected given the situation. The plans were no longer theory, but they were being put into practice with real time interventions and problems occurring regularly. "King of Diamonds, I have arrived. King Valentine has gone to investigate the generators. Meanwhile, I'm ready to help in any way that I can."

Mechking

XIXIX VALENTINE (cont...)

"I'm sure the other mages are on the case already. With any luck they will take care of it before I have to," X said as he continued to scamper throughout the city to check if he could repair any damaged generators. After a few minutes he heard the sounds of nearby fighting although it was still a ways away, naturally he went toward it. However, what he saw next, or felt rather, had to be a bad omen of things to come. A powerful, ominous force seemed to be distorting space in the area and it only got worse the closer he got.

Without a moment's hesitation, X activated Asura and sprinted towards the energy source, arriving just in time to see Kaiden catch Athania. His eyes then drifted to the source of that horrid ability. The enemy was twirling some strange weapon. The fact that she was using such a motion to generate the attack meant that the weapon had some sort of stake in the ability, or at the very least this attack. Whether it was the source, or just augmented her own abilities, was unknown. Perhaps with a proper distraction the spacial bending attack would end. X's gauntlets suddenly disappeared as a single gauntlet took their place on his right hand. Visible blue energy emitted from it as he flexed his hand a bit before stepping forward to make sure Athania and Kaiden were not caught up in his attack. X slammed his hand into the ground and disintegrated the earth underneath Ysla's feet creating a chasm that spanned from his position and a little past Ysla.

"...Anything I should know before we kill her," he continued calmly despite the situation.

TPBx Xanto

 

[Mechking]

Arimand and his troops had found a new spot, having retreated quite a bit. Seeing the Argossians take the first few trenches and running into the traps made him think.
"They don't seem to have information about our plan. Very good, so nothing has leaked...But I need to inform Helmur, things have changed quite a bit."

With his train of thought finished, Arimand turned to the telepath beside him.

"Officer, please transmit what I am going to say to Commander Bellarmont."
"As you wish, your Diamondship" he replied, immediately sending the message to the telepath closest to Helmur.

"Commander Bellarmont, prepare yourself. The Argossians are getting truly desperate, going so far as to throw away their ideals and principles. Know that they have sent mages who seem to resemble deceased royals to attack our generators. And beware, we have a traitor amidst our ranks. Be prepared for anything, for this battle has just begun!"

( Athanas )

Having finished the message, Arimand quickly realized that he didn't have any news from the generators or the frontline. So he lets his telepath relay a few more messages.

"Officer, please inform me about updates from Miss Rosette about the individuals at the generators, especially about how they seem to be deceased royals. And also inquire about any news from the small troop of mages I sent there aswell...sigh...And please, please let me know how our army is doing."

( . D O V E . Kloudy and TPBx )

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


Arimand resumed watching the battle intently, as a familiar face approached him.

“Miss Bastille, what a pleasant surprise! It is also good to hear that we now have more backup at the generators. The more, the merrier. As for how you can help, please observe the battle and let me know about any oddities or inconsistencies.”

X ’s words had lit a fire within her, but now that she was here she felt dwarfed by the man before her. In Truth, it was almost as suffocating as the Argrossian blitz. She calmed herself and thought about the recent turn of events, after all she was not privy to the same information Arimand possessed since she had to spend precious time making sure her Queen did not go rogue. “You will have to forgive me. I was handling some important matters related to the kingdom, so I am only seeing the battlefield for the first time; however, from my limited knowledge, I would have to believe there is a traitor among us. The barriers did not simply weaken from gunfire; they were shut down. Just before that the cannon fire ceased. Likely due to advancing forces. The timing of their movements is simply too perfect.”

Iris paused for a bit thinking about the situation even further. “Multiple generators must have went down. Unless they are speed demons or have some sort of teleportation magic like our very own Ace then I would imagine there were multiple enemies. Moreover, given the fact that since the time of the barriers dissipation no other generators failed they are either hiding or making sure we don’t get those generators up and running. That is all I have so far…,” Iris said disappointed in her short report of the current situation as she continued to observe the battlefield.


Arimands eyes widened from her report. Her observation was more than what he had hoped for.

“Impressive! You are correct without knowing about the immediate circumstances. Let me update you. The generators are being attacked by magic-wielding individuals, which have arrived via shadow portals. Some of them seem to resemble royals who we believed were deceased. I am currently inquiring about more information. For the traitor...Well, we obviously have one, but the Argossians don’t seem to know of our plan. I just fear that we have more than one traitor among us.”


Iris attempted to hide the joy on her face when it was revealed how accurate her “shot in the dark” actually was; however, that quickly subsided given the nature of the situation. In this case, being right was not actually a good thing. Yet, there was one good piece of news. Despite the traitor within the Four Kingdoms’ ranks, the plan had not yet been leaked. The possibility of such an event was still a looming terror. Iris visibly shuddered at the thought of countless mages being slaughtered due to what could amount to a major oversight. Cohesion was already at an all-time low, and speculation of traitors and spies would only deteriorate the thin thread that was holding them together. “Perhaps we shouldn’t let word of this spread too much,” Iris suggested, almost asking rather than simply stating it. Sure, you would want soldiers to be wary, but if they started jumping at shadows and accusing other kingdoms of housing the traitor it would be an all-out civil war in the midst of well…war. “Your Diamondship...do you think we can win,” Iris said softly. Making it clear her vision was beyond just this battle, but the battles to come.


Arimand looked into her eyes, seeing the worry about an uncertain and frightening future. And even though he himself wasn’t sure anymore, he decided to encourage her.

“Only we two, my telepath and Helmur Bellarmont know of this traitor. I hope that we will be prepared when he is revealed.” With a slight pause, he collects his thoughts and summons all of his remaining courage and determination.

“I wholeheartedly believe that victory will be ours. The enemy is far too overconfident in their ability to win and far too desperate to not lose that they have lost already. It does not matter if they throw surprise after surprise, traitor after traitor at us, we will prevail! Their shortsightedness will be their downfall and this day shall mark the first step of the end of this godforsaken war!”

Perhaps a bit too deep into his speech, he calmed himself down again.

“So no, I don’t think we can win. I know that we will win.”


Iris gave a genuine smile after Arimand’s short speech although she did internally gag at the mention of Helmur’s name. If she had her way she would trade him for an Argrossian foot soldier in a heartbeat. Nevertheless, he was good at whatever it was he did. Speaking of which, so was Arimand. Iris was smart enough to know when someone was trying to cheer her up; however, his words were not solely sown with emotion and charisma, but they seemed to hold logical weight. It was the kind of speech she would like to believe was meant for her. It was something that she could believe.


“Well then,” Iris said with a sly smirk, “I suppose my doubts were unfounded. If you keep giving speeches like this we might have to make you our official motivational speaker,” she teased. Iris then turned back to the King of Diamonds, looking into his eyes once again.


“I was nervous, but...I’m really glad I met you,” she said as silence hung in the air before she realized how bold she must have sounded. She quickly held her book up to her face to hide her blush as she turned away.


“I-I mean I’m glad I got to meet everyone here because so many people have their strengths and weaknesses. Not like it was just you in particular or anything becausethatwouldbeabsolutelyriduclous, and, and...um yeah thanks!”


Arimand was slightly puzzled by her words. The motivational speaker part he understood, it was something he excelled at throughout his military career. But the rest?

“I think I understand what you mean. Experiencing everyone’s abilities is quite impressive, which is part of the reason I had an interest in you as soon as I knew that X had an assistant. I simply needed to know what you are like and to be honest, you exceed my expectations. There is no need to thank me, it is quite a pleasure seeing you personally in action.”

A small smile was visible on his face, as he believed to have found a kindred spirit.


Thankfully, it seemed the great King of Diamonds, the wise one, was completely oblivious to anything not concerning battle. Iris had a great deal of relief, but that swelled into a bit of anger. She reasoned with herself that she didn’t want to run off with him, or anything, but was she so bland that he just passed her off as some recon mission? Nevertheless, she had to be grateful to X once again. His position helped her get to where she was now. “You…sigh nevermind thanks. The feeling is mutual (you dolt).” Despite realizing how emotionally dunce the King of Diamonds was she was happy to have met his expectations and represent the club kingdom well.

“Do not all royals have personal attendants,” she asked almost bitterly.


“It is true that we have servants to ease our work,” Arimand answered her, “but you are quite different. It is no secret that King Valentine has some...difficulties with his position. That is why he well and truly needs you. You are not just some random servant and I knew right away that you must be special. So to answer your question: No, we don’t all have personal attendants.” Now with a slightly teasing grin, he dropped a little bit of his formality (with which Arimand has his problems with). “You are quite thickheaded, aren’t you? There is almost no other way for you to survive amongst royals and nobles.”


Thickheaded...thickheaded? THICKHEADED?! Iris stepped forward, pressing her index finger into his chest without a second thought. However, her own awareness prompted her to instead place her hands on her hips rather than do anything that could be considered assault. “I’ll have you know Mr. Diamond Dome, I am the smartest person in all of Club Kingdom (maybe I’m exaggerating), and I have no trouble standing shoulder to shoulder with royals. Plus X...KING Valentine, might not be the most formal, well dressed, competent, normal, hard working…what I’m trying to say is that there is no one else I’d rather work with!”

After calming down she sighed after taking a few steps back. “No, I’m sorry...I understand what you mean. It hasn’t been the easiest job after all,” she said with a chuckle. She couldn’t believe she had just launched all of her insecurities at a freaking King who had just recently complimented her several times. Maybe she was wound up just a little bit too tightly after all.

“Yeah, King Valentine always appreciates how much I work, but at the end of the day I’m still only a rank 4. There are even silly rumors that...let’s just leave it at silly rumors,” Iris managed to say as she facepalmed at the thought of those stupid X groupies who seem to be intent on ruining every ounce of credibility she had gained thus far (which wasn’t much).

“That said, I’m truly grateful that I am more than a servant in your eyes. One of these days I hope to truly stand on equal footing with the royals,” Iris said with a bow to hide her reddened face. The only other person who knew she wanted to become a royal was X and that was because he read her diary. She would have to get him back for that later; however, she knew this man didn’t have time for her babbling about unattainable dreams. “And with any luck, maybe some of your qualities will rub off on our King,” she said, trying to stifle her laughter. Talking with someone from another country, a royal, it was a wonder why they all wanted to kill each other for so long.


Slightly surprised by her small outburst, Arimand subconsciously took a small step back. “That reminds me of my sister, her temper tantrums were just a little cuter.”

With a slightly larger grin, he let her in on something.

“Only a four? What do you think my rank was three years ago? An eight, yes, but that only reflected my amount of mana, not my destructive capabilities. A rank does not define anyone, except... when this society is entirely built upon them. You are a prime example of why I want to have that changed. A brilliant mind with a low rank, not afraid of telling her opinion. And they dismiss you as a mere four...Ugh, this will give me migraines again.”

After a short pause, Arimand continued. “Anyways, for now let us focus on this battle. Afterwards we can have some tea in peace. I am by far not done talking about...projects… with you. But only if you so desire.”


Iris allowed hope to glance across her eyes when she heard the words of Arimand. Was he being genuine? Was he really an 8? Did he really sympathize with her, understand her? Did he truly wish to have such a system changed; after all, given his position it would be of little consequence whether things stayed the same or not. She wanted to ball up his words and cast them aside, but she could not help but believe in what he was saying. He lived in an entirely different world from hers, but maybe…

“O-oh right,” Iris said, realizing she had gone on several tangents during a battle. Knowing Arimand, he was probably handling both at the same time. She hesitated before answering the King of Diamonds. What if it was all just a trick to kidnap her or something. Iris just shook her head, it was her doubts trying to take over again. For far too long she rarely had things to believe in other than herself, and even that was shaky ground. “...I...I would like that,” Iris finally said as she looked onward to the calamity before them that oddly juxtaposed the newfound serenity of her mind. Maybe more things will change after the war. Maybe it wasn’t just the past way of living that was at stake, but the potential future that could be created; however, the only way to find out was to win and forge that path themselves. Iris would do everything she could to make it possible.


With an “excellent,” Arimand faced the battlefield again. Calmly calculating and sporadically activating his magical analysis, when things seemed unclear.
“Everything...is going...just. as. planned…”





(Collab with LazyDaze )

 

[TPBx]

Argossian Front
=============

The shields were beginning to weaken, and although the main infantry and armor could not immediately storm in, it appeared there were other plans in place. In a spot where the shield had particularly weakened too much, an armored troop carrier broke its way through an opening in the barrier. Not much occurred for the first half of the journey. As they approached the walls and came within seeing distance, mages posted along the walls of the city began slinging spell after spell onto it. In response, several slides opened up across the armored vehicle and barrels stuck out of them for a brief moment before firing off several smoke canisters ahead of the vehicle. Several different colors of smoke littered no man's land as the armored vehicle raced up toward the wall, covering its movement and preventing mages from accurately casting spells its direction.

Moments later it broke through the cloud of smoke jumping up into the air briefly before ungracefully coming back down 100 meters away from the wall. More mages gathered and focused fire upon the vehicle, battering it with several spells before it exploded into a large plume of multicolored smoke and light. The mages were blinded briefly by the spectacle and the smoke covered a large area around the wall preventing anyone from seeing effectively beyond a close distance. Then several shots and the whirring of several wires could be heard as the mages guarding the walls looked around for the source of the sound. The smoke and the sounds of mortars and artillery exploding in the distance drowned out their relatively silent approach. Several Argossian Special Forces climbed up from the walls barely peeking over, some pulling the mages looking over the walls to their demise, others slitting their throats and silently posting up upon the top of the walls looking back and forth for immediate threats.

