Fantasy The Nature of Ice

[Dragonborn1]

“I’m glad to celebrate the anniversary of what I have made with my citizens” The Emperor has everyone enthralled by his words Glacier’s eyes sparkled with the blue hue of the hologram.
“We’re all united together now and forever. Long live this glorious Empire! No evil shall come to harm you.”

A guard nearby munched on a fried pastry with a friend. The fried food crunched under each bite the dragons chin covered in crumbs.
“I feel guilty for eating these…”

”It’s a celebration! were allowed to eat fried foods once and a while.”

”I guess.”

A swoosh followed by a breeze made the guard jump their friend who was just a moment of go speaking, was now lying motionless.
The guard began running only to be shot in the back by a rebel.
After the action has been done two rebels stuck to the darkness. They stopped within an alley about a throwing distance away from the hologram. They both carried bombs lighting the fuses with their fire and sent them sailing. They clattered by the screening device rolling idly as the fuse hissed down. Then…

KABOOM!

The hologram fizzled and disappeared a pile of metal and wires sparking in its place. The crowd all around Glacier and Origin rushed in different directions Glacier being bumped and the momentum almost toppled her over. Then there were screams that turned her attention to guards falling. Loud pops of gunfire sounded as fellow guards were felled. Glacier grabbed Origin’s arm tugging her to somewhere safe.

Heading in a random direction she was gonna help her fellow guards seeing a few getting in formation. She skidded on a halt as another bomb was tossed in that direction.
”GET DOWN!”

Glacier tackled Origin just as the explosion incinerated any dragons nearby. Debris rained down upon the two dragons.
She found a rebel targeting them and pulled Origin behind a stand selling food. Gunfire ripped into their cover destroying it piece by piece. When looking at Glacier, Origin could see her breathing heavily.
She muttered something under her breath.
”Don’t show weakness don’t show weakness”

She took a deep breath in and out, opening her eyes right when a rebel rounded the corner. She grabbed their firearm, bullets flying wildl, some smacking the cobblestone near Origin.
Glacier and the rebel were engaged in melee Glacier using a peice of rubble to smash it into the rebels ribs.

 

[Thanny]

The middle of the ceremony was dressed in lights, the crowds cheerful and festive. Nothing seemed to be wrong in the world, but there was something off that perforated the air or the feel of the surroundings. Something unhealthy. Sickening, even. She did not even associate it with the loss of life.

Origin noticed two spheres rolling in to the central pedestal where the hologram stood. They looked harmless, like twin balls with something on them. Pinata balloons, she thought to herself, having never seen anything akin to them before, but was sorely shocked when the central pedestal exploded in fiery wrath with a loud boom.

She fell amidst the crowd as everyone scampered to safety. They were under attack! She could hear the pops of rifles and pistols and the sharp cries of their victims. This surged a new, blooming terror in her chest as she wanted to tuck into a ball, but Glacier didn't let her do such folly. Instead, the two ran to duck behind a vendor's booth, slipping in with the candied meats and party popcorn, and waited.

"Don't show weakness. Don't show weakness." Those words, light as they were, came from her companion. Vitalia could only stare as Glacier steeled her nerves for what was to come and launched out, catching an opponent's weapon.

Glacier's opponent, Dim, caught off-guard as he was, panicked and had his finger slip onto the trigger without a proper shot. Bullets sounded out, ricocheting or embedding themselves nearby, causing Origin to yelp. The rebel fought to seize control of the weapon again, but was sorely outmatched in terms of brute strength.

Punched in the ribs with something hard knocked the wind out of his lungs, but he had cloth armor on, and it was nothing grave. He snarled and tried to give a forceful frontal kick to Glacier's stomach. Gain some distance by having her let go and firing at her then -- that was the idea, but doing such broke his once-firm root on the ground. If Glacier instead rushed him instead of falling back, he would be knocked to the ground, winded.

Sanctus dealt with another guard in the meantime, finding his knife more effective in dealing with these close quarters with so many scurrying townsfolk. The square was emptying, but there were still cowardly rats running hither and thither. To think he once lived here with such individuals. Pah. After dispatching the guard, he was ready to move on and kill the other one that was next to Glacier that Dim was occupied with, but a flash of metal caught his eye. He ducked and dodged uncannily to the right as a bident of a hay fork was thrust toward him by a guard with scintillating scales, one he easily recognised.

