Darkness. Nothing but darkness.
That was what this silver-haired young man found himself in.
Surrounded by dark silhouettes of people, the young man holds his iron sword tightly
"What are you fighting for?" several disembodied voices chanted
"Huh?" the silver-haired man responded as some of the dark silhouettes attack
"What are you fighting for?" they chanted again as the young man cuts down several of the silhouettes
After cutting down a number silhouettes, a gigantic silhouette of a dragon emerges from the darkness
With 3 pairs of wings and several glowing red eyes, not to mention the sheer size of the creature, the young man couldn't help but tremble as this gigantic beast unleashes a loud roar.
"Do you truly believe in your cause?" the dragon said in a twisted voice as it unleashes a gigantic fireball upon a crowd of silhouettes, annihilating them.
"What is real? What is fake?" the dragon said as he attempts to eat the young man "Who are YOU?!"
The man screams as he charges towards the dragon
The young man quickly opens his eyes.
He rises from his bed and looks around him, it was a small room
"Roan?" a female voice asked knocking at the door
"Come in" the man replied
A red-haired woman enters the room
"What is it, Lissette?" Roan asked
"A bandit raid" Lissette responded "Not too far from here"
"Another one? Where?"
"Lochfield Port"
Roan sighs. "I swear these bandits are getting more and more brazen lately… It's not right"
"I know… I guess the Queen's new policies only improved certain regions of the continent"
"Well… No use discussing about politics. Gather the other Sokols, we mobilize as soon as possible"
"Right!"
Lochfield Port, Northern Archanea
The small port town burns as the citizens scream and run from the marauding bandits
"Forget the small fry" a berserker woman commanded "Start taking valuables and loading them to the carriage. Those Royals are sure to arrive any minute"
The bandits then begin to break windows and steal whatever valuables they can find
In the outskirts of town, Roan arrives with 5 other soldiers.
"They don't waste time" Roan remarked "Marian. Scout the town and rescue anyone needing help"
"Ok" the dark-haired Pegasus knight responded as she flies towards the burning town
"Brine, Chris, Lorelei, Lissette. Let's move"
Entering town, the Sokols are immediately assaulted by the bandits
The white-haired war monk, Chris, charges forward and throws his hand axe at several bandit archers
The hooded outlaw, Lorelei, assaults another group with her iron bow
"Brine" Roan commanded as he incapacitates an attacking bandit "Support Chris and Lorelei! Evacuate any townsfolk if you find them!"
The brown-haired tactician nods as he clears a group of bandits with a wind spell while Roan and Lissette presses on further.
The duo continue to fight their way through town.
"These guys are well trained…!" Roan remarked as he fights a myrmidon and a thief with an iron sword
"Roan!" Lissette said as she blocks a surprise strike from a cavalier's lance.
"Thanks" Roan responded as he continues engaging the 2 bandits
Lissette quickly blocks the cavalier's thrusts with her iron lance and after some time, manages to pull him from his horse
The bandit attempts another series of attacks that Lissette easily dodges and hits the man's helmet with the wooden part of her lance, stunning the bandit giving him enough time to incapacitate him
Meanwhile, Roan manages to kick the myrmidon between the legs and punches his face, knocking him out.
The thief then unleashes a flurry of attacks on the young man, who narrowly dodges all of them
Lissette enters the fray and alternates in attacking the thief with Roan
But the young woman struggles to keep up with the thief's speed
Roan quickly picks up a rock and throws it at the thief
The rock hits his knee, causing him to lose his balance a bit
Lissette quickly swings her lance to the left, hitting the man's stomach with the wooden part of her lance
He recoils and Roan hits him in the head with the hilt of his swords
"These guys are tougher than the other bandits we've faced before" Roan remarked "They're not your regular band of bandits"
"Watch out!" Lissette said as she pushes Roan out of a fireball's path
A bandit mage emerges from one of the burning buildings and proceeds to cast fireball and lightning spells at the duo, who narrowly dodge all of them
Out of the blue, Marian sweeps down with her Pegasus, catching the bandit off-guard and narrowly missing him
The Pegasus knight then ascends as the bandit counterattacks with lightning spells
She quickly switches her iron lance with a javelin as she dodges one lightning bolt after another
Dodging the bandit's attacks, Marian carefully aims her javelin
After dodging a lightning spell, the Pegasus knight throws her weapon
The bandit attempts to cast a lightning spell on the weapon but his book fails to cast it
With no time to switch books, the bandit jumps out of the way, narrowly dodging the javelin
Before he could grab his wind spell book, Marian quickly closes the distance and points her iron lance at the bandit, who surrenders.