​

At the end of the wall next to a guard outpost, a group of mages looked upon the wall in shock as the Special Forces took control of the wall. Behind the group another figure clothed in dark robes emerged from the smoke, his footsteps so silent they were hardly noticeable despite being clad in some advanced-looking Argossian armor and steel toed boots. His left arm glowed with tinges of red and the mechanical parts hummed quietly as he moved his fingers around, balancing a cigar between his index and middle fingers. "Good afternoon, boys," he announced, alarming the mages to his presence. However, it was already too late as before they could even react the man drew his weapon, a large, high caliber Argossian revolver, and fired off four shots quickly and with deadly accuracy, placing shots between the eyes of each combatant. Two more sprung up from behind the Argossian Gunslinger, but he immediately rolled away from them as each mage swung their weapons at him, reloading his gun mid-roll with skill that displayed his practice in doing this maneuver. Then right as they tried readying another attack, the Argossian Gunslinger fanned the hammer of his revolver, rapidly placing in each mage a bullet to the leg, waist, and head.

"Looks like the area's secure," one of the Special Forces men stated, "what's the plan again, Valerhyan?" He turned toward the Argossian Gunslinger for orders.

The Argossian Gunslinger dropped down from the guard post, tipped his hat and replied, "we need to set up charges on the wall and bring it down so that our troops and armor can break through when the shield drops. My team will go into town and create another distraction for the Suits's higher ups to deal with and give you all space to get that job done. Once the wall's down we rendezvous at Point Kylo and join the rest of the Main Infantry in taking control of the city."

"Understood, sir," the Special Forces officer replied. He then signaled his men to start moving and they all began to rappel down the wall on the other side, setting up explosive charges along the wall. Meanwhile Valerhyan quickly rappelled down the wall after them, and met up with several more cloaked figures, presumably his team of Mage Hunters who had managed to ride to their location on horseback and who had for the most part seemed successful in breaching the wall. They gave him a horse to ride on as well as pair of mechanical devices that had grappling hooks attached to them that he mounted onto each arm. They then rode as a team towards the center of town and away from the other two generators that were currently being besieged.

==============================================

Elsewhere Travis continued his battle against Ahlmus. He blocked the attack that the Time Mage threw against him with his gauntlet, but the axe managed to break through, and Travis was surprised because Ahlmus somehow gained more strength as the battle progressed. The axe cut through his armor and into his flesh, but the attack was not strong enough for a deeper wound. Travis countered the attack with his own as he swung with a single powerful stroke with his sword.

Goonfire

 

[Kloudy]

Three
(Valencia Battlefield)

It was time.

All the preparations had been made with One, all her pieces were in place. All that was left was to spring the next cog in the machine that powered their vision. With this, they needed but one more piece of the puzzle before they could achieve ultimate vengeance. It was exhilarating and nauseating in the same breath. But not for Three. She had a deepest hatred for all things humanoid. Aside from the Royal Flushe, these bipedals would be consumed in her wrath soon. So today, she could work and blow off some steam.

The frontlines were falling rapidly in the face of the Argossian numbers and firepower. Although ablractised manoeuvre, many suits soldiers were still losing their lives from the ranged superiority their opponents held. The second line stood strong, but soon even they would fall if nothing were to change. A powerful stench of smoke, oil and blood filled the air. Murkiness clogged the skies and haphazard cracks of gunfire and explosions from spells popped off at seemingly random intervals. But even this was but a lull, a calm before the real storm to come. Born through plotting, a deep churning came from the ground and a rumble reverberated in its depths below.

ROOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR

From the left flank of the frontlines erupted the form of a giant snakelike creature with rigid chitin armour plates thick as castle walls yet stronger. Pulling it's long body from the hole it had bore itself from, the giant wyrm's massive form extended further and further until it towered several hundred feet into the sky. Standing atop it's spiked head was Three, and one other cloaked figure. It was clearly a Flushe member that had yet to reveal themself. Raising her hands in a grandiose gesture, Three called out to the battlefield.

"Humans! I have come to return to you what you gave to me! I, Farlene Charlemagne, will have my vengeance!"

She clicked her fingers, a mad smile baring across her grit teeth, face stuck in more of a grimace of anticipation. From the earth around the wyrm came a horde of car-sized cockroach creatures, moving at 20mph in all directions of the battlefield. They did not discriminate and went for both Argossian and Suits forces, entirely dismembering and devouring flesh and steel alike. Many were cut down in the gunfire and spellslinging, but many more filled their place until just under half the front line had been engulfed in monstrous insects. When full, the insect soldiers would burrow beneath the earth again, possibly to store their food elsewhere. Three watched on in glee as her army quickly and efficiently began dicing the weakened frontline soldiers. Progress began to slow as the fresher soldiers began reaching the battle, but still the insects soldiered on. The wyrm roared again in response to the carnage, but otherwise made no move. Three's shadowy companion made no move, watching silently.

 

[. D O V E]

The Queen of Hearts and her personal retinue immediately headed to the front lines as soon as they parted with Airship Commander Alderidge. They fought with vigor against the Argossian infantry along with the rest of the vanguard, conforming to the royal plan obediently.

Rosette Everest, the Queen's current personal telepath, stood inside of a circular barrier, inside another circular barrier, behind the barrier that separated the Suits and the Argossian soldiers. Beside her was Frank John, still covered in armor from head to toe, and a handful of mages whose attention were focused on him.

The two of them watched through the barriers as dozens of the Empire's soldiers succumbed to the ground around a particular blonde. It wasn't long before the said person disappeared from her position, only to reappear beside the duo in a blink of an eye.

"Your Heartship, I have received a message from the King of Diamonds." Rosette informed.

Guin rose a brow while a psychic sword materialized in her hand. "Ah, what did he say?"

"Well, he asked-" The telepath cut herself with a sigh when the royalty disappeared from sight once again, resurfacing at some point within the thick numbers of their enemies. She watched as the same scene she has been witnessing for a good time now unfolded. It involved her Queen either draining the life out of the Argossian soldiers within seconds or plunging her sharp constructs into their bodies.

It wasn't long before Guin returned, "Oh, what did he ask?" She prompted before asking one of their comrades to refill her armor's mana stones.

"Well, he asked for more information about the individuals attacking the generators."

"Did you not give him a detailed report of what we know?"

"Well, I did, but he was curious about the traitors' similarities with, erm, deceased royals."

Rosette nervously wondered if she said something wrong when Guin paused to stare at her. "Deceased royals?" She repeated. "I only know two Shadow Mages who are capable of the destruction suggested by the reports. First is King Shira, the King of Hearts, but I have enough evidences to prove that she's not the traitor we're looking for. The most important one is that she's incapable of creating shadow portals. The last one is Ethan Kaloronos, the late King of the Diamonds, and I believe his abilities perfectly matches with the unknown assailant's. But, he's dead, is he not? Or are we suggesting that his death was false or... that he was brought back to life?"

Chills ran down Rosette's spine but she did her best to relay the message to the King of Diamonds. "B-Brought back to life? Necromancy? B-But nobody can do that, right?" She commented, her eyes shifting upwards until it met the Queen's sanguine ones.

"Who knows?"

On cue, the ground shook with fervor while everyone tried to keep their balance. From a distance, a gigantic wyrm shot up from the ground with a booming roar. Guin, completely caught off-guard, stared at the creature and the two figures standing on its crown. She immediately recognized the female who called forth a familiar army of oversized insects.

"It's the Royal Flushe!" The royalty exclaimed, her face darkening with spite. "Report the situation to the King of Diamonds at once, and tell him that the tunnels might be in danger." She ordered upon noticing the monsters' burrowing tendencies. "I'll do my best to assess the problem. Their number seems to be never-ending but perhaps we can use them against the Argossians. We can lure them against one another and then detonate the tunnels according to the plan. Miss Rosette, send my suggestion to the King and keep a channel with me, and everyone else return to your duties."

"At once, your Heartship!"

Guin returned her gaze to Three. She theorizes that her insect army may be a hivemind. She might earn their attention if she attack their queen. It would be dangerous but the Suits must preserve their numbers. And by the rate things were going, they may lose their second line next.

With resolve, the blonde disappeared from behind the barriers and emerged a distance away from the enormous wyrm, on a ruined structure where a few Argossian soldiers perched. Guin immediately activated her drain, unwilling to be shot by the shocked soldiers who rapidly deteriorated and withered to the ground within seconds.

A pair of magically-constructed wings sprouted from the Queen of Heart's back. It was a little trick she learned from reading Ethan's grimoire all those years ago. She rose from the ground with four large spikes materializing around her, each about the size of an Argossian Sky Steed.

With a movement of her hand, she shot the large constructs towards the massive wyrm in rapid successions- the first one aiming for the figures on its crown, the next two ones simultaneously heading to its eyes, and the last one towards the underside of its neck.

Notes

Synchronized with Mr. Frank John the Voodoo Doll NPC
Tags: Mechking Kloudy

 

[Goonfire]

Leolin Hravart III

One catastrophe struck after another whilst the Suits‘ forces scrambled to prepare. Leolin waited impatiently, trying to hold himself back from acting on impulse. People were dying, and loitering only made things worse. Then, the final straw came burrowing up from the middle of the battlefield. As soon as Three’s menagerie of monstrosities began raising hell, the Ace let out an exasperated sigh. “Don’t take flight; that would be suicide,” he advised his fleet captains. “All those fine calculations, and yet somehow none of this is factored in. All the figuring in the world won’t compensate for poor intuition!” he then lamented aloud.

A swift moment later, Leo asked one of his divination mages, “Where is Queen Blanca?” His question was answered almost immediately when dark spikes bombarded the giant monster. He immediately dove overboard. The graceful landing was but the calm before his own storm.

An eruption of dust kicked up next to the base of the ship. Leo was off to even the odds in his own way. Heat radiated from his body, creating a mirage effect. His eyes glowed like hot coals, leaving streaks of faint light as he zipped across the hellscape that was Valencia. He traversed the city in a series of six mighty leaps that left rooftops cracked and scorched, then passed through the back lines in four. On his way past the breached wall, he accidentally bowled down an Argossian foot soldier, shattering every bone in the bastard’s body.

Swaths of flame singed pieces of earth, clearing a landing zone for the passionate mage. Before he even touched down, he weaved his fingers together, chanting aloud. The words were drowned out by the roar of battle, though the temperature around him continued to rise. The trim of his cape and the grass around him began to smolder, yet he didn’t react to it, even with the legions of insectoids fast approaching.

Suddenly, Leo went silent and stopped. As six distinct beasts leapt to consume him, he called out in a booming voice, “INVESTITURE OF FLAME!” A column of blue fire flash-fried all his attackers. Wreathed in the burning mana, his body appeared unscathed. Each soldier bug that attacked him met a similar grisly end, effortlessly smited as soon as they got close. He ignored the destruction to Farlene’s army, gazing up at her and her hooded companion without a word to them or Guin.

. D O V E Kloudy

 

[Coyote Hart]

Three years of war and Twig still wasn't fully accustomed to the speed that everything went at. A few seconds after the command to charge was issued, a person was flung from the front of the frontlines backward by an explosion, screaming. Even as Twig rushed over to the fallen mage's side, he knew that the chances of the man being alive were slim.

A rain of artillery continued to pound down on the battlefield as it had with the shields, which were sputtering and weakening. Perhaps a soldier might've called the rain of fire beautiful. Maybe at a distance, it was. But Twig wasn't a soldier, nor was he a distant strategist that watched as his work quickly unfolded. Twig was a doctor by trade and heart. The battlefield wasn't a battlefield. It was a horrible display of blood and gore. Although admittedly not as much as usual.

And that fact terrified Twig.

Nonetheless, Twig charged alongside his brethren, pushing any Argossian soldier that was in his way aside with his wind magic. The mage in front of him took a few bullets to the chest, and so Twig redirected his wind magic to toss a few large pieces of rock in front of the fallen mage to shield them from further harm.

Twig slid behind the crumbled up bodies and gently moved the mage's arm out of the way to inspect the wound. Thankfully, it was only a flesh wound and didn't hit any vitals, so with a quick flick of the hand, the bullet flew out of the mage's body and into Twig's hand. Then all it took was a quick dose of healing magic.

"Up and ready," Twig commanded the mage with a kind smile, "You should be fine now."

"Thanks," the mage said, standing up and grabbing the rock that was shielding them and running back into the fray of the battle.

"Hey, my rock!" Twig protested. He hopped to his feet and followed the rock-carrying mage. As soon as the mage that Twig healed reached the Argossian lines, they chucked the rock at the nearest soldier, knocking them unconscious.

Twig giggled for a split second before the ground suddenly shook, knocking him down onto his bum. Was it an earthquake? Did a mage induce it? If so, Twig mentally shamed whoever was rash enough to induce an earthquake that could've hurt someone from the suits. But then a gigantic monster burst from the mantle of the earth, ravaging both Argossians and Suits alike. On top of it were a white-haired woman and a hooded figure who were summoning insect-like soldiers.

"It's the Royal Flushe!" Twig heard Guin exclaim from a distance away.

"Who?" Twig asked in confusion. The young healer had been absent the day that the Royal Flushe had come to claim Axton's life. But within a few moments, Twig realized who these strange interlopers were. Terrorists. Above him, Twig realized that Guin and Leo were already acting to fight the wyrm.

Immediately, Twig slung his Pemulihan staff over his shoulder and took out one of Samael's hand mirrors. Twig didn't want the Royal Flushe hurting anybody that he considered a friend. He wanted to personally make sure that it happened. And that meant that the healing magic that the Jack of Hearts cast simply wasn't enough. As messy as it sounded, Twig decided that he would have to fight the Royal Flushe under the guise of the White Plague. As long as Twig only fought the Royal Flushe, it probably wouldn't cause anything bad. It wouldn't make the Argossians believe that the Jokers had betrayed them. Nor would it mean that the Jokers were secretly mingled amongst the ranks of the Suits.

Wordlessly, Twig dove into the protection of a mantle of trees and bushes. Quickly, Twig began stuffing his Pemulihan staff, bag, and his ornate smallsword into the hand mirror, and after a bit of struggling to find his Joker stuff, grabbed the clothing and weapons that comprised of his Joker outfit. Twig forwent changing his pants and his shirt, and instead simply donned his white coat, plague doctor mask, and his kneepads over his trousers and button-up shirt. Within a minute, Twig had transformed from the shy-natured doctor into a stupidly ominous Joker.

