Chapter 5: The Battle of Brookhead Mountain; Seize the Foot of the Mountain!
Dracolius Second World War Arc – Showdown
Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem, this is just a Fanfiction.
Featured Music: "Neutiquam Erro" - Fire Emblem X: Radiant Dawn OST. Chapter Briefing.
"In Full Bloom" - Dynasty Warriors IV OST. Scene 4 and 5.
"In Full Bloom - Trinity Mix" - Warriors Orochi IV OST. Scene 6 (First Half).
"Wall Day ~ Great Red Spirit Remix" - Dynasty Warriors Online OST. Scene 6 (Second Half).
A proud day for the newly formed Dracolius Alliance; their first victory on the field of battle!
With the brains of Etherthien's young prodigy, the Advisor Astrid, they easily build their first strike at momentum and overwhelm the two fortresses at Ostria and Stasia. Utilising a fire attack with their Ambush Squad and a surprise attack with their close-range specialists, fort Stasia and Ostria are easily felled. Seemingly preying on their inept commander's dividing strategy, Astrid has already proven herself a key member of the alliance.
Having not even a chance to sortie like the rest of his comrades, Selthris opts to spare as many retreating Sohanthians as he can. Though he receives mostly condemnation from his new ally Sevrenna, he remains resolute in his new stance of preserving life. In avoiding a fight however he has successfully managed to find and recruit a a new comrade...
Scene 1
Talia sighed through her nose for what felt like the tenth time that day. She lay on the ground, sitting up, her hands bound in Aegir handcuffs. Not terribly debilitating in any way but it managed to do the job of suppressing her magical abilities and even her own Quintessence. It had been quite a while since she was last fed and she was beginning to wonder when she would be taken to the chopping board.
Steps outside the tent made her snap her long blonde head up, her eyebrows lifting as they did. Voices approached with them and she narrowed her eyes firmly at the tent flap before her, waiting apprehensively. Some more words were exchanged before, finally, the tent flap opened up. The bound Thunder Mage lowered her eyebrows and frowned upward neutrally at the sight before her.
A hard-frowning young man with spiky silver hair, dressed in a peculiar indigo coloured armour with blue outlines stood in next to a young woman around his age. She also wore similarly indigo coloured garbs however hers were robes, indicating a sizeable difference in their jobs. She turned her own blonde-haired head around to her silvery-stubbled comrade and raised a curious eyebrow as she did.
"Is this her?" The young woman asked, drawing a nod from him.
"Yes," he claimed as he raised his arms to fold them, turning his firm-eyed frown down on her. Talia's eyebrows lifted once more but this time in recognition; she remembered seeing him from the hole she was thrown in. "I think she was their strategist in yesterday's battle." The silver-haired swordsman claimed boldly.
"Is that so...?" The intruding blonde woman murmured in a low grin before morphing it into a light smile as she bent down on Talia's level. The Thunder Mage raised a curious eyebrow at her, waiting. "What's your name miss?" She requested inquisitively, a warm and sociable smile to her countenance.
"U-Um Talia."
"Talia," the robe-wearing young woman grinned back, her eyes briefly shut before re-opening them. "I'm Astrid; pleasure to meet you!" The newly introduced Advisor smiled back at her. Unsure of what exactly to say in response, the Thunder Mage could only barely crack a tiny smile in response however briefly, before it went away. "Don't worry about Selthris; he's always grumpy like that." She explained shortly as she exchanged a sudden grin with the blinking silver-haired swordsman's frown. He let out a light grin of his own as he listened. "Your men were expertly positioned in that battle yesterday!"
"Y-You mean-?"
"Yep, in Fort Ostria and Stasia!" The Advisor grinned back at the similar blonde woman. "Right up until the actual battle began." She ended in a shortly eye shut chuckle however, indicating her humour. The sitting Talia could only laugh nervously in response.
"T-Thank you."
"You have an eye for strategy then, huh?" Astrid asked as she raised a curious eyebrow skyward, tilting her head as she did so.
"Um... y-yes," Talia answered in a stammering and nervous nod. "I was given a high rank by the empress herself but..."
