Breeze stood atop the wall of the fortress, an even expression on her face as she stared out into the darkness. It had been a few long hours since she had arrived alongside Jia. She had gotten word from some of the scouts Oswald had sent out there were signs of rebel activity out here, and so she'd headed out to see for herself.
Most of the others didn't think it was much of a problem, and honestly she didn't blame them. This fortress, while well fortified thanks to the efforts of the knights stationed here, wasn't considered all that important. It wasn't positioned near any of the kingdoms or noble houses, nor was it located near any area of strategic value. Even if there were rebels out here, there was little reason for them to bother with this place.
But she hadn't been so sure.
Call it experience or intuition, but she had a feeling that by tonight they were going to end up having to put this place's defenses to the test. She heard a loud screech, and then looked up to see her eagle, Peak, landing down on the wall beside her. She reached up and patted the side of her face. "Did you spot anything girl?"
Peak cooed lowly, and Breeze hummed. Peak didn't seem to see anything either. Perhaps she was just being overcautious. Still, she'd prefer being overcautious and wrong than being careless and regretful.
"Hey Breeze."
The captain turned her head and saw Jia approaching her. Sol was perched on her shoulder. Peak knelt down and the two birds gently nuzzled one another. She then leaned over and nuzzled Jia who giggled. "Jia, what are you doing up here. You should be down by the fire. It's cold." She didn't want her catching a cold or something.
"Sol keeps me warm," Jia said, shrugging her shoulders. "Besides, you're up here."
"I'm used to the cold." Winter in the Johansen kingdom was always pretty chilly. And compared to some of the other places she'd been to and camped out at, this was really nothing. She turned and looked back out into the distance. There was a forest not too far from here. A good place to provide cover for an oncoming attack.
Jia hummed and leaned over the wall. "You really think there's gonna be an attack?" she asked looking up towards her. "It's been pretty silent. And Sol doesn't sense anything."
"Just because you can't sense something, doesn't mean it isn't there. Being overcautious may seem silly most times, but the times it pays off could be the difference between life and death," Breeze lectured. Jia nodded. Breeze had been at this a lot longer than she had, so she probably knew what she was talking about. She sighed before looking back out once more. For now, all she could do was keep watch.
But unbeknownst to her and the others, they were being watched themselves.
Mailmith grunted as he looked up towards the lieutenant of the Queensguard. He certainly hadn't been expecting to see her here when he arrived to take this stronghold. After all, it was small and out of the way compared to most of the other posts he could have targeted. But that's what made it ideal for his plan.
He'd wanted to capture a few knights and get some information out of them. And while this place was well fortified, it was far easier to surround and cut off communications. It would take some time to bring down, but the results would be worth it.
"Sir, how should we proceed, my lord?" Mailmith looked down towards his underboss, Rag. "The appearance of one of the Calamities changes things, does it not? Perhaps we should hold off on the attack until she takes her leave." The fortress was already going to be a challenge to take, but with her here, it was going to be that much harder.
He hummed, staring back up towards the fortress. "We'll proceed as planned," he said simply. "This is unexpected, but it could work in our favor. By the end of the night we'll have both the fortress, and the head lieutenant of the Queensguard." Not to mention they'll have wiped another of the corrupt royals from the face of mewni.
Rag nodded, and then looked back towards the rest of the Steel Insurgents. He gave a signal which they all nodded and began giving to the ones behind them. "Let's begin…"
Breeze kept her eyes locked on the forest, doing her best to scan for any signs of activity. Just as she was about to decide to take a break and put something on her stomach, she saw something. A fog began making its way out of the thick cover of the trees. Her eyes narrowed.
"What is that?" Jia asked, confused. It looked creepy. Like something out of a horror movie. But she didn't know if random fogs like that were normal.
Breeze grunted. "Trouble most likely…"
Jia looked towards Sol and nodded, and the phoenix took off from her shoulder and flew dowards. He grew, spreading its wings and sweeping past the fog. His wings began to glow bright, sending back the fog and revealing a number of figures making their way from the forest. "That's not good…"
"Go down and tell the others to prepare for battle. We're under attack," Breeze said nudging Jia. The girl nodded and signaled for Sol to come back, then rushed back down to go tell the others what was going on.