"Oh, I look absolutely ridiculous," Twig giggled through his plague doctor mask, just as he did the multitude of times that he had to don the outfit. Ridiculousness nonwithbearing, Twig put the hand mirror into one of his coat pockets, raised his smallsword, and charged out of the thicket and towards the army of insectoids that Farlene had summoned.

"Royal Flushe, your end is now!" Twig growled as he charged into the lines of Farlene's army. He darted from enemy to enemy, his smallsword stabbing with green flames in a flawed but useable rendition of the Yi Fenca Kite form. As Twig slashed and bounced through the army, he wondered how they were going to take on such a monstrosity. Twig wasn't Delagarre the wielder of the Deep Piercer, nor was he the legendary Cacylyus Byllarmynt. Was there any way that even in his strongest form that Twig could help take down such an adversary?

. D O V E Kloudy Goonfire

 

[Goonfire]

Ahlmus Thorn

So why did Ahlmus discard the only notable weapon on his person in a fight like this? The answer was quite simple: to grab more weapons. While ducking and hoisting the bodies to use as meat shields, he stole a mismatched pair of daggers from their belts. The corpses were shredded from the might of Travis’ slash attack, forcing the blood-spattered time mage to retreat a bit.

Ahlmus focused his eye on something else, specifically somewhere past Travis, at which the half-elf chucked both daggers. At the same time, the spike in his mana indicated he was casting something. The traitor was suddenly shunted back to roughly that point, with only one of the two knives bound to strike unless it was blocked or dodged. The other was sailing towards a spot slightly farther back, fated to plink off the wall.

It was clear this fight was quickly turning into an experiment for time magic. Still, that one scornful blue eye fixed itself on Travis. Ahlmus was clearly still hateful, yet calmer and more confident than before, thanks to the new ability.

TPBx

 

[Coyote Hart]

Lloyd Einstadt
ft. Phatomsong and Mia

"Who the fuck ends a joke with 'that's not a stove, that's my mother'?" Mia shouted at Phantomsong

"Someone who has a sense of humor, Mia," Phantomsong replied, his entire body bridling with energy, "Can't you take a joke for once?"

"Yes, I totally can," Mia replied, "But only when it's actually funny and not stupidly bad as your's."

"For example?" Phantomsong beseeched.

Lloyd had been silent for most of the exchange between the two opposing swords. It was unsurprising that the two idiotic pieces of junk would end up going at each other's throats, but Lloyd had been expecting a bit of silence in order to allow him to finish his bowl of soup. Instead, Lloyd was forced to sit and casually sip soup out of a wooden spoon as they bickered, in a way not unlike how someone might sip tea whilst listening to a juicy bit of drama.

But now that Phantomsong challenged Mia to make a joke, Lloyd stopped his sipping of soup. Instead, he stood up straight and peered down expectedly at Mia.

"Oh fuck me, both of you want to hear me make a joke, right?" Mia sighed, "Fine. But promise me you won't laugh."

Both Lloyd and Phantomsong nodded vigorously. Well, Phantomsong didn't nod, since he was a sword, but Lloyd liked to imagine that he did.

"What's the difference between bird flu and swine flu?" Mia posed.

"What?" Lloyd and Phantomsong simultaneously said in anticipation.

"If you have bird flu, you need tweetment. If you have swine flu, you need oink-ment," Mia said.

For a moment, there was silence. Then Lloyd slowly buried his face into his hands and groaned, "Oh. My. Fucking. God."

"That was pretty bad, Mia," Phantomsong said, "Probably worse than mine."

"I'm disappointed you didn't laugh," Mia said. Lloyd sensed her embarrassment as she changed the subject, "By the by, why is there nobody here?"

"Hm?" Lloyd asked, raising his head.

Indeed, the town of Valencia was all but abandoned. None of the soldiers chilling out and relaxing before the battle were anywhere to be seen. In the distance, if Lloyd were to try to block out a strange rattling noise and the constant sound of artillery barraging the barriers, it sounded like there was screaming.

"Did... they go off without us?" Phantomsong asked.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu--" Mia expelled, "Phantomsong! This is all your fault!"

"How is it my fault?" Phantomsong whined, "Is it my fault, kupo?"

"Shut up, both of you," Lloyd said angrily as he whirled to his feet and took out his flintlocks, "You two idiots spent so long bickering with each other that we probably missed the telepathic call to get in formation. The fucking telepathic call. TELEPATHIC. You guys were that loud."

Phantomsong and Mia were unusually silent as Lloyd took several heaving breaths to steady himself before he glared down at the two hilts of the two sentient relics, "We need to move right now. Where should we go?"

"You'll take too long to get to the frontlines," Mia said.

"Maybe you should go to the generators, kupo!" Phantomsong suggested, "I don't think they're doing too well there."

"Is that what the obnoxious rattling noise is?" Mia asked as Lloyd began to run towards where he knew the generators were at.

"Yep, probably," Phantomsong said.

"Wait, how do you know all of this?" Lloyd asked between strained puffs of breaths. It seemed that a mere sentient sword was able to tell that there was danger just by mere instinct.

"A sword never reveals his secrets," Phantomsong replied smugly. He then added on suddenly, "By the way, I never had truffles."

"HOW THE FUCK IS THAT EVEN RELEVANT RIGHT NOW?" Mia demanded. Meanwhile, Lloyd had tuned out and went into his soldier mode. He knew he was likely charging into a situation that a measly Five such as himself was not capable of surviving. But he did have the two mysterious swords in tow with him. If they were willing to expose themselves for who they were, Lloyd knew that he would likely have no trouble.

But that would only be if Mia and Phantomsong open up for who they truly were.

TPBx

 

[TPBx]

Travis was caught off guard by the boost in power that Ahlmus received as the mage managed to avoid his attack with some crafty distractions and clever use of his magic. Somehow William's intervention managed to turn this mage into someone on par with his own power as a former member of the Royalty. Travis was about to back down but the battle was beginning to turn in Ahlmus's favor, and he could not see a conceivable way for him to win. Travis switched forms once more, changing into the smoke-like Enenra form in order to dodge the daggers flying at him.

Goonfire

======================================================

Vallerhyan and his men continued to gallop through the town. It was empty as it seemed everyone had evacuated the town. There was something off about the whole scene, as they passed by the ghost town-like scenery. Then Vallerhyan noticed a single mage standing in his squad's path.

"If you value your life, I suggest you get out of our way," Vallerhyan stated. He whipped out his pistol from his holster, flourishing it a couple times and then pointing it at the young mage. "Come on now, git."

Coyote Hart

===============================================

Marillys and Ethan watched the battle unfold. Ethan sighed, realizing that despite their best efforts, the timeline was not going as planned. "It appears we'll need to speed things up, I think its time that my people see the truth, that there is no winning this battle, let alone this war," Ethan stated. "Tell the men to engage the War Engine. I want to see Valencia burn by dawn."

Marillys looked at Ethan in shock, he had never seen someone so zealous in their dedication to eradicating their own people. Marillys recalled his time living in the country and the bond he shared with a particular mage who used to be his enemy. When he was weak this mage helped him recover, and in return, Marillys taught him the ways of Argossia. He remembered the young man's kindness even though they were enemies.

Ethan looked at the man, but disregarded any suspicions as they were moments away from victory. From deep within the mountains, a loud rumble and the sound of the earth cracking beneath the tracks of a large vehicle could be heard. A behemoth a machine housing a large crystal and several cannons could be seen making its way through the valley. Smoke pouring out from several exhaust ports as the machine slowly made its way forward to the front.

( @ everyone )

 

[Coyote Hart]

Lloyd Einstadt
ft. Phatomsong and Mia

"Kupo, stop!" Phantomsong directed, "Look in front of you!"

Lloyd had been running for a good while across the empty town before Phantomsong suddenly spoke. It was a slight shock to Lloyd's system, as both Phantomsong and Mia were uncharacteristically quiet. It was good to know that despite their constant bickering, the two of them could get along fine when it mattered the most.

Because at the moment, a group of horseback-riding gunslingers blocked his path. It was an intimidating group to be facing as one single expendable soldier, but neither Mia nor Phantomsong told him to flee, so Lloyd assumed that this was an adversary that he could fight."

"Sorry, fam," Lloyd said to the Argossian gunslinger as he raised one of his own hand-made handguns, "But it's a soldier's duty to protect a city from good-for-nothings such as yourself. By the by, why do you guys still use horses? Don't you have those fancy autonomous carriages?"

"Be careful," Mia whispered to Lloyd, "Those rascals are Mage Hunters. They have devoted their entire pathetic life to killing mages. And that seems to be all that they are good for. But they are extremely good. So just letting you know, if you need help, don't hesitate to draw either me or Phantomsong. I've won against these people before."

Mia waited for a moment before she added, "Those are Mage Hunters right, Phantomsong? I'm beginning to think I deserved it when you called me a Boomer yesterday."

"I don't know Mia," Phantomsong said gravely, "I never studied Argossian History."

TPBx

 

[LazyDaze]

WYSTERIA BEACON



Wysteria gently cut into her tart as the knife glinted underneath the light rays that beamed from the windows and into the otherwise poorly lit room. "...It is a beautiful day, shame it has been wasted on a futile battle, in a futile war. Even still, the cacophony of screams filled with anguish, and moans born from unfulfilled desires and destiny is still better than silence...so much better. Would you not agree?"

Her question was met with silence as she continued to enjoy her well prepared meal in the empty room. "...Ah, you seem emulate that very dreadful sound of nothing. A contrasting opinion is still preferable to a rude act. A lady should always respond to a direct question no matter how unpleasant said answer will be received."

Wysteria abruptly placed her utensils down and wrapped her arms around herself as she hunched over a bit, grimacing and shivering as if she was in unbearable pain. "I-I don't know...these sounds. I hate it, I hate it so much. I wish X never would have brought us here. Why couldn't we stay and protect Club Kingdom?" Wysteria's utensils returned to her hands, just as quickly as she had forgone them. Her expression now a blank canvas as it was before. She took a thoughtful bite before gently wiping her lips. "Hmm, I can definitively see our plight. I am against rotting from boredom within our not so safe walls; yet here we are...rotting from boredom within our...not so safe walls," Wysteria said with a chuckle as she toasted a wine glass to herself and took a long sip. "However, we both know that the kingdoms were lost long before this war, no need to protect it. Nevertheless, If X had not said we were on vacation, we most likely would not have partook in such a low brow play. Even as I speak, watching death spread it's robes across the battlefield loses it's luster more and more after each fallen soldier. There are a lot of fallen soldiers."

"...There IS Something even better than death. It's that fucking desperation! The Tin Cans so damn eager to rid themselves of the nuisance known as the mages, and the mages who want to pretend this isn't a last stand although we all know damn well it is. Everyone believes they are the focus of this story until the curtain falls and they realize....THEY WERE A FUCKING EXTRA THE WHOLE TIME! Hahahahahha....still better than being cast as a tree, am I right?!"

"...Extras, indeed," Wysteria said with a smile after regaining a composed state. She gently pushed aside a plate of a half eaten raw steak. Her tastes were always a bit peculiar. Just as she was going to finish her wine, the earth shook which caused her to falter and drop her wine glass. She could only watch helplessly as the glass shattered and it's contents stained the floor. She calmly gazed out the window as a snakelike creature suddenly ruined her view of the sky. The sounds of battle intensified. Wysteria calmly walked down to the first floor of the building she resided in and stepped out of the front door. She was still a ways away from the battlefield, but that would be changing shortly. A cloud quickly formed in front of her as she gracefully stepped onto it. She then allowed the carriage of white fluff to carry her on to the cause of the disturbance. As she flew high above the battlefield, she noticed the monstrosities that terrorized both sides. Consuming those who stood against it, and those unfortunate enough to be within it's vicinity. She could even see the terror consume the bravest men even before their end. Nevertheless, she allowed them to fight on. It was not her duty to forestall their judgement. Dirtying her hands for mere roaches, literally, was inconceivable. "My lovely battlefield...ruined."

As she neared the supposed source of the calamity, she saw that Guin was already intercepting the beast...and human? She hadn't conversed too much with the key members of this battle; after all, X said she didn't have to. She remained in her personal room for majority of the time here, and had not contributed to the battle in any form or fashion, but X, her hopeless king, would often debrief her on the important players. He described a woman named Guin as a rose. Most would take it as a compliment, but coming from him Wysteria knew that it wasn't. A beautiful calamity...this had to be her. Her aura was enough to make Wysteria feel a slight uneasiness. Despite her presence the other player was even more intriguing. At first, she believed the Argrossians had seriously outdone themselves, but now...it appeared as if a third party was at play. She admired the boldness to attack both sides in such a grand battle. For now she simply watched...even as other monstrosities would soon rear its ugly head. Just who would come out on top? Her apathy to the entire ordeal even impressed her momentarily. She brandished her butterfly sword as she floated on top of the cloud like an angel of war, and misfortune. Maybe she would aid the Queen and the others...or maybe she would wait and see what the future held for these unfortunate souls. "Our lovely, dull battlefield ruined. We can't wait to see what happens next."


Kloudy . D O V E

 

[Coyote Hart]

.

.

Battle Against the Royal Flushe

「Zephyr Terwilliger ∙ Guineverre y Blanca ∙ Leolin Hravart III ∙ Three ∙ Four」

Valencia - Frontlines

The Queen of Hearts herself had arrived, and with her came four scraggle-tipped spikes soaring across the sky like giant torpedoes. Three and her cloaked companion leaned in opposite directions, narrowly dodging the spike sent their way with calculated efficiency. The wyrm too reacted, swiveling to face Guin with its monstrous maw agape. Its face was comprised of 80% mouth, circular and rowed with a sea of serrated teeth and mandibles running all the way back to the dark depths of its throat. It had a plethora of eyes on the top hemisphere of its face, which zoned in on the queen with what could even be described as anger. The spikes disappeared down its gullet and another mighty roar emanated from the magnificent creature, shaking the very air itself. The fourth spike embedded itself in the wyrm's neck, but merely penetrated partway into its thick chitin armour, unable to pierce deeper and rend its insectoid insides.

"Hah! So it's you! What a fitting end, to be destroyed by a woman infinitely more beautiful than yourself!"