"They didn't listen?" Astrid questioned her bizarrely, leaning her head to the side as she did so. Talia nodded as she lowered her head.
"How can I expect an empire to have faith in my brain when I can't even-"
"Stop," Selthris suddenly interrupted with. The two women turned their heads up to find him frowning and folded armed. "The second you start to hesitate... is the second you lose," the Lord advised in his hard frown. "Have faith in yourself; your men were well stationed before we arrived at the scene." He claimed before nodding in his grinning strategist's direction. Talia blinked before turning back to face her.
"T-Truly?"
"Yep!" The indigo robed Advisor grinned happily back at her, briefly shut eyes once more. As she re-opened them however she turned her beam into a warm smile. "You got talent kid!"
Talia's eyes lit up, as if she were at a fair she had been looking forward to all her life.
Feeling good about the mood, Astrid let her grin lead her and continued on.
"How would you say... to joining our side?"
"You're certainly something," Selthris chuckled lowly as he accompanied his older comrade, his arms still folded. Astrid stretched her arms forward before raising them up, as if to give some movement to her muscles. "I've never seen someone work another that fast before."
"Whaaat?" Astrid shot back in a mock frown, yawning lightly as she did so. "I have no idea what you're talking about." She ended, this time in a growing little grin, as if satisfied.
"Yeah I'll bet," Selthris laughed good-heartedly next to her, briefly grinning over at her before the pair were suddenly stopped in their tracks. He dropped his grin in place of a bewildered frown, blinking forward. The firm-scowling Sevrenna stared back at him. "Sevrenna..." He murmured as he gazed over at the indigo robed Swordmaster. She leant her body to the side in her folded armed scowl and Astrid couldn't help but grin as she watched them.
"You're certainly very popular; I'll leave you two alone," Astrid grinned over her shoulder as she walked off, the snow crunching beneath her heels. "Don't forget; meeting in one hour!"
"No, don't leave...!" The desperate Lord called out after her, eyes widened and arm outstretched forward. He sighed as he turned back to face the unchanged expression on his comrade's face.
Oh joy, he thought to himself.
"Are you free?" She asked over, raising a black eyebrow at him.
"Sure," the Lord responded, this time with a smile as he gestured with his free right hand before placing it on his hip and frowning. "What's wrong this time?"
Her scowl twitched but she continued. "Do you know where my necklace is?" She asked simply. Selthris' eyebrows lifted in pure surprise.
She wore a necklace?
He hadn't even noticed.
"On your...?" He trailed off slowly, right fingers above his neck and she rolled her eyes.
"No on my leg,where else would I wear it?" She snapped back at him in her sarcastic tone. Selthris averted his eyes away from hers, the crimson on his cheeks reddening even further and not just from the cold. Attempting to toss embarrassment to the frosty wind however, he re-raised his hard-frowning eyes and replied.
"Where did you lose it?" The Lord dutifully asked, folding his own arms forward at her. Her scowl never left her, even as she lowered her eyes in presumable thought.
"I think maybe I must have dropped it on the field yesterday," the Swordmaster answered as she narrowed a single eye downwards. Selthris raised his own silvery eyebrow at her as he waited. She shot her eyes back up at him suddenly, as if suspicious. "I'm not sure where though."
"We were all over that field yesterday...," Selthris murmured in his own thought, breaking his folded arms to scratch nervously at his spiky silvery head. He averted his eyes in a hard-frown, thinking hard to himself. He shook his head however in light dissenting. "I'm sorry, I can't seem to remem-"
"Fine, fuck it then."
Selthris blinked, turning his eyes back to his front; the black-haired Swordmaster had already trailed off away from him toward the main camp. He sighed as he watched her, a sad kind of frown adorned on his face.
"Yo, Sel!"
The Lord's eyebrows lifted for the umpteenth time that morning and he turned to his right to find his ever grinning close friend Leo. The Mercenary raised up his left hand in greeting to the young adult, approaching forward.
"Leo," Selthris greeted in his own smile, his one a little more tired. "How are you?"
"I'm good man, listen," the young Mercenary grinned at him before going into his battle tunic. Pulling out some kind of strange jewellery, Selthris had to narrow his eyes at the very small emerald attached to it to even see what was adorned to the thread. "Lookin' for this?"