Mailmith looked up at the bird with slight annoyance. He didn't like his fog being dispersed so easily. But it didn't matter at the moment. He kept walking forward, his eyes locked onto Breeze. "Well, the Impact of the Four Calamities. What an honor it is to finally meet face to face," he said, smirking.
Breeze looked down at him carefully. From the way he looked at his armor, not to mention the weapon he carried at his side… "Am I to assume that your Mailmith the Dragon, leader of the Steel Insurgents?" she asked.
"You know of me then? I'm honored."
"I make a personal note to keep track of all the scum I'll have to clean up in mewni."
Mailmith chuckled. "There's the sharp tongue you're known for. Use it as much as you can. You won't have long before I cut it out of that arrogant head of yours," he said grabbing his axe. "Insurgents!" He raised his weapons in the air, and the fog began to vanish, revealing the rather large number of warriors behind him.
They all shouted and raised their weapons, stomping their feet as they chanted. Some of the knights posted atop the wall looked shocked. They were easily outnumbered by the rebels, and they could see that they had catapults and rams at the ready. The alarm in the fortress went off, and all the knights below began scrambling about to ready their defenses.
"What is it that you look so nervous about?" Breeze asked, getting the attention of the watchmen on the wall. "Is it their numbers? Perhaps their weapons? It certainly can't be that ridiculous chant of theirs, can it?" she asked curiously. She raised her fist up, which was glowing bright. All the knights on the wall and those down below looked up at her.
"We have no need to cower in the face of these lot! We're knights of the Queensguards! Their numbers mean nothing, because each and every one of you is worth a hundred of their own! You've trained harder, and you fight for a far more noble cause! We have absolutely no need to cower in front of these fools! We're the shields of mewni!"
The concerned expressions on the knight's faces slowly seemed to fade at her words, and they were replaced with looks of determination. They all hurried even faster to their positions. The archers on the wall notched their arrows and took aim, and knights before began to reinforce the gates.
Mailmith hummed. She had managed to rally her men rather quickly. He could understand why the Guard was left in her hands during Astro's disappearance. "Men, we're going to crush that hollow resolve of theirs! Launch!" He pointed his axe forward, and catapults began to launch, sending a large boulder towards the fortress.
Most of them smashed against the walls of the fortress, which managed to hold. But two of them sailed over the wall and towards the courtyard. Breeze leapt up, her fist still growing brightly, and punched one of the one in the air, smashing it into dust. "Peak," she yelled back.
The giant eagle let out a screech, soaring through the air and catching the boulder from the air. She went high into the air, hurling the boulder towards one of the catapults. It smashed into it, and Mailmith pointed towards Peak, signaling his arches to take aim at the bird. It managed to avoid the storm of arrows that follow, and the men began reloading the catapults.
Before they could, some of the knights on the wall began firing the ballistas towards them. Most of them couldn't quite hit their target, but a few managed to destroy them. Breeze looked down to find Jia and told her to go call for backup. She knew there had to be a patrol of other knights nearby, but the girl was nowhere to be found.
She suddenly saw a bright flame shoot up into the air, and turned to see Jia riding on Sol's back. The phoenix was flying low to the ground, his tail blazing fiercely as he dragged it across the line up of catapults, setting them all ablaze. Jia yelled and held her fist up, as they soared by, destroying the last of the catapults.
Her cheers stopped however when she suddenly saw Mailmith leapt in front of them. He swung his battle axe, and Jia ducked just before he managed to take her head off. Mailmith landed on the ground and slid a few feet, swinging again, and sending a slash of flames towards the two.
Before it could reach them, Sol vanished, taking teleporting both himself and Jia back up to the top of the fort's walls. They landed and rumbled forward, and Breeze looked down at the two with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't tell you to do that…"
Jia smiled up at her. "Well, I figured I'd be cautious and deal with those catapults before they got in. Like you said, right?" she asked.
Breeze knew she should have lectured her for being too reckless, but she couldn't help but feel a tinge of pride in what she had pulled off. She smirked back at her. "Yes well, try not to make too much of a habit of it," she said.