Three cackled to herself, slightly hysterical from the enormous weight controlling an entire army of monster bugs must be placed on her mind. With another customary click of her fingers, a secondary rumbling came from within her pet wyrm. This time, instead of acting independently, the armour plates on the beast's body shifted and opened up gaps. From within the murky crevices came a skittering sound, and then a buzzing sound. The cause was soon revealed as a tide of humanoid-sized bugs began pouring from the cracks, dropping from the wyrm and taking flight from their two sets of wings. They looked like deformed humans, shaped, moulded and spliced with insect genes to create a different type of bug soldier. Thin and wiry, these smaller variants all seemed to possess gnashing mouth mandibles, two sets of needle-like legs and a long chitin blade to replace each forearm. They swarmed by the hundreds, moving at a surprisingly fast pace until the air was filled with the incessant buzzing of at least several retinues worth of flyers. They seemed to be an adapted improvement on Three's experimentation with flying insects. Smaller than the larger carriers that had kidnapped live people at Atria, they were faster and seemed as though they could inflict damage swiftly with their long and delicately sharpened bladed body augmentations. Three spread her arms in a grandiose gesture as if to say "I am superior" and the swarm dove for Queen Blanca, rushing to dice her to ribbons and consume what was left.

“I’m flattered, but I think you’re over-exaggerating about my beauty.”

Guin responded with a knowing smirk, extending her hands towards the monstrosities to release her magic. While their gruesome appearance was indeed revolting, the idea that those things might be her former subjects was more provoking. She brushed the thought off upon finishing her new construct. A massive turbine composed of several double-edged blades faced the winged mutants before they spun with great haste. The turbine’s rapid movement sucked the lanky insectoids that were diving for the Queen into its eager razors, shredding them mercilessly until their indistinguishable particles littered the ground. A good twenty flew directly into the rotating mincer before Three had the idea of pulling them back to surround the queen so as to avoid funneling directly into her counter.

It was then when Guin noticed that Three’s other bugs weren’t running after her. The reason became clear when she saw Leo and Twig laying siege on the pesky bugs. The latter was in his Joker facade, but she quickly recognized him thanks to their shared secret. It appeared like neither Three nor her mysterious companion has taken notice of them yet. A quick plan formulated in the Queen’s mind. Perhaps if she could keep the enemy’s attention on her, the two men could take them by surprise and land a damaging blow. She could only hope that it would be much more successful than her earlier attempt, if ever.

“Oh? Your hideous children all seem to be mindless!” Guin prompted with a mocking tone, generating a pair of sharp swords to defend herself against the bugs that now surrounded her. “I suppose what they say is true after all. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree!” Three could not help but grit her teeth in rage, causing the flyers to move more fervently in assault of Guin.

Leolin had abandoned hope of talking to the Flushe; whatever happened in the distant past, it obfuscated his notions of ‘all rational thought’. The people were different now, under a more inclusive leadership. It pained him to know not everyone saw that…

The Ace observed Guin had Three’s undivided attention, thinking it was typical of those two to have a catfight over who’s hotter in the middle of a war zone. Then, there was that masked swordsman whom he couldn’t identify shearing through a fair number of soldier bugs. With the swarms of insects sputtering clear of the three-thousand-degree flames in wait, Leo figured their sheer numbers would be enough to obscure his physical presence until he was nearly on top of Farlene. The hive master was easily the most unstable—therefore the most dangerous—of this villainous lot.

Drawing Amé—the scimitar he so loved—he sprinted around the wyrm and then began twirling, the flames twisting with him. When he had a good spin going, he cannon-jumped, launching himself upwards through the swarm of flying creatures like a bullet. What he didn’t incinerate was minced by the whirring blade. In no time, he cleared the airborne swarm and started rapidly closing the distance between himself and Farlene for a flurry of slashes. He was rushing her from her left-rear flank in hopes of taking her out of the fight immediately. For a moment, Three didn't see him coming. As he broke through the cloud of bugs, she saw him and raised a hand in surprise. Controlling every element of her army had dulled her reactions and Leolin was all set to eviscerate her where she stood.

But then the cloaked figure stepped in the way.

Movements as smooth as a curve, graceful gestures that flowed like water. The perfect synchronization of body parts. As he drew near, the ace would notice his own magical flames grow weak and sputter. Leolin saw each and every strike deflected off to the sides or above in simple succession without much flair or even the activation of magic. Such an easy shutdown was guard-breaking, and the still cloaked individual then grabbed Leolin's sword arm and pulled, using her foot to launch him over her own head while banking off his momentum to fling him past. It was only after the lightning-fast exchange did it become apparent. Leolin had just experienced the techniques of a master practitioner of the Stream Breath martial arts. She had successfully deflected his high speed sword thrusts at the wrist via pure technique alone, dislocating it in the process. It was a humbling show, a strong reminder that martial arts could close the gap between even the magicless and aces. Four removed the hood from her head and smiled calmly at the ace, her voice even and measured.

"Greetings, Leolin. It is good to meet you. Unfortunately, I cannot allow you to hurt Three here. Please understand."

Meanwhile, the White Plague made his way through the horde of insectoid soldiers, his smallsword poking and prodding. He didn’t require the sword to penetrate any important tissues, only that it pierces the skin. After that, the insidious green flames that ran up his arms and onto the sword served to send each insectoid falling to the ground, their nerves fried to the point of paralysis.

Twig didn’t have the same advantages that Guin and Leo possessed. He wasn’t able to fly in any easy way, nor did he have the skill and expertise to chuck anything that far up. His sword was never meant to break through armor, only exploit the chinks of weakness present. Even if he were to slice into the cracks of the wyrm’s armor, Twig doubted his dysidia magic would do much against the overwhelming monster.

So instead, when Twig reached the wyrm, he raised his arm into the sky, and using it as an anchor, began to pull himself up into the sky through his wind magic. It was a risky move. Not only was pulling his admittedly low body mass up by the arm was painful, but Twig also didn’t know how well his magic would hold up against the strain. Thankfully, Twig managed to land on top of the wyrm.

Since Four had just flung Leolin over her shoulder, Twig was behind her. He said nothing in order to try to catch the Royal Flushe by surprise. Twig knew nothing of the Royal Flushe’s motivations past the fact that they wanted Axton’s draconic heart and by what he heard from Guin and Leo. At that point, Twig frankly didn’t care about the Royal Flushe’s motivations. Twig bounded forward to shorten the distance between him and Four, and with one swift movement, stabbed at Four. His attack was aimed at the softer tissue of the lower back, which while usually not a disarming nor fatal attack, with the green flames, it would be sufficient to incapacitate. Four spun in place to respond, apparently fully aware of her surroundings. Her left hand glided around to gently lay against the flat of the jack's blade, guiding it off to the side as Twig stabbed at her. Continuing the twist seamlessly, Four grabbed Twig by the throat with her right hand, his charging momentum used against him by limiting his ability to stop. She held him aloft, squeezing on his windpipe with surprising strength for her otherwise elegant appearance.

From a distance, Guin spared a glance towards the two and their assault against Four before returning her attention to her own battle. It seemed like her taunts worked because Three’s bugs became even more eager to turn her into a buffet. She had abandoned her turbine, knowing that it won’t help her any longer, and chained her blink to reach the ground before enveloping herself in a small circular barrier. She shot her enemies a smirk before activating her drain. Three sneered in response, waving a hand to command her flying bugs to pull out of range of the drain. Even still, another fifteen fell victim to having their "souls" sucked from their bodies. At first, it seemed like Guin's tactics had stumped the Flushe member until her wyrm reared its head to face the queen itself. A brief pause lasted as mana built up near its mouth and it soon became apparent what was happening. A resounding shockwave of sound blasted the air as a beam of pure energy shot from the mighty creature's face, plummeting down to obliterate Guin's comparatively lackluster defense.

Leolin went sailing over the wyrm’s head with a gasp. His scimitar plummeted until it stabbed into the ground, leaving him empty-handed. He grabbed onto the edge of a thick chitinous plate, stating his observations: “Stream Breath… and mana neutralization?” He then realized Four was surprisingly polite. “Then I’m sure you can understand why you and I will be in conflict,” he told the martial artist. “I can’t turn a blind eye to genocide.” Feeling the strong presence of mana build-up and seeing the White Plague sneaking up, he started, “This looks bad. If you’ll excuse me for a moment,” then slid down the side without finishing the thought. Once out of Four’s range, he cannon-jumped diagonally down to rescue Guin, appearing like a streak of red and ‘disappearing’ with her in a puff of smoke. The queen had been scooped up in a bridal carry so she could still use her arms with ease. Mere moments later, the beam hit the ground and a loud explosion racked the battlefield as tremors shook the earth. The direction with which the wyrm had fired meant the debris that was doing from the ground spewed forth in the direction of the city. Rocks, boulders and a hail of dirt rained on the city, the majority being blocked by shielding. However, this was the final blow for the two sabotaged generators, and the central front wall barriers faded before fizzling out. Debris further rained on those nearby the exposed generators, blowing holes in buildings and tearing gashes in pathways.

Twig slammed headfirst into Four’s chokehold, and as he felt himself rise off of the ground, he instinctively raised his free hand to grasp at the arm that held him steadfast. Out of the corner of his eye, Twig saw Leo dive down and shoot back up. Of course, the Ace wouldn’t help him in this situation, especially since Twig was masked. He didn’t blame Leo.

“I’m really not cut out for this,” Twig choked out. Even as he felt his vision begin to turn into dizzying and uncomplimentary colors, Twig channeled his wind magic into sword-like slashes and applied it onto the arm that held him up. Hopefully, the masked Joker thought, the Royal Flushe would either see through Twig’s attack and let him go, or she would fall for it and see it simply as a feeble attempt to fight back. Unfortunately for the poor plague doctor, he had yet to experience Four's magic as Leolin had previously. The wind spell attempted to form before swirling out and dispersing useless, the lack of mana being supplied to it proving debilitating. The Flushe member smiled courteously, her grip tightening on the man's neck.

"I appreciate the effort, but that will not work. For future reference, please avoid engaging us in combat. We only need the deaths of the soldiers."

“How… enigmatic,” Twig managed to choke out. Whether or not it was towards Four’s unspecific statement towards who the “soldiers” were or towards the Royal Flushe’s intriguing magical abilities, even Twig didn’t know. Air was being cut off from his brain, and he needed to stop it. And fast.

His next attempt was to dig his fingernails in, but his cuticles, filed down in order to avoid hurting his patients, were useless. That just left one last solution.

Even as he felt the need to struggle, Twig forced himself to go limp, dropping his valuable Argossian blade as he did so. Four raised a curious eyebrow, unsure what to make of this show. He was still alive, she could feel his mana aura at the very least. Perhaps he was just unconscious. Unconcerned, she tossed Twig off the side of the wyrm, content with allowing him to fall back to the earth. He tumbled down the scaly armor to fall back down to the ground. Even though he was tumbling and not free-falling, it didn’t stop Twig from falling onto his left arm in the final few feet before the ground, and with a sharp snap, his forearm broke.

Twig didn’t know whether to scream or try to catch his breath, so he did an awkward combination of both. With a shaking right hand, he straightened his left arm and applied a supple amount of healing magic to fix his arm and stop the searing pain in his arm. As Twig continued to cough and try to regain the color saturation in his vision, he reached over to pick up his fallen smallsword and faced the horde of insect soldiers.

It was then when the Ace and Queen of Hearts landed a few steps away from the masked Jack, the latter of the duo uncharacteristically appalled while in the arms of the former. Guin fixed her eyes on the destruction the wyrm’s beam laid, thinking that she could have been a part of it if not for her friend who whisked her away. “Lion,” she breathed out, “I… thank you.” However, the female quickly regained her composure and cast her gaze upwards, studying the giant beast towering over them before shifting it to the nearby White Plague. “We can’t fight them blindly like this. We need to team up and think of a plan.” She carefully hopped off Leolin’s arms and approached Twig, but not before urging the Ace to follow her, which he did. “The wyrm is extremely powerful. It seems like damaging it from the outside is nearly impossible. I think we’d need to either attack it from the inside or kill Three first, but both seem to be very difficult as long as the other one is there.” The Queen began, referring to Four whom she has not encountered yet, “What have you guys learned about her?”

Leo immediately let Guin go free before squatting to check on Twig. He hadn’t seen the healing magic at work, so he naively thought the White Plague was unscathed. “That was bold,” he remarked about the failed sneak attack. “Don’t follow my example, lest we both end up dying.” The ace flashed a wry grin before shimmying a few feet over to dislodge the Argossian sword, which caused him to raise an eyebrow. What an obvious ally was doing with this was none of his business, though, so he returned it.

Leolin also drew his Hot Poker, the rapier rapidly heating until the blade glowed red-hot. “Right, so Guin… Four is guarding Three. She has mana neutralization and is a master of Stream Breath,” he explained while taking a defensive stance against the other soldier bugs. “As for the wyrm, I think… er…” He maneuvered over to lean closer, whispering, “I might be able to enter via those pores the flying creatures are exiting. I could charge up a Forbidden Sun spell and release it once inside.”

“Charge up?” the White Plague said skeptically, “I think not. If Four’s smarts match her manners, she won’t let you, Ace of Hearts.”

Twig accepted his smallsword from Leo with a solemn nod of thanks. The sword held high sentimental value to Twig, as it was a gift from the one who taught him Yi Fenca, even despite the struggles of life he was going through and the fact that he and Twig were enemies by allegiance.

“We need to take out Four as quickly as possible,” Twig said, “Ace of Hearts, if you can annoy her for a bit, I can ensure the bugs don’t bother us. Queen Blanca, if you go from a distance, hopefully, you can encase Four in a prison without her mana neutralization and steam breath bothering you.”

Twig felt incredibly nervous talking to Leolin under his disguise. He didn’t have a voice modulator of any kind, so instead, Twig hoped that the muffling quality of his mask would be enough.

“Then, we have the means to ravage the oversized worm,” Twig finished.