"Not 'til now...," the Lord murmured as he turned his silvery eyes after the older sword-slinger, raising one of his eyebrows in her disappearing direction. "That's amazing Leo; how did you find this?" He questioned him in a curious blink as he lightly took the necklace in his own two hands, examining it further with narrowed eyes.
Leo folded his arms and grinned forward in his usual confident style. "Well, I went back to where we fought Sohantha yesterday and looked for an hour or so; couldn't find a thing," the Mercenary admitted before continuing on. "Then I thought to go search at the nearby town! Turns out it got found and sold before we even got a chance to clear the dead." The brown-haired youth grinned in a humoured chuckle.
Selthris stared at him in shock for a few seconds as he spoke before raising his eyebrow. "How... did you know about-?"
"She's been askin' around," he answered in his eternal grin, edging his right thumb and his head in the disappeared Swordmaster's direction. Selthris traced it with an inquisitive blink before his companion continued. "I remembered her wearin' it 'cause it looked so out of place on a chick like her."
Selthris couldn't help but nod in an understandable frown as he turned his eyes back on the strange necklace he carried.
"Yeah, I guess so." The Lord answered, remembering her initial meeting with them; how unclean and shoddily dressed she was.
Living rough no doubt.
"Anyway, you owe me," the Mercenary shot back, this time with a mischievous sense to his grin as he knocked his free left fist against the younger man's chest softly. Though Selthris initially blinked back up at him in his usual business-like frown he couldn't help but smile back warmly and appreciatively. "Guy didn't let it go for just tuppence y'know."
"It wasn't expensive, was it?" Selthris asked as he winced at his older friend.
"Try around two-thousand gold?" The Mercenary grinned over at him in his leant position. Selthris averted his eyes from his close companion in his cringe, visibly affected by his words. "It's all good; you're my best friend, I couldn't care less about money." Leo added in his grin before he turned, presumably to walk off. He raised up his fist, back first to face the smiling Selthris as he walked off. "Later!"
What did I ever do to deserve a friend like that, Selthris thought to himself. He couldn't help but shake his head in his growing smile, feeling warm in spite of the dropping snowflakes around him.
–
2
Selthris winced as he placed the small emerald and its thread on the bed before him. Having been the first time in a woman's tent he found himself feeling nervous; he found the whole thing absolutely ridiculous. As he pulled himself back from the bed he folded his arms and sighed through his nose down at it.
"Maybe I should go give it to her myself..." The young man second guessed to himself, a side of his face crunching in pondering. "Maybe then it wouldn't look so weird."
Maybe she wouldn't realise it came from him though; she was pretty angry at you, he thought once more.
He imagined her red-faced and screaming at him, veins pulsing and blood throbbing in her neck and he couldn't help letting out a quiet laugh to himself, shaking his head. Suddenly realising he was still in her tent he gave one final wince before swiftly about turning and leaving. Darting his narrowed eyes around he nodded, more to himself than to anyone else; a sign to himself that he was unseen. The indigo armoured Allied soldiers seemed to be busy readying their equipment and Selthris realised why.
The next battle was fast approaching.
Turning his quick-hardening frown to the centre of the main camp he marched off in search of the briefing room. When he got there he couldn't help but lower his guard once more as he saw the grinning form of Leo greet him outside the tent. Though folded armed, the Mercenary lowered them to edge his thumb backward, presumably toward the entrance. No words were needed for the brotherly pair and as Leo opened up the hatch Selthris bent his spiky-silvery head to walk in; Leo followed through.
"Lord Vikeruce!" Salnarra called over from the familiar table that they used; she sat folded armed and leant her head to her right, in their direction. "A pleasure, as always."
"Well done old boy!" Alaric whispered from the centre seat, turning around to face them. He raised up his right fist to shake in his faithful grin to emphasise his pride in the younger man. Leo turned his confident grin on his companion on his right, placing his hand on his shoulder; Selthris turned to lightly grin back at him before turning his eyes around to shake his head back at Alaric.