"You've got to do better than that, jailer," he chided, mouth twisting mockingly as he dropped the knife and drew a blade.

Shine looked back at him with hateful eyes, hands firmly gripped on the makeshift weapon. The wood was splintered, the two wrought metal tines bent from consistent use. He did not stand a chance making this his go-to weapon for the long-term, but a spear is a spear. Gulping, squinting, and yelling, he leapt forward into battle.

 

[Dragonborn1]

The middle of the ceremony was dressed in lights, the crowds cheerful and festive. Nothing seemed to be wrong in the world, but there was something off that perforated the air or the feel of the surroundings. Something unhealthy. Sickening, even. She did not even associate it with the loss of life.

Origin noticed two spheres rolling in to the central pedestal where the hologram stood. They looked harmless, like twin balls with something on them. Pinata balloons, she thought to herself, having never seen anything akin to them before, but was sorely shocked when the central pedestal exploded in fiery wrath with a loud boom.

She fell amidst the crowd as everyone scampered to safety. They were under attack! She could hear the pops of rifles and pistols and the sharp cries of their victims. This surged a new, blooming terror in her chest as she wanted to tuck into a ball, but Glacier didn't let her do such folly. Instead, the two ran to duck behind a vendor's booth, slipping in with the candied meats and party popcorn, and waited.

"Don't show weakness. Don't show weakness." Those words, light as they were, came from her companion. Vitalia could only stare as Glacier steeled her nerves for what was to come and launched out, catching an opponent's weapon.

Glacier's opponent, Dim, caught off-guard as he was, panicked and had his finger slip onto the trigger without a proper shot. Bullets sounded out, ricocheting or embedding themselves nearby, causing Origin to yelp. The rebel fought to seize control of the weapon again, but was sorely outmatched in terms of brute strength.

Punched in the ribs with something hard knocked the wind out of his lungs, but he had cloth armor on, and it was nothing grave. He snarled and tried to give a forceful frontal kick to Glacier's stomach. Gain some distance by having her let go and firing at her then -- that was the idea, but doing such broke his once-firm root on the ground. If Glacier instead rushed him instead of falling back, he would be knocked to the ground, winded.

Sanctus dealt with another guard in the meantime, finding his knife more effective in dealing with these close quarters with so many scurrying townsfolk. The square was emptying, but there were still cowardly rats running hither and thither. To think he once lived here with such individuals. Pah. After dispatching the guard, he was ready to move on and kill the other one that was next to Glacier that Dim was occupied with, but a flash of metal caught his eye. He ducked and dodged uncannily to the right as a bident of a hay fork was thrust toward him by a guard with scintillating scales, one he easily recognised.

"You've got to do better than that, jailer," he chided, mouth twisting mockingly as he dropped the knife and drew a blade.

Shine looked back at him with hateful eyes, hands firmly gripped on the makeshift weapon. The wood was splintered, the two wrought metal tines bent from consistent use. He did not stand a chance making this his go-to weapon for the long-term, but a spear is a spear. Gulping, squinting, and yelling, he leapt forward into battle.

Glacier grunted letting go of her opponent. The adrenaline pumped through her veins sprinting at Rim using her shoulder to plow into him. Both fell to the ground, Glaicer reached over for the fallen weapon but felt a elbow hit her stomach to her stomach. She cried out in agony, recovering to use her arms to block incoming punches. One punch gets through and her world turns white. Then another punch, then another, Her head slams the ground after each impact. Her vision flashed white after each impact seeing through the pain to claw at Dim's face, leaving a nasty gash overhis muzzle that bled. While he backed off because of the pain, he gave Dim a kick to the face and weakly got to her feet. As she tried to stand her vision caught glimpses of Sanctus and Shine's battle.

Shine thrusts the makeshift spear to ward off incoming jabs and swings. Countering with an attempt to sweep his legs. If that didn't work he used the forks to snare Sanctus weapon to try and wrench it from his grasp.

"No wonder you were so easy to capture. The emperor was right about your kind, you cannot win."

He lunged with the makeshift spear if Sanctus was disarmed, looking to land the final blow...