After restraining the bandits, the trio moves on
They soon reach the town hall
Waiting for them was a female berserker, armed with a tomahawk.
"You, Royals, came faster than expected" the woman said with a condescending tone
"Who are you?" Roan asked "Are you the leader of these bandits?"
"Bandits?" the woman responded with a laugh "Are all you Royal army boneheads really this oblivious?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the policies our little 'Queen' has passed. You think everything she does is for the benefit of this kingdom of ours?"
"The Queen is doing her best for the people! What have you done? It's because of criminals like you that parts of Archanea are still in turmoil!"
"Naïve little bastard… You're all blind. Can't even tell the difference between King Richard's policies and Queen Lani's 'reforms'!"
The woman charges at the trio, alone
She throws her tomahawk at Roan, who dodges it, embedding the weapon to the road
Marian charges forward and attacks the woman, who easily dodges all of her attacks as the woman kept on running to the tomahawk
With the berserker getting closer to her weapon, Lissette steps forward and attacks the bandit
The bandit jumps, dodging Lissette's lance and presses forward.
Marian turns around and goes after the bandit once more.
But the bandit manages to grab her tomahawk and parry the Pegasus knight's attack.
Roan also charges forward but the bandit easily parried or dodged his strikes
Despite the trio attacking the bandit at the same time, the berserker proved to be a capable fighter, parrying and dodging all of their attacks
"Tch" the bandit said as she spots the other Sokols running in the distance "More Royals"
She then signals her men to attack with some archers targeting Roan, Lissette, and Marian.
"They're loaded ma'am!" one of the archers shouted
Grinning, the berserker and her accomplices retreat back to a carriage, filled with stolen loot, and drives off into the nearby forest.
Roan and the others attempt to give chase but the remaining bandits blocked their path.
"Marian!" Roan commanded "Go after them!"
"On it!" Marian responded as she gives chase
Dodging arrows and javelins, the Pegasus knight maintains her pursuit
She then notices something moving fast through the trees
Seconds later, a wyvern bursts through the woodland and engages the Pegasus knight with a steel axe
Marian struggles to hold her own as the wyvern rider demonstrated superior skill and speed.
He then brings out a hand axe and throws it
Marian instinctively dodges but notices, too late, that the berserker woman threw her tomahawk
The Pegasus knight scrambles to dodge but she wasn't fast enough as the weapon injures her Pegasus' legs
"Ina!" Marian exclaimed as her Pegasus cries in pain
The wyvern rider then flies past her and grabs the tomahawk midair
"Leave now" he said in a deep menacing voice
Having little choice, Marian retreats
"I'm sorry, Captain" Marian reported as Chris heals her Pegasus "I was attacked by a wyvern rider and-"
"It's ok" Roan interrupted "Good thing you retreated. I would have ordered you to do the same. Thanks to that, you and your Pegasus are safe and sound"
Marian blushes and smiles. "Thank you, Captain"
"We managed to capture some of the bandits, at least" Lissette said
"Yeah…" Roan responded "But we need to double our efforts to maintain the peace"
As Roan looks at the damaged town, someone calls him.
"Captain Roan!" a young man said as he emerges from some buildings on horseback
"A messenger?" Roan wondered "What brings you here?"
"I have a message from the Queen, herself" the messenger replied "She requests your presence immediately"
"What for?"
"I was not told why"
"Alright then. Lissette. Have everyone pack up and get ready. It's a few weeks of walking to get back to the capital"