"If anyone deserves praise for yesterday's battle... she does," the young Lord intoned over as he nodded his head forwards. The pair of foreign nobles traced his head to find the bit-lip faced Astrid growling down at a chart on the table below her. She nearly dropped the quill pen she carried in her hand when she shot her blonde head up with a gasp, eyes darting around the group.
"W-What, what have I done?" The Advisor managed out, clearly worried and caught mid-work. Alaric exchanged a humoured grin with the chuckling and head-shaken Salnarra.
"Nothing; you're doing great Astrid," Selthris smiled genuinely as he walked forward to join the group, the grinning Leo following quietly. He slapped his hand across her robed back in a brotherly fashion, drawing a comical cough from his older comrade. "Keep it up." He chuckled in his smile, his silvery eyes shutting briefly as he did so.
"I must say young lord," Salnarra began again, this time with a knowing grin as she nodded at the smiling Selthris. He raised his head to face hers and shot up his eyebrow to match his curiosity. "You've fair changed since we both met you."
"Wha-?" Selthris murmured in an inquisitive frown.
"Oh yes; I can attest to this," Alaric chuckled in agreement as he folded his burly arms, turning to grin back up the frowning Aselian noble. "Hardly the same boy you were back then I assure you."
Selthris' raised eyebrows lowered and his eyes regained their tired form, sinking down with them in quiet response. The atmosphere seemed to switch with it and the listening group could only watch him in intrigued silence.
"Three years ago I...," he ventured forward, his words seemingly carried by the tired air he breathed out. "I was a completely different person."
Leo's grin was soon lost to him as he listened; a concerned frown but nevertheless a respectful one.
"It was... that masked general, wasn't it?" Alaric endeavoured to ask, his own expression growing soft. Selthris turned his frown into a wan smile down at the Etherthien king and nodded.
"I can't use him as an excuse but... I was a bad person then," he admitted in a nod, his smile soon devolving into a harder frown. His silvery eyes flitted over to the table and they narrowed, as if in thought. "All I cared about was myself and doing whatever I could to kill him." The Lord explained and, very briefly, he let an angry scowl escape his lips with the words he spoke them in.
"You need not punish yourself for anything Naerith's Masked Man did," Salnarra reasoned with the youth as she turned her folded armed frown up at him. He hovered his own frown back up at her in silence as he listened. "He was a blight to most of the world... especially after most of what he did to earn his infamy."
"I'm just glad we caught ya when we did," Leo intoned in from the side, ringing his arm 'round the surprised young man's neck. Selthris turned to face him, both eyebrows risen. "Doesn't matter what you were before then; you're here now and you're one of the best people I know." The Mercenary confidently stated in his nodding grin. Selthris couldn't help but smile weakly back in response. Alaric next to him similarly acknowledged the young man's comment in a nodding smirk of his own.
"Hear hear!" Etherthien's king grinned in his nod.
"Were you two always this cute together?" Astrid shot over to the pair as she leant her head to the side, pointing her quill pen at them as she did so. Though Selthris turned to shake his head and laugh quietly with the young Advisor, Leo leant his own head to his left to grin back at her.
"Not the first time we've been pegged like that y'know." The Mercenary grinned over jokingly, winking down at the laughing Astrid.
"Sorry we're late!"
The group swivelled their heads 'round to find the hand-raised, sheepishly smiling Theffania standing in the tent entryway, joined by the ever frowning Norman and Ariella.
"I was helping lady Ariella with her experiments," the Naerith queen smiled as she kept the flap open for the pair to walk in together. She followed along behind them dutifully and faced the smiling group. "I hope we haven't kept things behind too long?"
"No, no; we're absolutely fine, please, take a seat." Astrid chuckled from her earlier good mood, nodding to the seat across from her.
"What a day," Ariella muttered to herself as she dropped herself into the seat next the young Naerith queen, joined by her loyal bodyguard. "And it's only just begun..." She moaned lowly as she pinched the skin between her eyes in a show of frustration.
Selthris couldn't help but smile in a mix of relief and joy; when he heard Theffania speak earlier, his previous suspicions of an interrogation suddenly shot through his nervous system.
It may be a good day after all, he thought to himself in a soft smile.
"You!"