She suddenly heard a loud crashing noise, followed by the wall shaking. They both looked down and saw that a couple of the Insurgents had managed to make their way to the gate, and we're using a battering ram to smash against the door. Breeze cursed under her breath. At this angle they couldn't bring them down with the ballistas. The best they could do was drop something right over the wall.
"Anyone not working a ballista starts finding any heavy or painful! Once you hear Peak give the signal, then rain hell down on them!" she said as she began walking off. "Sol, I need you to go and find the nearest patrol and lead them here. Jia, come with me. We're going to go help the others greet out uninvited guests." Her squire nodded and quickly followed after her, while Sol took off into the air.
Down near the gates, a number of knights were already waiting and ready for battle. The ones in the front all had large shields, ready to defend and push back the invaders. The entrance of the fort was long and narrow, so even if they busted through, they wouldn't be able to overwhelm them at once. The entrance itself would funnel them in, and as lost as they held the line, they could keep them at bay.
Breeze and Jia walked up and saw the top ranked officer among the knights stationed at the fortress, a bear beastskin by the name of Tem. "Lady Breeze. It seems your suspicions were right. We're going to be in for quite a battle," the beastkin said, grabbing the large broadsword at his side.
"Seems we are," Breeze said slamming her fist together. Jia pulled her own weapons out and got ready. "They're putting in a great effort to get in here. We'll have to give them a proper welcome."
Outside, Mailmtih made his way up towards the door, flanked by Rag and his other underboss, Beron. "Alright men! There's a pack of the Queen's loyal hunting dogs crammed inside of this fort! Tonight, we're going to put them down! Lets send the Queen a message by taking the head of her guard and a royal in one fell swoop!"
The men all yelled, and with one final cry the men using the battering ram knocked the gates open. They began pouring into the narrow entrance, weapons raised and ready for a battle. But suddenly they heard a loud crash, and a number of the Insurgents went flying. Mailmith frowned and looked forward to seeing Breeze standing at the head of the knight's forces, her fist glowing a bright red.
Beron growled and reached for his weapon. "My lord, please allow me to-"
"No, I'll be the one to deal with her," Mailmith said, making his way forward. While he appreciated the enthusiasm, he knew Breeze was someone beyond Beron's ability and skill. And besides, he wanted to end her himself. "Focus on helping the others break the line. Our numbers will mean nothing in this narrow entrance."
Beron nodded, and then Mailmith rushed forward towards her. Breeze ran to meet him, but just as it looked like they were about to clash, Mailmith smirked and suddenly leapt up. Flames fire from his feet, boosting him up into the air and over the line of knights defending the entrance. He brought his axe back, ready to send a wave of fire at them, but Breeze focused her Impact ability on her feet and jumped forward.
She shot through the air, tackling him and sending them both towards one of the upper levels in the forts. Jia looked after her, looking like she wanted to chase them, but Tem's booming voice snapped her back into reality. "Focus little one! Lady Breeze can handle herself! We must hold the line!" he yelled. Jia still looked concerned, but nodded and brandished her own sword.
Up where Breeze and Mailmith were, the two slid against the ground, but quickly rolled up to their feet. Mailmith shouted as he swung his axe towards her, not trying to give her a moment to relax, but Breeze managed to stay just out of reach from him. "Stand and fight Red Fist! Or is fleeing simply in the royals DNA?!" he taunted.
Breeze slipped underneath another one of his attacks, punching at his chest. He spun out of the way, though her fist skimmed his side. He could feel just how much destructive power was behind it. "The one who should consider fleeing is you," Breeze said, getting into her fighting stance. "Any chance you had of claiming this fort was lost the moment I arrived here."
Mailmith scoffed, sending a blast of fire at her. Breeze jumped and rolled out of the way of the attack, taking cover behind a wall nearby. "Your forces are outnumbered! Once we break through the main entrance, you'll be overrun!" Mailmith said.
"That won't happen, because your forces are clearly outmatched!" Breeze said running from behind the wall and rushing him. Mailmith fired at her again, but she leapt up and kicked off of the wall nearby, soaring through the air before kicking at him. He raised his arms up, but was knocked backwards by the blow.