 

[Thanny]

If there was one thing Dim knew what to do in a panic, it was acting brashly. In most situations, this was a bad thing, leading to hasty snap decisions that led him to failure. This was not so in the moment, hysteria lending its strength to his arms as he punched repeatedly. When one broke through, the other blows did too. It was working! However, his opponent raked a gash across his face that burned so intensely he could not help but withdraw. The kick to his face, however, was a sound one. Jarred, he raised a hand to his nose and found it bleeding.

But this was not the time for such foolishness! He needed a weapon! He searched the area for the gun which was knocked out of his hand. Coming up empty, Dim instead curled his fists into a ball. He was going to beat her senseless, even to death, if he could not find his gun to finish the job that way.

If Glacier had not stood up yet, he closed the distance with an aimed punch to the cheek, powerful and swift. If she was ready, he still would aim high to knock her back ground-ward with an uppercut. He threw too much force, however, and if Glacier would dodge Dim was open for a counterattack.

Sanctus, on the other hand, watched his opponent with deft eyes and kept his guard up with defter handwork and footwork. For handling a spear, distance was your greatest friend. For swords, closing the distance was key, but only when situational. Sweeping the legs met only air as he leapt above the spear, then he neared as Shine would have to correct the momentum. Shine did what he should do, withdraw to gain more distance, and Sanctus was back to Step 1, with the spear coming back at him. This time he blocked it with his sword, but Shine twisted it to entwine the blade with its two fork tines.

"You think you're so smart, huh?" he replied, holding the sword and pressing into the weapon to lock Shine up from moving. "If so, you should've picked a better weapon!"

He forced the weapon even further, and the makeshift spear's shaft would fracture at the tines. Slightly thrown off balance, Sanctus responded further with a horizontal slash left-to-right, hoping to score a good hit on the dragon's arm or torso. Shine's scales were strong. The armour outside it would prove stronger, but armor always has a weakness. It is just a matter of finding it, and currently Sanctus had the time to savour defeating his jailor.

 

[Dragonborn1]

If there was one thing Dim knew what to do in a panic, it was acting brashly. In most situations, this was a bad thing, leading to hasty snap decisions that led him to failure. This was not so in the moment, hysteria lending its strength to his arms as he punched repeatedly. When one broke through, the other blows did too. It was working! However, his opponent raked a gash across his face that burned so intensely he could not help but withdraw. The kick to his face, however, was a sound one. Jarred, he raised a hand to his nose and found it bleeding.

But this was not the time for such foolishness! He needed a weapon! He searched the area for the gun which was knocked out of his hand. Coming up empty, Dim instead curled his fists into a ball. He was going to beat her senseless, even to death, if he could not find his gun to finish the job that way.

If Glacier had not stood up yet, he closed the distance with an aimed punch to the cheek, powerful and swift. If she was ready, he still would aim high to knock her back ground-ward with an uppercut. He threw too much force, however, and if Glacier would dodge Dim was open for a counterattack.

Sanctus, on the other hand, watched his opponent with deft eyes and kept his guard up with defter handwork and footwork. For handling a spear, distance was your greatest friend. For swords, closing the distance was key, but only when situational. Sweeping the legs met only air as he leapt above the spear, then he neared as Shine would have to correct the momentum. Shine did what he should do, withdraw to gain more distance, and Sanctus was back to Step 1, with the spear coming back at him. This time he blocked it with his sword, but Shine twisted it to entwine the blade with its two fork tines.

"You think you're so smart, huh?" he replied, holding the sword and pressing into the weapon to lock Shine up from moving. "If so, you should've picked a better weapon!"

He forced the weapon even further, and the makeshift spear's shaft would fracture at the tines. Slightly thrown off balance, Sanctus responded further with a horizontal slash left-to-right, hoping to score a good hit on the dragon's arm or torso. Shine's scales were strong. The armour outside it would prove stronger, but armor always has a weakness. It is just a matter of finding it, and currently Sanctus had the time to savour defeating his jailor.