Guin listened to the two men, taking each information and processing them in hopes of formulating a plan. However, it appeared like the Jack had already come up with one, earning him a nod of approval from the queen. “That’s a smart plan.” She remarked while reaching out for something behind her armor. “And I think that’s something I can do.” Guin added, referring to her part in the plan, before handing Twig the Doombringer. “Take this. It’s a modified Argossian handgun with rapid-fire magic missile enchantment that can focus your mana to a point and fire it off with a force. I might need to concentrate on my construct so this will be better off in your hands.”

Finally, the Queen turned to the Ace, eyeing him with determination. “Lion, you go first and keep Four busy for us. If our plan works, you’re free to do whatever you wish to the wyrm.”

Leo nodded along, though his eyes narrowed suspiciously at the masked man. “Have we met?” he inquired at an inappropriate time. The White Plague replied with only a guilty look in his eyes. Another question followed when Guin pulled out the modified handgun; “When did you have time to study an Argossian weapon, Guin?” The woman in question simply answered him with a silent look. Some alarm bells rang for the Ace, but with the next attack coming, he had no time to keep prying. “We have a lot to discuss after this,” he finished before moving ahead with his part.

An Argossian airplane flew low, circling the wyrm while the tail-gunner shot at it with questionable accuracy. Leolin cannon-jumped to intercept the plane. A fireball smashed through the rear windshield, killing the gunner and causing substantial damage to the fuselage, followed by his rapier searing through a wing. The pyromancer then used his free hand to fire several scorching rays in rapid succession at both Three and Four.

template by astraea, editted for the occasion, . D O V E (Guin), Goonfire (Leolin), Coyote Hart (Twig/The White Plague), Kloudy (Three/Farlene, Four)​

 

[Xanto]

Xixix Valentine and Athania Kaloronos and Kaiden Alderidge​

A blue light shined in Kaiden’s peripheral vision before another, stronger tremor shook the battlefield. This time, a newcomer created a chasm to sidetrack their opponent from twisting reality. “Ylsa of House Byllarmynt, mage hunter. Her weapon adds and erases space,” Kaiden reported before shifting his gaze to recognize the King of Clubs, “ . . sir.”

Ylsa stopped her attack in response to the new mage opening up a chasm with his attack. It threw her off guard, as she realized that this mage was a lot stronger than either of the two that she was battling previously. The Mage Hunter quickly jumped aside and landed gracefully on whatever ground was left.

“Ah...awesome,” X said with the enthusiasm of piece of bread when Kaiden debriefed him on his opponent. Make no mistake, he paid attention to every word, but he realized this would be an annoying opponent. During Kaiden’s report X’s eyes followed Ylsa the entire time as he ran through mental simulations of the battle to come. She moved extremely well, almost as if his attack never posed any danger in killing her. From that short display of physical exertion, he could tell she was very skilled. It wasn’t much of a surprise since she had obviously been doing more than holding her own against two powerful mages. However, his allies were not to be outdone. It could be considered an even greater accomplishment surviving and gathering the intel that they had. Especially when the enemy clearly had them out gunned er...chained.

Ylsa flourished the sickle end of her chain whip rapidly before grasping it firmly and pointed at the new mage, “You must be a Royal, judging by your destructive power. It’ll be an honor hanging your head upon the halls of House Byllarmynt and bringing glory to my family name.”

“...House of Bewilderment? Never heard of them,” X purposely stated incorrectly without much of a reaction to her statement. He then took the time to briefly observe his comrades, particularly Athania, who seemed to have taken the most damage during this confrontation.

Athania knew that she had taken way too much of a beating to contend in this fight any longer, but she had to help out any way she could. She sighed with relief knowing that X had come quickly to their aid. “I don’t know how much more I can take,” she said while clutching her ribcage, “though I’ll do what I can to help.” She propped herself up against a wall and stood up firmly. Several more dark tendrils sealed the wounds she received, and inside Athania these tendrils penetrated beneath the skin to repair the damage she received internally. It was painful and only a temporary fix, but at least she was back in fighting condition even if only for a short while.

X listened to Athania’s words. She was physically at her limit and he would have loved to tell her that he could handle this on his own; however, this was war and he needed every utility. This was not some heartless decision rooted in his own self preservation; he could tell that she was strong. She had enough in the tank to finish this fight. The other mage, Kaiden, seemed competent and was still in pretty good shape. If it’s them then just maybe...“5 minutes...back me up for five minutes then pull out if she’s not dead. That goes for both of you,” He said with an unusual seriousness as his gaze returned to Ylsa the Mage Hunter. He didn’t have time to draw up an official plan; however, he trusted that these two were competent enough to keep up with him. He trusted the judgement that kept them alive during this fight.

“Understood,” Athania said as she summoned a helmet over her face and melded into the shadows around them. Meanwhile, Kaiden gave a silent nod. His furrowed brows implied he was up for the challenge. Five minutes . . they could do it. He’d want to stay overtime if ever to help finish Ylsa off, but the commander had other movements to attend to.

“Don’t blink,” X said as he snapped his fingers. Suddenly protruding spikes jetted from the edge/side of the chasm and in the direction of Ylsa. In reality, this was the second ability granted by X’s Hand of God ability. The earth that was disintegrated was simply reformed into an attack; however, he did not simply rest after his initial attack. In a complete 180 from his lethargic demeanor, X burst from his position and charged toward Ysla with the intent to deliver a powerful palm strike to her chest with his right hand.

Ylsa responded by dodging the spikes that were summoned beneath her, jumping back and forth away from each earthen drills. But she was surprised by the sudden shift of the mage from long range to close range combat, and was hit by his palm strike that sent her crashing through the spike laiden field. The mage hunter was now pretty beat up, but she began twirling her weapon and spun the sickle end around her in a wide arc cutting away more spikes and creating a clearing where she could clearly see her opponents. But to her surprise the Shadow Mage still seemed to be in the fight, but in a split second she lost vision of her.

Athania reappeared close to her opponent, initially surprising Ylsa. The Mage Hunter quickly wrapped her chain around Athania’s blade. However, Athania reacted quickly. She closed the few meters of distance between her and Ylsa, and hit her with a pommel strike to knock the wind out of her briefly. Then when her chain came undone from her sword, Athania followed up with two slashes in succession across Ylsa’s chest. But Ylsa’s armor was incredibly tough, and it still hadn’t been broken. Regardless, her successful attacks made a critically weak spot in her armor. Ylsa staggered backwards a bit, but recovered.

“You know I was having doubts considering how pathetically weak you are, but it turns out you are daddy’s little girl,” Ylsa scoffed. Athania was shocked by these words, how did this woman know her dad. Athania thought that Ethan had died that day, but apparently he lives and works with the Argossians. Several questions raced through her head as she tried to maintain concentration on the battle in front of her.

That’s when Kaiden’s chain whip suddenly rang out toward Ylsa. His weapon precisely wrapped around the center of her chain before he yanked the fulcrum point forward. All his movements were smooth and quick. He followed through with a right roundhouse kick up and over his chain. It was both an attack and way of strongly leveraging the pull of his weapon toward him. The man then swiftly brought his left leg up, sending a back kick aimed at Ylsa. Within a few moments, his arm pivoted the middle of his chain so his opposite hand could pull it at a closer point. This in turn brought them closer as he sent a strong punch toward her chest.

Kaiden’s attack was successful in disarming Ylsa, forcing her to drop her chain whip. She however managed to parry the kick with her shin. Despite that, Kaiden was able to land the punch into her chest. This caused her armor’s integrity to degrade even further. The Mage Hunter fell back and threw out throwing knives at Kaiden. Athania intercepted them by quickly putting herself between Kaiden and Ylsa, and blocking them with her gauntlet. Ylsa then drew her long sword and assumed the opening stance of Yl Fenca Argossya: Spirit Form, flourishing her sword with a single hand before resting both hands upon the handle and pulling the blade close to her chest. Ylsa was on her back foot, but she wasn’t about to go down without a fight.

While Athania kept the mage hunter busy, Kaiden slyly intercepted the chain whip Ylsa dropped. He then quickly untangled his own weapon with a single spin and slid it into his coat before whirling the reality warping weapon carefully around his hand.

Collab with TPBx LazyDaze

 

[Ambiloquous]

[class=bo] margin: auto; width: 90%; [/class] [class=he] margin: auto; max-width: 70%; font-size: 30px; text-align: center; font-weight: bold; [/class] [class=img] margin: auto; max-width: 150px; height: 150px; border-radius: 50%; background-image: url('https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D6ZKK-vXkAA1EiK.jpg:large'); background-position: center top; background-size: 120%; [/class]

[div class=bo][div class=img][/div]
[div class=he]〘 Jyotiranjana Baila 〙[/div]

♣​

The Grove. What was so special about it? The fact that nobody came out alive.

Jana wrinkled her nose, feeling apprehensive for the first time in a long time. It would’ve made her feel all the better to just charge in straightforwardly like she usually did. It wouldn’t decrease her chances of living anyway, being close to none in the first place.

Unfortunately, Cal’s body language and the deceptively peaceful surroundings caused her mind to conjure up pictures of being strangled by trees and other such tragic endings. Not tragic as in sad, tragic as in foolish, idiotic. She frowned. She hated the idea that she would die so stupidly in a place nobody would know. If she had to die, she at least wanted to die with opulence and a great amount of fanfare.

When Cal started repeating what they’d heard of Yisstra’s Grove and talking of lives with that obviously strained smile of his, Jana roared with a laugh louder than the anxious thumps of both their hearts combined. “The story we’re going to change, Cal! The artifact’s going to change our lives to an epic instead of this copper-pinching tragedy.”

Blustering with an energy she didn’t feel, she stretched her mouth into a grin too wide to be anything more than bravado. “Ready? Are we ever?” Taking large steps towards the Grove, she turned back at the last second. “And do we ever let it get to us?”

♣

| Interacted With: AI10100 | Mentioned: Kloudy |​

[/div]

 

[Athanas]

Cass paused for a few moments, covering his eyes with his hands and trying to block out all external stimuli. He always did this when there was a lot of information that needed processing, it helped him focus without external stimuli occupying his mind. He began making a mental list, the steps having been repeated a hundredfold: "A slayer must be able to take all factors into account, at any time. Only then can he outsmart his foes."

For one, the way by which they had been transported here was utterly ingenious, and he had to give credit to whoever had that idea.
However, the fact that they were here when in Valencia there was the battle to end all battles was mayhaps, uh, petty of them
Since his queen had asked for it, though, he had to oblige her. He was no stranger to the political and cultural importance of this box, and loss thereof would surely damage the reputation of the corrupt Spade royalty.

To this end, he began formulating a plan based on what they knew about the guard detachment, and of how many allies were currently in play. Finally, he removed his hands and opened his eyes, now with a determined look. His hands fidgeted with a card.
"Friends, I am well aware of the difficulty of the task at hand, as well as the potential risk. Το this end I'd like to thank you all for putting so much at risk for something whose benefits might not be immediately apparent. Now, let us set to work.

The plan I propose is relatively simple, however it relies moderately on luck being on our side. I have given this quite some thought but cannot settle on a safer option. First, we use some of the servants to lure the telepath away from the main force, mayhaps under the pretense of a private task set by the current regent. Once he is away, we must...dispatch him posthaste. I am aware you may find the thought of such cold-blooded murder highly distasteful, I most certainly do. But we must endure, for the queen. Now, it is wholly possible that he will have shielding amulets, or amulets that send distress signals. if he has either of those we must abort, as our presence will become known. On an unrelated tangent, Jake, if there are any jokers in the region that might be of use, now would be a great time to contact them.

Should the element of surprise be maintained, then our task has become easier. We must dispatch the guard patrols, one at a time. We do not lack enough destructive magic to make this possible, thankfully. The bodies we can dispose in Samael's dimension, but we must keep their clothing: Their disguises will be useful later.

Once we have dispatched as many as possible, then we will start a ruckus with the servants above, to make it seem as if though there is a joker attack happening. One of us will have to pretend to be wounded and go beg the others for aid, claiming that the regent is under duress. Of course, the leader and some of his men will stay down, but at least some will go to intercept the "intruders". We tackle this smaller group once they're out of range. Then, we disguise as them, get as close as possible to the remaining guards, and strike.

...I admit, it requires a lot of wishful thinking, and there's still plenty of risk involved, but I got nothing better. If any of you have any better ideas, now would be an amazing time"

His planning over he moved over to Declan, palming him the card. "You're not as durable as the rest of us, you're gonna need this. Activate it when something's about to hit you, and you'll be safe for a brief while. If you time it right, you'll even get more powerful, too. Just remember, it's one use. So don't rely too much on it" He did his best to give him a reassuring smile.

AI10100 vielpotato

 

[TPBx]

X could not help but admire the toughness of his opponent after she survived the various combinations of his fellow mages, on top of his own initial strike. However, the battle was starting to take its toll on the mage hunter. X could see it in her eyes; she knew she was going to die. Her ambiguous message to Athania was further proof of this. It seemed to be nothing more than a childish taunt, but Athania’s hesitant spirit portrayed deeper meaning. He had many more questions, but now was not the time to remain lost in a sea of his own thoughts. X gave Ylsa one final look of pity before allowing apathy to travel across his face yet again. He knew very well a cornered animal was dangerous, but she would have to be put down regardless. There would be no offer of surrender from the King of Clubs. X dashed forward while switching his single, radiating gauntlet, to a set of four. Once he was in range he would attack her base with his lower gauntlets, attempting to grab her ankles and root her to the ground while he threw a looping right hook with his upper right floating gauntlet to her side in order to create an opening.

Ylsa responded in kind, meeting X’s attacks with her own. She stepped aside from one of the lower gauntlets grasping her ankles, while slapping away the other with her sword. Afterwards, she took a step back and tried looking for the next attack. However, the upper right gauntlet slipped past her vision prior to smacking her across the cheek and knocking her back. The Mage Hunter recovered, but she felt exhaustion take its toll as her body became more stiff, becoming harder to move.