Quickly rolled back up to his feet, he swung his axe upwards and sent another wave of flames at her. Breeze once again dodged before running in towards him again. His fire magic was making this tricky, but she had to try and get within his reach. The advantage of her having no weapons was when once she got within range and dodged it, she'd have a bit opening. Especially with something large like an axe.
Mailmith however knew this, and kept using his flames to keep her at a distance. "Today I take one step closer to avenging Vigo! I don't know where you precious master Asterossa had been hiding as of late, but I imagine that he'll be forced to show himself once I slay you!" he yelled, swinging down at her.
Breeze blocked the attack, catching the weapon just before the blade. But her eyes went wide. "Vigo?" That split second of hesitation gave Mailmith an opening, he lifted his leg and kicked her right in the chest. She grunted as she fell back, falling to one of the lower platforms.
She didn't even have time to groan before Mailmith jumped after her, swinging the axe down right at her head. She quickly rolled to the side and used Impact to knock her up off the ground, landing gracefully on her feet. "And just why would you want to avenge that murderous piece of filth?" she asked, glaring.
Mailmith growled. "You were the ones who murdered him! Asterossa struck him down for daring to rebel against you and your corrupt way of rulings! Vigo fought for those who the kingdoms left behind and forgot!" he shouted before charging at her. "I will not let the injustice of my father's sacrifice and will simply go unanswered."
Breeze looked slightly surprised. "Father? Well, that explains how you turned out as twisted as you are," she said blocking another strike from his Treebane. "Vigo was a crazed and evil murderer! Someone who tried to kill someone close to us! That's why Astro did what he did! To avenge her!"
"Don't speak as if his actions were taken from a place of nobility! A royal saw someone standing up against them, and he slayed them! As is your wont!" Mailmith pushed her back, swinging Treebane and sending another slash of flames. Breeze lifted her hands and blocked it. It sent her sliding back, and even under her arm she could feel the intense head prickling her skin.
His flames were nothing to scoff at, and he could hold his own in close combat as well. This was going to be difficult. She looked down towards the entrance. The wall of knights were still pushing back the rebels. Tem, Jia, and some of the others all seemed like they were holding their own. But she knew they couldn't last forever.
She had to finish this and get down there to help.
"You don't have the luxury to look away from me, royal lapdog!"
Breeze quickly turned back around and ducked, a few strands of hair being sliced off as Treebane sailed over her head. She glared and rose back up, closing the distance between them. She grabbed his wrist and then flipped him over her shoulder, Mailmith tried to jump back up to his feet, but she kicked his side, sending him rolling.
Breeze leapt up, her foot suddenly glowing, and then stomped down at him. Mailmith shot flames from his own feet, pushing him out of the way. "I don't have any more time to spare with you," Breeze said dangerously. Every second she wasted here was a second her forces were risking their lives. "If you miss Vigo so much, I'll send you to him…"
Mailmith growled and then raised his hand, sending a large intense blast of flame that nearly covered the entire platform. Breeze had leapt back, grabbing a rock as he made her way away from the blast. Her fist glowed and she turned around, hurling it towards him. It broke through the flames, and Mailmith went wide eyes when he saw it speeding towards him. He moved his head to the side just in time to avoid it.
When he looked back to fire at Breeze again, he saw the blonde was already a few feet in front of him. She was far faster than he expected. He threw his hand back and fired a bust of flames from his hand, boosting himself forward and smashing into her before she could brace herself. He brought his fist back and tried to follow up with another attack, but Breeze shoved him away before he could.
They both landed and slid back, glaring at one another.
Meanwhile down below, Jia ducked under the blow of another insurgent, slipping behind him and kicking him in the back of the leg. He stumbled, and she quickly jumped up and kicked him in the back, knocking him to the ground. "Little whelp!" Jia turned and just barely managed to raise her sword, blocking the blow aimed at her head.
Beron growled as he pressed forward, forcing the squire down to one knee. Child or not, she was just another dog of the Queensguard, and he wouldn't hesitate to bring her down. Jia struggled to push him back, but suddenly Tem came rushing in and threw his shoulder into the wendigo, knocking him back.