Glacier’s vision flickered between blurred and focused she put her hand over her eyes to rub them. Blood smearing across her claw. Right when her vision returned she saw the mass of a dragon charging!
Her cheekbone cracked under the weight of the punch the impact with the ground again rattled her skull as it hit cobblestone. Through the pain she crawled on the ground desperate to get away. Was this the end? She didn’t train hard enough and she’s paying the price.
Her eyes caught Origin still hiding behind the stall and right near her..a weapon! It appeared to be the weapon Dim has lost. Glacier stared at Origin and motioned with her head. She was telling her to slide the gun over..


Shine‘s eyes widened as the shaft splintered. He looked up to late as a sharp pain cut across his breast. He screamed in pain clutching the wound. Sanctus’s sword was then thrusted towards him, looking for a killing blow. Adrenaline pushed through the pain and he rolled out of the way. A glint of steel caught the corner of Shine’s eye a Sickle, most likely from a rebel. He grabbed the handle, feeling a rush of air behind him, and Shine quickily turned. He was aiming for Sanctus‘s neck, but went high and the blade caught his cheek! The razor edge cut through the flesh and muscle easily but now it was imbedded in his opponent. Yanking it free caused even more pain as Sanctus screamed. His cheek was torn open leaving a large deep gash. Through the gash, Sanctus’s teeth and tounge could be seen

 

[Thanny]

Origin watched in stunned horror as Glacier and the gunman crashed into each other like combatting waves. The gun dropped carelessly to the side as the two fought, near her foot. She had to do something! She couldn't just let this go on! But why wouldn't her limbs move upon order?

Move. Move! Come on, move!

When Glacier looked over to her and her frail attempts of invigorating herself, she felt guilty. She was no scrapper. She was a healer! But if she did nothing, people would die from the gunman, and first in line was Glacier. She couldn't stand by idle anymore.

Reading Glacier's motions, she glanced back to the weapon on the ground and let loose a kick of a leg in Glacier's direction, sending the weapon skittering off toward Glacier. She did not stop there, though. With a silent roar, she raised herself and, surprising herself, charged forward to the assailant, Dim.

Dim raised himself victoriously, aiming to deliver one smart final blow to Glacier, but he did not get as far as lifting his balled fist all the way above his head. An angry wall of dragon, plant, and earth slammed into his arm and had him fall to the ground. He landed hard, something crunching underneath Origin's mass. Dim knew it to be several of his ribs. His arms could not knock Origin off as she purposely kept him in place. There was nothing to stall Glacier now from delivering a coup de grâce except her own pain and the no-doubt jarring blows.

Glacier had ten seconds.


Sanctus allowed himself a grin as his blade struck somehow true. This guard must be more incompetent than he thought! Perhaps it was better not to waste time. Better it would be to bring down the hammer and end Shine's life with one blow.

"Goodbye, jailer," he said as he brought the weapon down in stabbing fashion, only to miss and receive a counterattack. He did not see the weapon and shielded the blow with his sword, but did not expect the blade to be curved. The sickle met the flesh of his cheek and penetrated it, grazing his upper teeth as the sword absorbed the rest of the blow.

Sanctus howled in outrage, the pain intense as he gripped Shine's outreached hand in order to free himself. The blood in his mouth mingled with the disgusting taste of used steel, and he grimaced down at Shine in disbelief once he tore himself from the blade and stepped back.

Disfigurement? From this filth? To him of all people? He would not let this affront go. He had to --

Merrimac stepped before him, a one-and-a-half sword readied to parry back any of Shine's attacks if needed. His face was somewhere between calm and agitation, but he did not take his eyes off of Shine. Sanctus looked up, half embarrassed and half enamoured.

"I leave you in charge for a moment and this happens."

That killed any semblance of elation Sanctus had, not that he could express it well with his new tear in his cheek. The dragon deflated upon these harsh words.

"Sanctus, get out of here. Get healed now."

"No, I have to kill him!" The words sounded garbled, slurred from the injury.

"I said get out of here, you slug! Leave this one to me or suffer more insult than you already did!"

"No! I'll kill him now, or nothing will matter!"

Merrimac paused for a few seconds, and Sanctus feared that the former would kill him as he stood, but Merri did not do such. Instead, he voiced, "Then we'll take him down together and bathe in his blood. Your . . . cheek will be punished later."

There it was again, the enchantment. Sanctus' smile twisted slightly on the small pun before he readied himself anew, sidestepping to attack Shine from the side.