X continued to apply pressure. Regardless of how well she had done thus far, fighting two mages at once had to take its toll. However, he had to make sure he was not overly zealous, lest she take advantage of his bloodlust and make good on her threat to have his head. As X pushed forward he noticed her movements, breathing, posture and attitude. He almost felt bad for her. It was time to place the finishing touches on this battle so he could make the 5 minute mark he set earlier. X followed up his successful strike with a high kick towards her head; however, this would be a feint as he missed his mark purposely, using the momentum to aim a spinning kick with the other leg right on the chin. Meanwhile, the troublesome gauntlets were at work again. This time the lower left gauntlet swooped up from ground level to deliver an uppercut to the chest while two others seemingly flew past her on either side.

Swipe. Swipe. The sickle end of Kaiden’s new chain whip narrowly cancelled out the space between the Club King’s attacks and their common opponent. A clever move on his part to increase X’s chances of knocking the mage hunter out. Ylsa was caught off guard by her weapon being used against her. X’s attacks came at her a lot quicker than expected, and she took the bait and dodged the high kick to her face and was immediately hit by X’s spin kick and gauntlet combo. The Hunter’s armor finally caved in and broke after taking so much of a beating. She felt light headed as the concussive injuries began to pile up and her vision began to blur. All the mages knew that she was done. This battle was going to end now.

That Kaiden was more cunning than X expected, utilizing a stolen weapon so quickly in such an efficient manner, but he would have to compliment him later. X clenched his fists, ready to deliver the last strike now that they had broken through her resilient armor. Everything that happened at this moment was merely a formality.The two gauntlets that flew past Ylsa earlier, returned, grabbing her wrists and outstretching her arms while X spun behind her. He delivered a final palm strike to her back which sent her flying towards Athania. X did not say anything, but he could surmise that this victory belonged to them.

Ylsa was feeling her life leaving her body, but she clung on for one last chance. The Hunter saw that she was being sent towards the Shadow Mage, and she swung her sword wildly in an attempt to bring her down. Athania realized this was uncharacteristic of her fighting from earlier, and it became simple to dodge each strike as she looked for an opening to counter. Ylsa swung her sword in a wide arc from her right to left, but Athania parried the attack after noticing that her footing was off, leading to Ylsa staggering back and leaving her chest exposed. Athania spun around, her dress hiding her movements, and reformed her sword into a lance and held it in a reverse grip, pointing it at her intended target. Ylsa tried brought down her sword upon the girl, believing she made a grave mistake as she had turned her back to her, only to have Athania’s lance thrust into her lower chest, penetrating straight through the Hunter.

Ylsa gasped as she held onto the lance that was still stuck in her abdomen, watching as it was now dissipating into white-purple particles of dysidia. She shuddered as the light began to fade, feeling the warmth of her blood pour upon her hands that were now growing cold. The shadow mage stood above her victorious as if to taunt her one last time before she passed on. Athania then released her shadow magic; her armor and the shadow tendrils vanished from her visage. She knew that keeping Shadow Enhance any longer would kill her. The Shadow Mage then instantly felt all the pain of her injuries coming back to her all in one moment. After coughing up some blood, Athania laid down next to her fallen enemy, meeting Ylsa's now blank stare. Her vision also blurring as she tried to maintain consciousness as her body felt like it was going to explode.

Then everything dissolved into darkness...

Xanto LazyDaze

============================================================
Vallerhyan and his squad stared down this lone mage. It seemed that this boy wanted to challenge all of them. "Master Vallerhyan, you go on. We'll take care of this kid." Vallerhyan acknowledged them and continued on down the road away from Lloyd, accompanied by a few others from his corps of mage hunters. The remaining five hopped off their horses. Each of them drawing a pair of swords and assuming different opening stances of Yl Fenca Argossya: Kite Form. The swords were different from the normal Argossian blade as it seemed that each blade had a handle that was shaped like a pistol grip with two triggers. At the end of the handle was a wire that connected to the same grappling hook device that Vallerhyan was wearing. The group carefully stepped towards Lloyd anticipating some sort of attack. In the background, the battle raged on, but this group was laser focused on working together to take down this mage.

​

Coyote Hart

 

[Mechking]

Arimand Argus Dornwell, King of Diamonds

Arimand observed the battle carefully. The soldiers are mostly all at the second line, having nearly finished the retreat from the frontlines. Whenever he gets updates from them, he reacts accordingly and with brutal precision. Everything was going well and as planned, until an armored truck covered in smoke raced across the battlefield. Arimand ordered the backline forces to retreat into the city and defend the wall after the magehunters attacked it.

"Your Diamondship, I have news from queen Blanca."
Arimand listened carefully to what Rosette sent to his telepath.
"Ethan Kaloronos, an old ghost coming back to haunt us? Concerning indeed."
Before he could think further about the matter at hand, tremors shook the earth as a gigantic Wyrm emerges from the ground. And with it a seemingly endless amount of "cockroaches".
Guin immediately informed him of the facts that the tunnels might be in danger and, more concerningly, that that thing is apparently under the control of the Royal Flushe.
Arimand was confident in the underground structures, a few tremors won't brake them. But the Royal Flushe are a different subject altogether.
"Wherever the Royal Flushe are, big things happen. And with that I don't mean the Wyrm, they are after something else entirely. I am sure of that. Using the cockroaches against the Argossians and the detonating the tunnels beneath them seems like an excellent idea. Please only assess the situation and under no circumstances-" his transmission was interrupted by Guin's attack on the Wyrm. With a heavy sigh, he continued "-engage the Wyrm directly..."
"Seems I am only the commander of soldiers and not of royals. I...expected this. Sadly."

With another sigh, he contacts the commanders that are being attacked by the flood of monstrous bugs.
"All commanders, retreat and establish a kill-zone for the cockroaches. Prevent them from consuming more corpses if possible. Do not engage the great Wyrm directly unless ordered otherwise by a royal or commander Bellarmont."

Arimand carefully observed the dancing flames speeding towards the Wyrm.
"Seems like Leolin wants to be part of that action. Well...he has yet to prove his worth. Godspeed to you two."

After managing the chaos left in their ranks, Arimand saw the buildup of energy inside the monster's mouth and could only think "That can't be good" before it fired.
As the debris rained down around them, he quickly pulled leftover pieces of metal from the surrounding area to construct a shield above them. The largest chunks were stopped and as soon as the dust around them cleared it was apparent that the attacked generators finally failed.
"Queen Blanca, please make sure that it fires in the direction of the enemy next time. Your precious city won't last much longer otherwise."
Although Arimand was being sarcastic, he had no concerns for the city. As long as they could prevent the Argossians from reaching it, it didn't really matter how damaged it was.
Arimand placed the metal shield around them as cover, leaving them not as exposed for direct attacks.

As terrible as the battle was, Arimand couldn't help but admire it. As he carefully instructed struggling commanders what to do, improved morale with a few short sentences and moved troops back into position, he was in his element.
"They struggle so aesthetically. I hate to admit it, but this is why I joined the army. This is why I chose the military path. To see my enemies crumble before my tactical might. To leave them no chance, no weakness to exploit! To instill a false sense of hope and then watch it shatter all around them. To kneel before my brilliance and beg for mercy! Yes, I hate the cost of war. Yes, my greatest desire is to never be needed as a King again. But being part, no, leading the biggest battle this continent has ever seen, it is truly exhilarating! It's a slight shame that there will be no more conflicts as big as this afterwards...
I am enjoying this far too much, aren't I?"

As soon as Arimand snapped out of his (slightly sadistic) thoughts, another loud rumble came closer. "What is it this time?", he wondered before seeing the gigantic construct that is the War Engine. "Huh, impressive. Another surprise they have to offer, another indicator of their struggle. In the end it is all futile...especially since it is built out of metal."

With a slight smile, Arimand sunk into his thoughts once more.
"A perfect plan...That would have been indeed a wonderful thing. But every good leader knows that you can't plan for everything and that you need to adjust and adapt constantly. The ceaseless struggle, mastermind against mastermind, change of plan and change of battle. It is rather...beautiful to behold! I welcome these challenges, to learn and overcome them. Without them, these battles would be rather boring."

"Well then." The battle had nearly reached its climax and he felt it. "It is time!"
Turning to the telepath once more, he announced the following to everyone in a commanding position:
"Attention all commanders! The plan has been changed. Phase Two and Three will happen simultaneously. The frontline will not charge forward, but use the distraction to surprise them and retake what they can. Do not overextend! All commanders report if they are ready and in position. Once everyone confirmed that they are ready, I will initiate the next phases!"
Arimand gave some specialized orders along with the changes.
"Archers, attack when our troops emerge from the tunnels. Beware of friendly fire."
"All air units, be advised that the mana bombs you carry have a tendency to hit our own troops. Especially when they are going to be in the middle of enemy forces. Aim carefully!"
"William, please don't teleport our troops too close to the ginormous tank. Just the supply and reinforcements will be enough."

After he finished his orders, Arimand turned towards Iris.
"Sorry for ignoring you. I was rather busy managing all of our troops in detail. Please let me know if you have made any observations but wait for them until I am back."
With that, he headed towards his best friend Bob and prepared himself mentally to engage

The War Engine



( Athanas , . D O V E , TPBx , Kloudy , LazyDaze )

 

[LazyDaze]

IRIS BASTILLE

It was chaos, but it was organized chaos, manageable; however, at a moments notice the very gates of hell opened. A giant abomination appeared as it bore other monsters that ravaged both sides. Iris was no stranger to death, but the way the soldier died so unceremoniously, admittedly, shook her to the core. Off into the distance was another monster of a different kind. One of machine and ingenuity; in fact, no doubt the brain child of an Argrossian with too much time on his hands. Iris was like a deer in headlights...unaware of what to do in such a deteriorating situation. Maybe they were all destined to die after all. That was when a shield or metal surrounded her from a cascade of stray rubble that would have done heavy damage if not for Arimand's effort. As she looked up to thank him she saw something was different about him. Was he...enjoying this? Were all those soft spoken words just a mask for his innate nature? He effortlessly took control of the situation and responded without any hesitancy. He was not phased by it all. She was once again broken out of her trance with Arimand's orders to report any thing unusual, but before she could even respond he was off and she was alone.

"...This is not time to be relying on someone from another kingdom. We'll have to pull our weight too."

As if in response to that statement, her Ka glowed; it was a message from X.

So yeah my target is dead, and now I have an unconscious beauty all to myself. What a reward! Alas it's not meant to be...a hunk of junk is soon to tear us apart. Please inform Wysteria of our position and have her transport my unrequited love to safety. She'll do it if you promise to read her a bedtime story again. Thanks...of course this won't reach you if you're dead...that would be awkward.

Iris rolled her eyes after interpreting the short message, why didn't he use the telepaths for this she did not know. However, she was worried yet again as her eyes drifted back to the "hunk of junk" X mentioned earlier. How many lives would that thing claim? Would the Aces even be enough? Iris begrudgingly relayed the message to Wysteria and then drew her sword as she contemplated on the purpose the Royal Flush would be here. Even with the monster that arrived on the battlefield, they could not hope to do anything but influence the war. They were attacking indiscriminately and drawing the ire of both sides toward them. Well at the very least, they didn't have to worry about the generators if you were to look at it in a positive light...and as dangerous as the tank was, it seemed to be moving slowly. Still, a slowly moving city of death was still terrifying. Iris would just have to believe in her comrades.

--------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile

XIXIX VALENTINE|WYSTERIA BEACON

X placed his hands in his pockets and sighed. The battle was over even faster than expected. He was actually upset with himself for over estimating the time limit believing he should have set the limit to 2, or 3 minutes instead. He took a brief glance at Kaiden, who had confiscated the weapon...for himself perhaps? No matter, X knew he couldn't use it anyway. Then there was Athania, she was most likely done for the rest of this battle, it was already a feat to deliver the final blow in her condition. Nevertheless, something bothered X. After Ylsa destroyed the generators, she remained in the very spot aware that mages would be coming for her head. If he was being frank with himself, she had to have known it was a suicide mission. No matter how many mages she killed she would be no match for that manny mages, or an actual seasoned royal. Why-

His thoughts were interrupted by a foreboding sound and the sight of debris raining down upon them. X instinctively turned to Athania, who now lied unconsious on the ground. "Pssst, psssssssssst...hey get up. Debris is in the forecast....hey....*sigh* shit." X dashed toward her position and flung Athania over his shoulder certain that Kaiden could take care of himself. As soon as he looked up a boulder was closing in on their position. Although he didn't use much mana in the previous fight, he had to conserve as much as possible for the next phase...so he punched it, pulverizing the falling rock with a single swing. X flexed his hand appreciating the grueling physical training he underwent the past few years. It only took one glance at the rubble flying their way to realize this area was a lost cause. X mapped out a plan of escape by utilizing the larger pieces of debris and leapt gracefully from debris to debris until he landed on top of a building that had escaped the worst part of it. After doing a quick scope of the area, he laid Athania down gently and took a seat beside her as he relayed a message to Iris. He was not particularly exhausted; he hadn't done much at all in fact. Be that as it may, X still thought it important to rest before the next phase took place. The sounds of battle raged on; the sounds of battle ate at X's heart. He could only maintain his stoic expression as he looked across the battlefield in order to still his spirit. He wanted to fight for everyone, he wanted to aid the others just as he did here. Obviously, he could not be everywhere at once and he did not have the sort of power to do something of that magnitude without running himself into the ground. "...I'm pretty powerless aren't I," X said flatly to no one in particular as he watched the chaos ensue around him.

It took a few minutes but Wysteria finally arrived since she was already close to the Wyrm's position. She gracefully stepped off her cloud as she stabbed her butterfly sword into the ground. "...You summoned me," Wysteria said with the distain of a scorned lover. "I was enjoying the battle..."

"I'm sure you were," X said without looking at her. "How was the meal?"

"...Bland, though it had its moments of glory."

"...I see."

"...So, is this all I have been tasked with?"

"I see no greater honor than protecting a fellow soldier who fought bravery, accept speaking with you," X said with a mocking bow which made Wysteria's eye twitch before relaxing her features once again.

"Well then...we'll be on our way."