His eyebrows lifted up and he snapped his newly frowning face over to the tent entryway. His eyes widened this time however when his silent fears were realised; the hard glaring face of Sevrenna stared across from the tent at him.
Oh no, he thought.
"I knew it had to be you!" The Swordmaster exclaimed suddenly as she advanced on the group, ripping out the minuscule emerald necklace that once lay in her quarters. She raised it up and thrust it in the frowning Aselian's face, as if to rub his nose in it. "You went into my room?!"
"All right... Sevrenna; please just calm d-"
"Calm nothing mother-fucker," the Swordmaster cursed as she usually did, however, this time with a special sense of rage to it. She advanced on him and, though he was taller than she was, she glared hatefully back up at his tired, soft-eyed frown. "You better have a good excuse for this or I'm gonna-"
"Enough!" Leo interrupted the pair from the side, frowning firmly as he threw his right arm in between them.
Though Selthris turned his own silvery eyes over to face his close companion, the shorter Sevrenna growled as she was forced back half-a-step. She scowled back at the Mercenary before snapping her anger on her original target.
"I'm sure he was just trying to help, that's all," Astrid spoke up for her new companion and comrade from her seat, smiling over at the small tense group. Sevrenna shot her scowl over to the older blonde and growled back at her warningly. "There's no reason to suspect foul play, surely?"
"Did he take anything of value or anything at all from your room?" Salnarra suddenly shot in with, folded armed and frowning. Often the one to cut to the chase of things, the Coremondian elder seemed fairly impatient to deal with such a matter. Sevrenna snapped her growl back on the older woman before her scowl soon fell short. Her eyes averted her gaze for a few seconds, as if guilty somehow.
"W-Well no but-"
"Then all is well," Alaric smiled in his attempt to pacify the mood and the atmosphere of the group, clapping his hands together in a boisterous laugh. "Come now lady Sevrenna you must get a chuckle out of this!"
The Swordmaster in question watched the Etherthien king for a second before flitting her eyes up to stare back at the fatigue-eyed Lord before her; the reason for her apparent rage. He stared back at her wordlessly for a second before shaking his silvery head at her.
"I'm sorry; I should have spoken with you directly about it," the Aselian king frowned back at her apologetically before bowing his head respectfully. "Please forgive me."
The air went silent for a few seconds after his response and the entire room all turned to watch the similar faced Sevrenna. She watched him for a second or two before averting her eyes and turning, presumably to walk off voicelessly. Even as she left the tent, Leo let out an exasperated sigh, folding his arms.
"Man...," he lamented, shaking his head disapprovingly at her escape. "I just can't work that chick out."
"Women, am I right boys?" Alaric shot in jokingly with a light and humorous grin.
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Astrid shot over from her quill and map, grinning in her own humour.
"The women here outnumber you Alaric; I'd be careful with that." Salnarra added with her own grin, drawing a listening chuckle from the sitting Theffania on her left.
"You take it from me,little Selthris; that woman is trouble," Ariella frowned in, thrusting a finger at the lightly smiling Lord disapprovingly. "The last thing you need is an angry tiger like that one nipping at your heels, especially commanding a force as large as this one."
"I'll be fine," Selthris insisted with the warm smile re-attaching to his face as he approached the table, standing in between the similarly smiling Alaric and grinning Astrid. "Trust me; with the way I am no woman'll be nipping at my heels anytime soon." The Vikeruce said jokingly, briefly shutting his eyes in his wide smile. The group chuckled back at him before Astrid finally outstretched the map in her hands to fit the table once more.
"Okay!" The Advisor grinned down at it as she stood up from her chair. "Shall we begin?"
"Things are looking good," Hawke frowned behind her mask as she marched forward, narrowing her eyes past the holes in her disguise and raising her hand to her head, as if to see further in the dusk's distance. Ahead of the team she commanded lay a long and steep hill. Seeming leading up to a mountain, she turned and nodded at the rest of her unit standing by behind her. "Yeah, intel's good."
Sabine chanced a few steps ahead to join her at her side and narrowed his eyes upward. "Astrid sure wasn't kiddin'...," the Archer murmured out as he frowned concernedly. "Are we really going to win this one?"