Far from the battle, rebels were being taken down left and right through the agile efforts of an old man. He wiped away the ninth combatant's lifeblood from his sword with a handkerchief as he moved on to a new location. The square where it all started seemed like a promising place to go. It was the source of the first screams. With the flutter of wings, Snapjaw headed toward the battlefield where Glacier and Shine made their stand.

 

[Dragonborn1]

Origin watched in stunned horror as Glacier and the gunman crashed into each other like combatting waves. The gun dropped carelessly to the side as the two fought, near her foot. She had to do something! She couldn't just let this go on! But why wouldn't her limbs move upon order?

Move. Move! Come on, move!

When Glacier looked over to her and her frail attempts of invigorating herself, she felt guilty. She was no scrapper. She was a healer! But if she did nothing, people would die from the gunman, and first in line was Glacier. She couldn't stand by idle anymore.

Reading Glacier's motions, she glanced back to the weapon on the ground and let loose a kick of a leg in Glacier's direction, sending the weapon skittering off toward Glacier. She did not stop there, though. With a silent roar, she raised herself and, surprising herself, charged forward to the assailant, Dim.

Dim raised himself victoriously, aiming to deliver one smart final blow to Glacier, but he did not get as far as lifting his balled fist all the way above his head. An angry wall of dragon, plant, and earth slammed into his arm and had him fall to the ground. He landed hard, something crunching underneath Origin's mass. Dim knew it to be several of his ribs. His arms could not knock Origin off as she purposely kept him in place. There was nothing to stall Glacier now from delivering a coup de grâce except her own pain and the no-doubt jarring blows.

Glacier had ten seconds.


Sanctus allowed himself a grin as his blade struck somehow true. This guard must be more incompetent than he thought! Perhaps it was better not to waste time. Better it would be to bring down the hammer and end Shine's life with one blow.

"Goodbye, jailer," he said as he brought the weapon down in stabbing fashion, only to miss and receive a counterattack. He did not see the weapon and shielded the blow with his sword, but did not expect the blade to be curved. The sickle met the flesh of his cheek and penetrated it, grazing his upper teeth as the sword absorbed the rest of the blow.

Sanctus howled in outrage, the pain intense as he gripped Shine's outreached hand in order to free himself. The blood in his mouth mingled with the disgusting taste of used steel, and he grimaced down at Shine in disbelief once he tore himself from the blade and stepped back.

Disfigurement? From this filth? To him of all people? He would not let this affront go. He had to --

Merrimac stepped before him, a one-and-a-half sword readied to parry back any of Shine's attacks if needed. His face was somewhere between calm and agitation, but he did not take his eyes off of Shine. Sanctus looked up, half embarrassed and half enamoured.

"I leave you in charge for a moment and this happens."

That killed any semblance of elation Sanctus had, not that he could express it well with his new tear in his cheek. The dragon deflated upon these harsh words.

"Sanctus, get out of here. Get healed now."

"No, I have to kill him!" The words sounded garbled, slurred from the injury.

"I said get out of here, you slug! Leave this one to me or suffer more insult than you already did!"

"No! I'll kill him now, or nothing will matter!"

Merrimac paused for a few seconds, and Sanctus feared that the former would kill him as he stood, but Merri did not do such. Instead, he voiced, "Then we'll take him down together and bathe in his blood. Your . . . cheek will be punished later."

There it was again, the enchantment. Sanctus' smile twisted slightly on the small pun before he readied himself anew, sidestepping to attack Shine from the side.


Far from the battle, rebels were being taken down left and right through the agile efforts of an old man. He wiped away the ninth combatant's lifeblood from his sword with a handkerchief as he moved on to a new location. The square where it all started seemed like a promising place to go. It was the source of the first screams. With the flutter of wings, Snapjaw headed toward the battlefield where Glacier and Shine made their stand.

Glacier stood with her mouth slacked from what she witnessed. A Nature Dragon just saved her! Focus Glacier, focus!
She picked up the firearm for the first time feeling it’s weight before aiming it at Dim. Without hesitation she pulled the trigger, ending Dim’s life. In the aftermath of the brutal melee she helped Origin to her feet. Glacier’s right eye was swollen shut with blood drooling out of lacerations upon her forehead.
”Didn’t think a Nature Dragon had that amount of courage”
She complemented.