A long silence filled the air save for the cool breeze that passed through. Wysteria took a step toward her cloud, but then grabbed her spear and threw it toward Athania; however, it was promptly intercepted and disintegrated by X, who was now standing in between her and Athania with his radiating hand clasped around what was now just an imaginary sword. Wysteria smirked as two thunderclouds appeared on either size of X and flashed violently, each cloud shooting a powerful bolt of lightning at his position. She quickly realized what stood in it's place was her sword, now reconstructed and stuck in the ground relatively unscathed. Meanwhile she struggled for air as X's hand was now around her throat while X eyes crinkled as he smiled underneath his mask. "Congratulations, you managed to actually piss me off."

"Not like you will actually kill us. You don't have the balls," Wysteria said as she maintained a blank canvas despite the situation. Meanwhile, X's grip tightened dangerously around her neck as he continued to smile despite his actions portraying a darker emotion.

"Don't get others involved in our affairs." Wysteria tried to speak, but found it impossible to do so in X's grip. X listened to her rasped attempts to speak as he opened his eyes. He took a glance downward and realized her feet were now dangling in the air. After a heavy sigh he let her drop to the ground before turning away. She coughed violently as she knelt before him.

"She....she needed leverage to insure your defeat...y-you have to understand..."

"Don't involve others in our affairs," X repeated calmly as he met her eyes with his, looking down at her with a piercing ferocity. Fear spread across her face as her eye began to gloss over.

"I-I'm sorry....we didn't mean to do it. We're really sorry King Valentine please don't kill us!" X turned away without a word and then moved over to her weapon and kicked it toward Wysteria. She caught it, and used it to prop herself up.

"Make sure she's safe, and far from the battle. We'll rendezvous during the second phase afterward...I'm sure that machine is pretty interesting no? Plus if you help us win this war, I'll fight you blindfolded."

"Y-Yes we'll do a great job and make sure she's safe so we can play with that war machine. I'll do a good job I promise. S-so keep your promise too! Don't forget X, its a promise okay!"

Wysteria was happily muttering to herself as she promptly placed Athania on her now expanded cloud. At this point Wysteria would not be a threat to Athania anymore, and X knew that. He watched the pair fly off into the distance, taking a path other than the one she used to come here in order to avoid the Wyrm. X sat back down...observing the battlefield before it's climax.

TPBx Kloudy

 

[Kloudy]

The War Engine
(Valencia - Argossian Right Flank)

​

It was a marvel of modern engineering. The War Engine was a behemoth that trampled the crags and stony hills of the mountain valley's right side, bending and stomping nature to its will. The rhythmic hum seemed to reverberate through the earth like a slow and steady purr. It was magnificent... and terrifying. Perhaps not possessing the height of Three's wyrm, it did hold merit in spanning quite a long length and width, proving to act as more of a land crawler with its dual treadmill tracks eking it along slowly. Or perhaps it just seemed slow due to its magnitude. In reality, the machine had done well to cover the distance it had, carving a path across Diamond territory and across Hearts borders to deliver the final blow to Valencia.

Blackness gushed up into the air from its multiple exhaust vents, pumping poison into the atmosphere with little regard. It was outfitted with an array of weaponry, all poking out from gaps in the heavily plated armour that covered the giant. The rumble grew louder by the hour as it gradually loomed larger to those in the city, Valencia's defenders soon realising just how immense this construct was. Although hard to see from a distance, a pylon on the oversized glorified tank was apparently generating some kind of hemisphere barrier or field over it. While this field seemed to do very little in the way of blocked physical entities, judging from the way Argossian infantry and armour freely passed through the field, it was soon revealed that it actually rendered magical properties useless. Mages at the backline hurled long-range spells in its direction to little effect, most fizzling out soon after crossing the field.

The Argossian infantry, initially recoiling with shock from the sudden insurgence of Three's insectile hordes, now rallied with renewed zeal at the sight of their flag-tank. The mighty cannons that adorned it boomed, sank and rose in seemingly independent patterns, raining hell and shrapnel across the battlefield. It was mayhem, calculated mayhem. What didn't evaporate in the field was repelled hopelessly off of the War Engine's impenetrable armour and the hearts of Suits men sank in what felt like familiar defeat. Moral had taken a hit following on from the bug onslaught, and despite Arimand's best attempts, this was too much. They needed respite. They needed rallying. While the war goal was to repel the Argossians at Valencia to make them doubt the cost of this war, there was a large number of soldiers who could not help but doubt if this war was really worth the cost that the Suits Coalition was prepared to pay.

Arimand's Contingent
(Valencia - Inner City)

​

"This way, this way! Generator Three needs support!"

The leader of the group of mages, all 8's, Arimand had sent to reinforce the generators called to his squad, waving them to follow his lead. Weaving through streets, they eventually happened across the post-battle that had just occurred between Kaiden, Athania, the King of Clubs and a mage hunter. Somewhat thrown by this unexpected turn of events, the mages paused before raising their various staffs and weapons in a victorious uproar of approval for their devoted fellow suits. The golems behind them stopped too, unresponsively still as they waited for the mage guard to move once more. Approaching Xixix, the lead mage dropped to one knee as per the clear custom for royal etiquette. His squad did the same.

"Reporting in to reinforce this position, your Clubship, under orders of the King of Diamonds."

Before X could respond, another mage on horseback drew near breathlessly, jumping down and falling to his knees quickly, "Your Clubship- magehunters have broken through the walls-"

He was cut off as the leader of the mage squad hurriedly got to his knees and gestured for his men to follow, "We shall handle this, sire." He bowed and left hurriedly with his crew, making haste to catch up to the chaos they must be causing. His squad and the golems trudged along, ready for combat. Before long, they had arrived at the scene. Lloyd Einstadt was already facing off against a slew of opponents, so the mages lined up behind the magehunters, the golems moving forward to form a barrier between the range spellcasters and the Argossians. The mages began charging up spells to launch at their opponents, mana conducting in the air, before loosing their magic missiles and bolts of the arcane at once.

LazyDaze Mechking TPBx

Ace of Diamonds
(Valencia - Backline Skies)

​

The skies were cold. It was an odd feeling, and a slightly contradictory one. As a child, William had always wondered why the sky was so cold when heat rose. It was only until he had decided to teleport himself several kilometres up did he realise that the frigid wind accounted for more than he had anticipated. These days the skies were cold because he decreed it so. The fresh scent of cooled, damp air filled his senses. It was almost serene despite the horrors occurring around him at a constant pace. William was a soldier by nature, not even a commander. He stuck to the rules and he did his job. Nothing more, nothing less. Life did not need to be anything more complicated than that. But of course, Suits politics was never simple.

Bvvvm. Zzrrrh. Pshhooom!

When the Ace of Diamonds waved his hands, icy beams crossed his path in the sky and struck out any offending Argossians that dared challenge him. He was the Suits' air superiority. Skysteeds came in numbers, squadrons, fleets, but were all ultimately sedimented in blocks of frost to shatter back down to earth. Anti-air artillery guns had attempted to gun him down from the Argossian backlines, but he had left craters where they had stood too. His ability to teleport coupled with his extensive eyesight and his destructive capabilities as a cryomancer tallied up to the obvious conclusion that he was relatively invincible in his field. The Argossians had many feats of marvellous technology and grand designs of machinery, but none thus far had measured up to anything short of impressive when it came to aerial combat. William's monotonous expression almost seemed to grow more bored somehow, as if he were wishing for some kind of stimuli to make taking up this role in the battle plan worth it. He sighed. William did not enjoy battle as Arimand did, not that he knew that, but he certainly felt a partial emptiness in not fulfilling some kind of purpose. Almost as if he were the one frozen in time while the whole battle moved on without him.

A telepathic message. William frowned, shaken from his thoughts as a stream of information pushed them directly aside. Phase Two and Three were to be enacted effective immediately? The ace had no problem with this decision, albeit mild surprise did take form in the raising of one of his eyebrows. Why the rush? Looking down at the battlefield, he reminded himself to remind himself to look down more often. The Royal Flushe had apparently resurfaced, specifically with Three and her unsettling bug-antics. The giant wyrm was a daunting and rare sight indeed. Even William didn't envy the task Leolin faced in defeating it. With most of his own work fairly taken care of, William opened up a portal down to the backlines. He wasted no time in opening up a large portal, the exit manifesting itself behind the Argossian reserves camps. Swiftly, retinue after retinue entered and poured out through the master-flank portal as a slew of Suits infantry clashed against the surprised Argossian rearguard. So far, all was going as planned and once the last retinue of the army had gone through, William closed the portal as per his orders. With that done, he turned to face the battlefield once more. With his role complete, he decided to get stuck in and alleviate some of the pressure. Particularly of that with which this War Engine seemed to be causing.

"This battle is over. Victory must be close, I can sense it."

Talking more to himself than anyone, William was most shocked of all as his blood chilled in a strange mixture of irrational fear and irony. A hand had fallen across his shoulder and for the first time in his life, he felt the cold. He did not turn, nor did he move. He simply waited. In situations like these, instincts were everything. And although he could not sense whatever it was behind him that had decided to lay claim to his shoulder, he knew it was best if he did not act rashly. Eventually, the owner of the hand spoke. An older woman, it seemed.

"No, there is still more fighting to be done. You still have a victory to claim."

The voice was slow and malicious. William leapt into action and tried to whirl around to face his clear adversary, but his vision continued to spin with his movement and everything quickly went black. And then he lost consciousness.

 

[Coyote Hart]

Lloyd Einstadt
ft. Phantomsong and Mia

"Going to run off? Come back and fight, you puss--" Mia shouted at the magehunters as they made their way deeper into the city.

"Mia! Shut up!" Lloyd rounded on the sword, "We have enough on our plate already!"

Lloyd realized that his hands were ever so slightly shaking as he gripped the holster of his pistol. The swordsmen were slowly moving forward at him, so Lloyd slowly walked backwards and waited for the right 'tension' in the air, the moment that would be random enough to be unexpected in order to attack. Lloyd was well aware that backup had arrived to deal with the other Argossians, but this group of five magehunters seemed dead set on killing Lloyd. As such, Lloyd was dead set on killing them first, although it didn't help that now that both Phantomsong and Mia both knew the enemy, they were loudly discussing what to do.

"Look at the sword... they have a trigger on it... it seems really stupid. How do you not accidentally press it when you're engaging someone?" Mia asked.

"Y'don't put your hand on the trigger until you are ready to fire," Phantomsong explained, "I'm more worried about the way they are standing. What sort of fighting style are they using?"

"How do you have access to firearms? Aren't they banned?" Mia said in a confused voice, "No matter. I don't know what they are doing with their swords either. It looks like a stance that Fyodor would make when he wielded me. Bless his soul; I hope he's not in hell."

"What in scallywags?" Phantomsong exclaimed loudly, "Who in the--"

BAM! BAM! BAM!

At that moment, Lloyd decided that he mind as well attack, hoping that the magehunters were distracted by Phantomsong and Mia's discussion. With one move rehearsed in his mind, Lloyd turned his pistol to shoot all three bullets in the chamber, and afterward, let it clatter to the ground and simply drew another one, readying himself for whatever was coming at him.

"-- world is Fyodor?" Phantomsong finished.

"Shut up and let Lloyd concentrate," Mia said.

"Hey, answer the que--"

"Shut." Mia cut off Phantomsong before he could finish the sentence.

TPBx

 

[Mechking]

King Arimand and Bob


Arimands mind circled around the War Engine, searching for a weakness. It had a similar design to a tank and with it a few similar issues. He decided that the best point of attack would be its treads, disabling them meant that the War Engine couldn't get any closer to the city. This would essentially make it a massive "sitting duck" and restore some morale, hopefully.

"Bob, set down the crate, open it and hand me your shield. Then defend our position."
With that Bob finally released the massive wood and metal box onto the ground and revealed the metal balls inside. Then he handed Arimand his shield before brandishing his sword and moving into a battle-ready stance.

"Thank you, Bob."
Arimand took the big shield and moved a few steps away from everyone before putting it down and sitting on it. He pulled several balls out of the crate on the shield with him before he held his staff in his right hand and concentrated his left hand on the shield. With a deep breath, Arimand took control of the shield underneath him and slowly raised himself into the air while pulling some of the metal cover to shield himself. He had only done this a few times before and felt slightly uneasy as the distance to the ground grew further and further away until he reached a height that he deemed suitable. It was about 500m or 1500 feet from the ground and Arimand could oversee most of the battlefield from here. He saw the once orderly fighting, now devolved into calculated mayhem against planned chaos, as (nearly all of) the surprises from all the different factions are now revealed.

But most importantly, Arimand could see the War Engine in its whole terrifying might. Slowly moving forward, it crept over the landscape, uncaring for any obstacle in its way. As it unleashed its many cannons upon their troops, he wondered to himself:
"Why do they have such a thing? How did it get here? It was clearly not built on this continent, three years would not be enough for such a monstrosity. Truly a shame that we have to destroy it...Or do we? Maybe we find a way to capture it. But first...", Arimand flew closer, until he was just a few hundred meters away from it, "I would need to stop it!"

Having reached his destination and melting the metal balls into one mass, he launched it into the inside of the left tracks. As it slowly crept inside, Arimand tried to affect the reinforced steel that was covering the tracks.
"It has some tough armor, taking longer than normal metal to affect it. But something else is draining my mana."
Arimand intensified his casting, sending more mana inside of the machine since it seemed to weaken rapidly.
"The barrier! Of course! It has anti-magic properties. That is not good, quite distressing actually. I'll have to do as much damage as possible in the few seconds that I have."
As he finished his thought, the magic finally took hold on the inside of the left tracks. Molten metal ripped itself free and combined with the already molten balls, only to dive back into the wheels and machinery that they came from. They reached their destination, clogging up, destroying or otherwise damaging whatever they covered and cooled down again.

Having spent over half his total mana on one spell over such a small amount of time had quite the feedback. And it hit hard, hard enough for Arimand to lose the connection to all of his active magic. Even though he regained control two seconds afterward, all of the golems stopped for that time.
But more concerning, Arimand found himself without something to sit on.
1500ft (or 500m) in the air.
"Shit!"

He let go of the staff and focused on the shield plummeting alongside him. Accelerating ever faster, Arimand caught the shield and his magic flowed through it, letting it slide under him and slowly stop the fall, only narrowly avoiding a very painfully crash. With heavy breathing and a spinning mind, he flew back as fast as possible after he used his magic to retrieve his staff.