"Well I have faith in our strategist," Alaric, another part of the unit, grinned in his usual positive and boisterous manner as he sauntered forward to join them. "I am sure she did not send us and the Ambush Squad up here half-heartedly." He claimed, folding his arms.
"I agree with king Alaric," Talia called, even if in a soft and breezy kind of voice. She set her glasses upward on her nose as she grasped the tome of Thunder she carried. "I have detailed knowledge of Sohanthian soil and on Mount Brookhead, her plan was definitely the best."
"You sound sure of it," Sabine questioned, half-suspiciously as he half-turned to face her, raising an eyebrow as he did so. "We're fighting uphill ya know."
Though Talia winced in response she re-opened her mouth to retort. Fortunately for the concerned Thunder Mage however, the ever hard-toned Hawke came to her rescue.
"Stop that; she's only just been added to our unit," the Sniper ordered testily. Though Sabine turned his eyes away from hers in a defeated frown, Hawke turned to face the surprised-faced Talia. "I'm sorry about that; he doesn't mean anything by it." She apologised for him.
"It's fine," the young Sohanthian blonde chuckled good-heartedly, waving off the matter as quickly as she could. "I'm from Sohantha, after all."
"We are all of one mind here," Alaric threw in with his confident grin as he stepped alongside the group. "If we do as lady Astrid suggested and seize certain points on the foots of this mountain..."
"Then we can isolate the enemy commander and administer his death," Sabine added in his low tone of voice, staring upward at the steep hill above the group. He spoke with curious verbose, eliciting the others to temporarily turn to face him, visibly surprised. "What? I just remember what she said."
"Come on," Hawke chuckled through her words, an invisible smile on her face as she edged her head toward the hill. "Ulric's squad'll be needing a hand."
–
3
"Commander Llewel!" General Apheia called out testily as she marched around the main camp, the dust and small rocks of Mount Brookhead firm under her boots. When she couldn't seem to find him in his usual chair she growled impatiently and placed her hands on her hips, tapping on the ground irritably. "Where is that idiot?" The amber armoured Halberdier muttered under her breath.
"I'm over here!"
She snapped her surprised scowl over to her left; the entrance to the commander's open quarters. The disapproving faced Llewel himself sauntered in carrying a small cup of boiling liquid, presumably tea of some kind.
"And I'm not an idiot," the amber robed young man muttered back in response as he passed her, haughtily frowning back at her as he did so. Apheia stared back after him before folding her arms and slowly following behind him. "Well then... what is so important that you must interrupt my pondering period?" The stringy muscled man sighed as he turned to place himself on his open and lavish chair. He crossed his legs at her and looked up as he took a sip from his cup. Apheia looked him down and up again before curling her lip.
Disgusting, she thought to herself.
"The Allied forces were last seen marching on this position, commander," she informed through her folded armed frown. His eyebrows lifted upward in a surprised jolt as he listened. "You should gather your own forces to counter their climb."
"Really? The Allied forces? Here?" He repeated, this time in honest bewilderment. Apheia's hard frown twitched but she remained resolute.
"Yes."
"Hm!" The younger man grinned back at her as he took his cup from his mouth, raising up to face her. "I will finally see some action!"
"If you do not listen to me, then-"
"I am the commander of these forces on Mount Brookhead," Llewel claimed boldly as he stood up from his lavish chair to stand-off with the glaring Halberdier. "I don't need your approval." The strategist shot back as he looked down on her as haughtily as he could. Finding herself with less words to respond to him with, general Apheia could only twitch her scowl very lightly before slowly shutting her eyes and bowing her head in respect.
"Yes... commander," she finally assented in her hard frown. "Please forgive my transgression."
"I will overlook it... this time," commander Llewel shot back as he turned his haughty frown away from her, his eye still on her bowed head. "Send a single force out on both foots of the mountain," the robed man ordered briefly before returning to his seat, his low smile also rebounding as he picked up a small spoon and stirred his tea. "All we need is to rain terror down upon their main camp; they will give up fairly promptly I'm sure." The man smiled as he took another sip of his cup.