Glacier heard the impacts of steel against steel. A loud cry of Shine being cut made her eyes widen. Shine is fighting off two attackers, they circled around their prey attacking together in a strategy to kill him. Glacier aimed the firearm at Sanctus and pulled the trigger. The pistol clicked pitifully.
”Origin, I need you to get to safety.”
She‘s searching the body of Dim to see if he has a weapon, only finding a dagger, and Glacier grumbled.
Origin caught a glimpse of the dragons fighting against Shine.
Sanctus and Merry both fighting and winning against one of the guards of Oceanside. With the expressions she saw from them, they looked like they weren’t gonna show any mercy.

Glacier felt a pull on her arm as she was about to assist her fellow guard. She looked at Origin confused.
”Let go, Origin. You done enough. Get to safety.”

 

[Thanny]

Vitalia whimpered at the sound of a singular gunshot and the sensation of the body, once roiling, collapsing beneath her. She assisted in the death of another living being, a dragon. Was this right? She did not know. She did not partake in the meats of other animals out of the thought that she would be part of the reason for their deaths. This . . . was on a completely different level, and even though she was credited for courage she was not sure. At the very least, however, Glacier was alive. Her new friend was alive.

She rolled to her feet as Glacier loomed over the body. Origin attempted to see the commotion happening further into the square. Once her hand wiped tears from her vision, she noticed something eerily familiar about the once-blurry combatants . . . dreadfully familiar.

"Merri?" she murmured under her breath, eyes going wide. "Sanctus?"

It could not have been them, just others that were similar to the ones she knew when she was young. Was she losing all sense? That must be. Still, Glacier was moving toward them, and Origin did not have the verbiage to speak, just enough movement to grasp Glacier's arm as she attempted to encounter the rebels.

Thoughts blurred. Glacier spoke. Something about . . . safety? That she had done enough? Her strength waned as her arms fell to her side. Looking back to the fighters attacking the guard one more time, she again was unsure if it really was them. Then again, what if the Merrimac lookalike and the half-shrouded Sanctus clone were the real deal?

"Sorry, Glacier, but I'm going to pick this fight too."

Her eyes flickered toward her friend briefly, her smile shone wanly, and her feet moved forward. Gone were the thoughts of ducking underneath another vending stall in a quieter corner of the square, free from fights and fire. Instead she was stepping into the heart of the conflagration and raising her voice. Her arms once as limp as noodles cupped hands over her mouth to overcome the din.

"Merrimac von Furo? Is that you?"

Merri stopped before he could attack Shine anew, head shifting toward her so that he could espy her with one eye. Origin, against her sense of dread, did not let up.

"And Sanctus Screed of Creekbough Road of OceanSide?"

Sanctus gritted his teeth together even more than when he merely was in pain, the sword held out toward his opponent. Shine looked befuddled as the two froze up from the nature dragon, of all dragonkind, knowing their names.

"What happened to you to stoop so low?" she continued, tearing up, shaking her head. "To turn your swords on your own town, burn our homes -- is our friendship nothing?!"

She fell forward on her hands and knees, sobbing, while the rebels looked at each other in uncertainty.

"What do we do?" Sanctus asked lowly.

"Nothing different," Merrimac replied. "Kill the guard and go away. Let--"

Shine seized the moment and slashed at Merrimac's hand to disarm him, not afraid of a little dishonor or hatred from a civilian in comparison to all of their lives, but Merri parried the blow by raising his sword vertically. Shine knew he messed up. The blade in Merri's hands spun upward and was readied to be dropped, with no chance of parrying in time. The blade fell--

CLANG.

--and met the fine blade of a captain of the guard who descended from the sky with a skid. Below the white-steeled rapier, pushing back with mirrored force, was the venomdragon called Snapjaw, his mouth twisted in a lopsided old-man grin.

"A fine move with a fine blade, youth, but I cannot let more of my protege fall to your ilk."

Both rebels dropped back with weapons high and readied, recognising him from earlier. Sanctus pondered what happened. Where Snapjaw was supposed to be there were fifteen rebels established. Were they all taken out?