Shortly after, he arrived back where he started, worried faces greeting him as he stepped off the shield and wiped away some blood flowing from his nose.
"King Dornwe-"
"Don't worry, I am fine!" Arimand interrupted the soldier who wanted to know of his wellbeing.
With sweat slowly dripping from his forehead, messy hair and a slightly bleeding nose, the King looked anything but fine. Alas, he didn't care about himself right now.
"That thing has a magic draining shield, inform the others. Now!"

 

[Kloudy]

The Suits Coalition Military

​

“Phase Two and Three are authorised. Notify the lieutenants and mobilise our forces.”

The commander mirrored the actions of just over a hundred others that were all acting under the operation of Arimand and Helmur’s design. Retinues and entire armies shifted and reformed their ranks to accomodate for the adjustment in strategy. The backlines withdrew from their trench to retreat into the city, lines upon rows upon waves of magical soldiers pouring back from the fighting to return pseudo-safely within Valencia’s wounded walls. The two central wall generators had finally failed, however the Suits Coalition was fortunate that William had managed to wipe out most of the Argossian’s effective artillery and aircraft single-handedly before disappearing. Even now, no one knew where he had gone, no one had seen him since the portals had spawned.

But despite this, armies continued to move with practiced certainty. The second line enacted their part of the plan with grim focus, determination for victory and survival burning in their somewhat desperate hearts. This was the make-or-break point. With the War Engine on the horizon and long range spellcasting proving useless, the average rank six could only hold dear his faith in their royalty for a solution. If they could repel the Argossian Empire even by this much, surely they stood a chance of defeating them?

Barriers went up and magic missiles flew of various elements. Fire, wind, water, earth, lightning, ice; pure mana. Argossians fell in droves, yet more filled their ranks as powerful bolter rifles charged heavy metal slugs into translucent walls. Insectoids scurried about indiscriminately pouncing on and eviscerating anything that moved. Tanks and smaller jeeps filled with the Empire’s squads raced across the battlefield, sowing chaos where possible and depositing troops where needed. Three’s wyrm charged up another beam and fired it into the Argossian ranks, raking their lines savagely as chunks of land was torn up and thrown afield. The fight for Valencia was truly underway.

“For the Coalition!”

“For the Empire!”

On the mountain ridges of either flank, an army of mage archers rose from hiding simultaneously. Long-range specialists handpicked from the individual retinues and armies the four kingdoms had to offer. Ten thousand on each side, twenty thousand in total, nocked their bows, charged their mana, readied their weaponry and otherwise prepared themselves for loosing. And loose they did, a rain of projectiles, mana bolts and various other unique magicks rained down on the Argossians and Three’s bugs at once. If it had been mayhem before, it was Armageddon now. It did not quite block out the sun, but the surprised screams and yells of pain and shock permeated the Empire’s ranks while squads of bugs fell silently to the bombardment that preyed upon them. A telepathic communication reached Arimand.

“Acting-Commander Dornwell, this is Commander Valeford’s envoy. Execution of Phase Two has gone successfully on our end, but my lord some concerns regarding that giant machine. Its weapons will soon be in range of this army. My lord requests permission to withdraw further up the mountain and to continue providing long-range support.”

Valeford’s concerns were not unfounded. Approaching from the right flank mountains but from the Argossian’s direction, the War Engine was now running parallel along the battlefield and indeed directly towards the archer army on the right flank. It’s arsenal of weapons were currently pounding the front and second lines, soon to encroach on the back line, but would eventually move into range of Commander Valeford and his army before then. The man had no issue dying for the Coalition, but he deemed it more valuable to conserve the strategic advantage his unit held in providing fire support for the troops down below. In any regard, the telepath awaited Arimand’s response in no contention that the King would provide him the right course of action.

Perhaps with impeccable timing, Arimand’s own telepath approached him with a bow and a worried expression, “Your Diamondship, there has been no response from the envoys in tunnels one and two.”

The information was a self-fulfilling question. Why were half the tunnels unresponsive? Because they lay on the left side of the battlefield, or more specifically, on Three’s side of the battlefield. It was very possible that the routes had already been infested and ambushed by that wicked woman’s children. Tunnels three and four had been fortunate enough to remain unscathed apparently, their telepaths reporting successful mobilisation. It was up to Arimand to discover the fate of those left in the first two tunnels that spanned beneath the battlefield.

The War Engine
(Valencia - Argossian Right Flank)

A loud groaning sound could be heard as Arimand executed his attack. Various Argossians tried to fire on the King’s flitting form as he soared over the landscape, but most of the rounds either missed or pinged uselessly off his mismatched metallic corrugation. As the molten slag melded with the front gear that turned the giant tank tracks, a series of steam releases and creaking noises came from the contraption. Isolated snaps were heard as pieces of the gear conflicted with other parts of the machinery within.

The War Engine stopped… for now.

Various engineers appeared from access ports across the machine’s side, rappelling down to investigate the cause of the disruption. The rumbling fortress could still technically move with its other tracks, but needless damage would only cause problems later. The commander of the vehicle decided with a few curt orders to his officers that they would mobilise again once the blockage had been dealt with. Valencia wasn’t going anywhere and their weapons were still in range of the Suits Coalition forces.

To that end, the commander decided to select his targets more specifically. The majority of their fire was focused on the Suits’ main infantry, but there were more strategic locations to bombard. A few potential command outpost bunkers caught his eye through the macrobinoculars. Some of the enemy leadership were likely to be hiding in there, giving orders from within the relative safety of stone and magic. He would show them the falsity of their believed safety. The armada unleashed its payload. The giant worm monster that had arisen on the other side of the battlefield was an obvious choice. It’s insect army was devouring his men by the second and it was somewhat of an annoyance. The guns blazed with self-righteous power. Another pocket of interest: a grouping of archers on the right flank that seemed to be contributing much to the bombardment of his soldiers down on the ground. Unacceptable. The cannons bore around to fire with extreme prejudice.

Atop the gargantuan contraption, Marillys and Ethan stood watching. Observing. Mariilys was a non-magic-using Argossian, so it made sense that he was unaffected by the Magicite Field. But Ethan was still a mage, and while he also seemed fine, there came about a dark aura over the location surrounding the War Engine.

The Royal Flushe
(Valencia - Frontline Left Flank)

​

Leolin was racing up to meet the Flushe at breakneck speed, and coming from an ace, that really meant break-neck for most. Three was too concentrated on controlling her bugs to pay him any attention, but Four was already more than ready to intercept her fiery foe. The stance she adopted seemed fluid and natural, knees bent with her centre of gravity slightly lowered. She smiled in that same graceful manner as if she were humouring a politician at a debate. At a certain angle, in a certain light and for perhaps only a second, it looked like a shark's grin.

“The Ace returns. To answer your previous response, I suppose you are right. We cannot see eye to eye, as it were,” Her courteous smile turned into somewhat of a smug smirk, “So allow me to show you something interesting instead.”

The beams of fire shot at her in quick succession. Instead of dodging them or activating any kind of magic, as mana neutralisation would not prove useful at this range, she merely swiped at them as if she were intending to slap them aside herself. The strange factor here was that she did so too early, apparently not with the intent of making physical contact with beams. It soon became apparent after a brief delay that this was another more unknown technique relating to the chi energies that martial arts often utilised at higher levels. An unseen force slammed into the tip of the beams as they flashed their way at Four, deflecting them off to the side as they disappeared into the sky. She remained ready to receive Leolin if he drew closer, hands poised for swift counters. What she lacked in speed and power compared to the ace, she made up for in experience and technique.

Meanwhile, Three was doing more than making frowny-faces at the distance and gritting her teeth in concentration. Her flyers were on the hunt and focused in on the two mages down on the ground. At least a hundred or so of the mutated creatures dove for Guin and Twig in unison, bladed arms presented with clear offerings of slicing and dicing. Three had learnt from her previous exchange with the Queen of Hearts and was more wary of pulling her bugs away should she notice a drain spell being used. The remaining flyers spread out in the air to get a wider coverage, Three hoping to catch Guin out supposing she tried to jump out of harm's way. If she could just defeat that self-serving bitch, this plan of One's may actually be worth something to her! The wyrm shook and shuddered as the War Engine's guns pelted its armour, but it didn't seem to be making too much of a dent so Three didn't have it react. There were more important matters at hand for her to deal with than to worry about an oversized metal box.

 

[BreezeCatcher]

Typhus Vont - 10 - Diamonds(ex)
Location: The Front
Action: Surviving

The Front collapsed under the combined assaults of the Royale Flushe and the Argossians war machine. And, while they had designed the front to do just that, they were collapsing at an uncomfortable speed for Typhus. The attack by the Royal Flushe had surprised everyone, Typhus doubted that anyone had calculated that they would show up at such a crucial battle. The giant wyrm that they had brought, along with the horde of man eating bugs, did little for the morale of the men around him. And then came the Argossian war machine. Typhus had seen nothing like it in all his travels, and couldn’t even begin to fathom how they would take it out. But they had to hold. The battle had just started and many of his weaker summons had already been taken out and were now recuperating in their soul crystals. Conserving his mana he refrained from summoning any more and instead focused on ripping the dysidia out of the air around him and creating noxious clouds of deadly pathogens that he sent out across the field into the Argossian formations. The deaths of those around him would fuel his onslaught. They had to hold, else the whole line would be destroyed. And Typhus was not yet ready to die.

Looking at the men that Helmur had gathered, the men he had fought with across many fronts, and seeing them waver along with the other troops. Somebody needed to say something. Dammit, where the fuck was Helmur?. That burly warrior who took offense at any slight. Would fight against any odds. They needed his inspiring presence right now more than ever. Typhus was not the man for the job, he could not lead men into battle. He had always been detached from those around him, and even with these men he had served with for so long, he still remained detached. But somebody had to say something, so with a shout he began his rallying cry. “What kind of sorry excuse of an army we look like, what Helmur would say if he saw the blunder we were in now. Why are we wavering now when the enemy is right in front of us, would Helmur show such fear in the face of such adversity. I’m more scared of what Helmur will say when he gets here than of what the enemy can do to us. Fight on you cowards, Helmur would kill us if we rout before he gets here.”

Athanas

 

[Xanto]

Kaiden Alderidge​

Time seemed to slow down . . until Kaiden suddenly dashed to his left as boulder crashed into the ground beside him. His gaze curiously shifted upward at the sound of more large debris falling from the sky. Rocks and dirt chunks of all sizes were raining around them, but that wasn't all. The two closest generators even gave out! Boom! A nearby building crumbled before Kaiden could give one last glance at X, who was now assisting the shadow mage. More dirt rained in the space between Kaiden and the pair as he adjusted the half mask over his face. Then, he mentally wished them luck and mysteriously disappeared before X could turn back.

Kaiden took off in a dash toward his airship, zig zagging through the debris. He would have stayed, but the other mage was already in good hands. Besides, some barriers were down. No doubt the diamond king was giving orders for the airships to provide sky support.

On cue, a sudden voice echoed in his mind. Both phases 2 and 3 were set to start once commanders reported they were ready and in position. On my way. Kaiden thought to himself as he dashed passed falling debris. It didn't take long for the voice to chime in again. This time, a note about mana bombs and aiming carefully.

The commander finally arrived by his airship with his half mask pulled off, only to be greeted by his own telepath, "Sir-." "Assuming you didn't bring your own parachute, Hudson," Kaiden paused, eyeing his assigned telepath before diverting his gaze to the noises in the sky. The sky steeds were now densely coming in fleets. He'd known the Ace of Diamonds held them off for a bit, but the next wave was really coming by the numbers.

"I uh-," Hudson began until Kaiden suddenly walked into the airship. The commander took a parachute from a rack with Hudson in tow prior to pressing it against the telepath's chest, "Take mine." Hudson nodded in thanks before shuffling his way through the golems and people in the airship. "Close the hatches!" Kaiden yanked a rope and handed it over to someone, while still carrying on with his stride, "Paratroopers in position!"

"Golems ready!" "Mana bombs ready!" Reports were yelled out around the airship by immediate officers under his lead. "Ready," The commander notified Hudson in a low voice. The telepath obediently sent his message that the unit was all set and in position. Within a few moments, Kaiden arrived in front of the crowd and sharply turned to face everyone behind him. "ATTENTION!" Thud! Soldiers got into form, halting anything they were doing . . not that there was much left to do since all was good to go.

The airship commander's shoulders were squared in confidence and his expression seemed more serious than ever. "In the perpetual words . .," His sharp gaze landed on a certain soldier, "Of a drunken bard." It didn't take long for a slight smile to crack Kaiden's serious expression as he glanced down. Meanwhile, few chuckles sounded out as the man referred to a fun gathering they all once had. There truly was nothing like bringing back good memories before battle. Kaiden looked back at his soldiers' faces with a confident expression, "Went the distance no I am not going to stop. Just a man and his will to survive. It is the eye of the tiger, it is the thrill of the fight. Rising up to the challenge of our rival. And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night and he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger." After a quick moment of silence, he bravely concluded with originality, "No victory is ever guaranteed . . but we didn't get this far to lose." Some soldiers fist pumped here and there, but others . . well, words could only do so much.

"OORAAAAH!" Kaiden roared the air force battle cry with fury. "OORAH!" His airship crew vigorously chanted in return. There you go. A simple "oorah" was all they needed to get their confidence boosted. "Hell yeah,"He casually mumbled as his soldiers moved at ease. "Phase 2 has been authorized," Hudson confirmed as his assigned commander tilted his head a bit.

A weird hum could be heard louder than usual. It was one that Kaiden's enhancing hearing caught, while the rest of the soldiers mildly riled each other up with mixed emotions. A machine. He thought to himself before glancing at its direction. "Machine as big as a city. Magic draining shield around it," The telepath reported directly after Arimand's message. How timely. Kaiden clenched his jaw before turning to Hudson, "Well then we better move fast." His head then turned to the side as he scanned the ready paratroopers, "Initiate lift off!"

In no time, their airship was up and moving in the battle field.