"Yes, commander," Apheia robotically shot back in an agreeing nod before raising her right armoured arm horizontally; the military greeting of Sohantha. "The men are already on their way; they shall no doubt be entangled with the approaching enemy forces."
"Good!" Llewel smiled as he raised back up his tea cup before slowly double-taking in her direction, as if shocked she was even still there. He waved his free hand away at her, as if to shoo her. "You may go."
Apheia stopped every bone in her body from quaking in anger but managed to stop herself from responding. Turning swiftly on her heel she marched toward the open exit of the man's quarters, growling to herself.
Calm down, she thought to herself.
"This attitude will not last."
"What are our orders, general?"
She snapped her pondering head to her side to find her frowning aide and right hand, Alder. The similar faced soldier stared back at her, awaiting her words. She folded her arms at him and toughened up her own frown as she responded.
"We are to send two units out on both foots of the mountain," the Halberdier explained very briefly, drawing a surprised raised eyebrow from the listening soldier. "That is all." She ordered before dropping her folded arms and continuing on her march forward. Alder blinked and double-took in her direction before swiftly following after her, their amber armour clinking noisily in the dead of night.
"B-But won't that just-?"
"Yes," Apheia responded with an intense growl as she glared forward at the dark field ahead of her. "This battle is over with that idiot commanding the men."
"What shall we do general?" The soldier asked eagerly, raising a curious eyebrow upward. This time Apheia put on a confident smirk as she faced the man in their walk.
"Follow our orders, major, of course," she answered before swiftly turning her smirk forward once more. "When the Sohanthian forces on Mount Brookhead are inevitably routed then who can say if there will be any survivors?" The Halberdier explained very briefly as she visibly shrugged in her confident smirk, eliciting an initially surprised frown from the wide-eyed soldier. Alder soon caught on however and grinned alongside her with a nod.
"Yes general!"
"It's just like I thought," Astrid murmured as she examined the map on the night's field below her. Though her eyes darted across the magical moving shapes, she narrowed them and shot down an inanimate moving piece on the top right of the map, visibly the mountain itself. "We go ahead as planned!"
"It is looking good," Edgar intoned as he stood leaning to his usual side next to her, his steel axe hanging across his broad shoulders. "You think they'll run into any problems?"
"Not yet," Astrid answered as she looked up at the standing Axe Fighter from her kneeling position, shaking her head as she did so. "They haven't yet brought in anyone competent enough to handle basic defensive strategies; if we can exploit that..."
"Then exploit it we will, huh," Edgar answered for her as he turned his own eyes down to face her before receiving a wordless grin from the young robed blonde. The indigo armoured Axe Fighter's own frown slowly snaked into a rare tiny grin of his own and he nodded. "Trust you to work all that out this early in the war."
"If I can help to mitigate as many lives as possible then that's what I'll do!" Etherthien's strategist nobly stated as she flipped the coin-like token she had earlier placed on the map before shutting her eyes and continuing on. "Team Two! Now's your chance!"
–
4
Gorlin grinned as he shot his steel sword across the air, easily passing through an approaching small battalion of Sohanthian soldiers. The five men all managed to gasp out as some were sent rolling back where they came while others such as the captain of the small group gurgled out blood from his wounded throat. He dropped to the ground in a final pained cough, staining the mountainous field in hot crimson. Though the agile Nomad Trooper had swayed through his charge, he swiftly about-turned to face his rear and the frontlines of the first mountain foot.
As he did so however, the grunting Bernhard behind him caber tossed the roaring Gerard above his crown and the shouting Armour Knight came plummeting down into a group of second group of approaching soldiers. The Sohanthian men all let out pained cries as they were sent careering off the mountains into the unscalable slopes, never to be seen again. While the frowning Gerard used his recovery time to gasp out in his effort that he previously exuded his eyes widened when he saw an approaching Paladin mounted on a horse rushing at him.
As if to answer his worrying dilemma however, the grinning Kay shot off like a fireball and smashed her very body against the grunting unnamed Paladin, sending the two rolling into the dirt and the ground roughly. Gorlin couldn't help but shake his head disapprovingly with a contrasting grin attached to his expression as he watched them struggle before walking forward to assist her.