Beron hit the ground, and Rag moved to his side and helped him up. Tem stood beside Jia, his teeth bared. "Stay close little one! We need to stick together!" he said, raising his broadsword up. "We must hold out until Lady Breeze can dispatch their leader!"
"Your royal lapdog will fall to Lord Mailmith!" Beron yelled as he and Rag prepared to charge at the two. Jia and Tem braced themselves, but suddenly they heard a commotion going on outside. Everyone turned and looked up into the air, and saw Sol soaring through the air. He let out a loud cry. "What in the…?"
"Reinforcements!"
"The Juggernaut is here!"
"Brace yourselves!"
Outside of the fortress, where the rest of the rebel forces who couldn't fit through the gate were waiting, Puff roared in anger as she charged through the mass of Insurgents. He swung his axe about wildly, taking down and trampling anyone in his path. The other members of the Sixth division followed after him.
Flink moved about, swinging her whip and striking anyone in her way. Slick and Arty charged in right behind Puff, picking off any stragglers he didn't finish off.
From up above, Mailmith could see what was going on, and he cursed under his breath. He hadn't thought here were any other patrols nearby. Had Breeze asked them to come by as a precaution. She really was a paranoid one, wasn't she?
"You looked rather irritated. What's wrong, are things not going as planned?" Breeze asked, smirking. "Surely you're going to stick around to make good on your revenge."
Mailmith grunted and put his axe to his side. "Clever move, lapdog. I admit your little tactic has put a damper on my plans." Taking her was a challenge enough, but with another captain and Calamity present, there was practically no chance his forces would still be able to prevail. "But don't think this little reprieve means you're safe. Even if I failed today, there are others who are ready and willing to strike against the minute you let your guard down."
Breeze narrowed her eyes as he smirked. "Is that right? Well you can tell me all about them after you're taken in," she said moving in to capture him.
Mailmith turned and leapt off of the platform, firing an intense blast of flames from his hands and boosting himself back towards the gates. "Fall back! We're retreating!" he shouted. Beron and Rag heard the call to retreat, and quickly began echoing it towards the rest of their forces.
The Insurgents all began running back, the knights chasing after them and picking off any stragglers they could. Mailmith landed on top of the gate and blasted down towards the sixth division knights, providing cover fire for them to retreat. A few of their forces also hidden in the forest also began firing arrows to cover for them as well.
Mailmith turned and looked towards Breeze, who glared right back. They locked eyes with one another, and then he smirked before turning and making his way off. Breeze huffed and then began making her way down towards the others. She didn't want any overconfident knights trying to chase after them. There was no need for pursuit. They had fought them off, and that was enough for now.
Still, she was going to have to have a talk with the other captains about what he said. She knew there were other rebel forces out there, but if they were as large and organized as his, then this was something they needed to pay close attention to. She had a bad feeling about this.
Jia looked over towards Tem and smiled. "Thanks for covering me back there. I really… uh, are you okay?" she asked, looking worried.
The bear Beastkin was smiling cheerfully, despite the fact that he was now missing an eye. "Oh this? Don't fret over such things little one. It's but a scratch," he assured.
Mailmith landed down with the rest of his forces, making a wall of fire between them and the Queensguard. He began conjuring up the fog to help conceal them. Rag and Beron made their way towards him. "My lord, are you alright?" he asked.
Mailmith nodded. "I'm fine." Though a bit disappointed he couldn't accomplish his goal, or at the very lead take down that wretched girl. It seemed that all their attacks on the training bases and separated outposts were finally getting their attention. The Queensgaurd were keeping a closer eye on their actions.
It didn't matter though. He'd been preparing for this, and he would adjust. One way or another, he was going to take them all down eventually. Still, he was going to have to talk with the other Rebellions soon. They couldn't afford to be so careless with their actions anymore.
If they were going to truly combat the Kingdoms and their lap dogs, they were going to have to start planning ahead of them.
A/N: Commission from Thepaladin Cosplays of Mailmith and his forces taking on Breeze and some of the Queensguard. This was really fun to write. I've been meaning to get around to doing something with him and hyping some stuff up with the others rebels, but you know... I be on that BS sometimes. These commissions honestly kind of force me to kick it into gear though lol. I'm thankful for them.