Meanwhile the dismounted Cavalier growled as she yanked her iron sword out and raised it upwards to finish him with. Unfortunately however, the Paladin acted faster and smashed his armoured fist into her side; she gasped and, with widened eyes, dropped her weapon to the floor with a noisy thunk. Before he could follow up however, the smirking Gorlin's shadow soon loomed over him and he snapped his eyes over to him in a worried gasp.
The hulking Coremondian merely wordlessly grinned back down at him before sticking his own weapon through the man's exposed throat. A similar gurgle escaped his lips before the poor Paladin was put to rest as he yanked the blade back out. With his free hand he offered the gasping Kay a hand back up.
"I didn't need any help!" The dismounted Cavalier shot over in a low grin of her own as she dusted herself off, the dirt reaching into her already dark shaded blonde hair. "I had him!"
"For Narga's sake Kay, he had you," the Coremondian grinned back at her as he shook his head in quiet disagreement. "Otherwise you did good though."
"Yes, thank you Kay," Gerard gasped as he twirled his steel lance up into the air, now fully recovered from his earlier attack. "You saved me."
"Doesn't help if she's dead though, now, does it?" Bernhard shot in with gloomily as he joined his teammates, scowling as he always did. His arms were folded as the Cavalier faced him with an annoyed pout of her own.
"Yeah all right chuckles," the commander of the unit shot over in a grin, his bulky arms resting on his hips as he did. Bernhard's scowl lightly twitched but he said nothing, instead turning to marvel at the view on the mountain. "But he's got a point, Kay," Gorlin continued, this time with a low frown, as opposed to his usual expressions. Kay similarly turned to face him with an inquisitive frown of her own as she listened. "Your life is too important to just risk like that."
"But what if-"
"Even if I'm about to die," he finished for her, grinning as he did. The dismounted Cavalier rolled her eyes in impudent impatience but nodded as she folded her arms and averted his gaze. "All right, just be more careful with your counter-attacks in the future, okay?" He asked as he passed her, raising up his right index finger to rest on the side of his forehead.
He briefly shut his eyes as he began to process his Aegir to his thoughts to respond to their strategist.
"It's done chief!"
"Right on time as always, thank you Gorlin!" Astrid thought back in reply as she smiled appreciatively, nodding down at the map. Edgar's eyes widened next to her as he examined the map with her, listening in through his own Quintessence.
"He's... pretty fast," the Axe Fighter murmured as he watched the pieces on the board-like map moving with their unit. "I forgot just how fast."
"Oh that's right; you two are acquainted, I keep forgetting," Astrid chuckled good-naturedly as she turned briefly to face him with her sociable smile. She swiftly returned her attention to the battle on her map however. "Okay, Team Two have successfully taken the right foot of the mountain."
Edgar's eyebrow raised upward in curiosity. "And all that left is...?"
–
5
"Ambush Squad, Team One; it's time!"
Ulric nodded as he re-opened his eyes to face the left side of the mountainous range he stood on.
"You ready?" Hawke asked as she walked alongside the fellow captain, nodding her masked head at the veteran upward. The Paladin turned to face her and smirked unusually at her.
"Milady I was born ready." The seemingly older warrior smirked back at her confidently.
"Those Sohanthians man... they ain't got a shot at this," Leo grinned as he twirled his Hero Sword around his arm expertly, sauntering over to join them. "This'll be a good training exercise!"
"Don't get overconfident, sir Leo!" Garrus called over as he hovered down with his flapping dragon. "It invites danger."
"Agreed," Sabine murmured alongside the Dragon Rider as he hiked next to the commander of his unit, staring up at the rising hill. "Last thing we need is a retreat to explain to the boss."
"Come now young Sabine, have faith in our strategist and our commander!" Alaric repeated for the second time that night, marching forward ahead of the group confidently, his indigo armoured chest exposed. "The Ambush Squad and Team One have joined forces here tonight; we cannot lose!"
"I like that thought," Talia chuckled behind him as she joined the group timidly, still gripping her Thunder tome close to her. "It's going to feel strange fighting my former comrades, but..."
"Aw to hell with 'em Tal!" Leo exclaimed suddenly as he ran his free left arm 'round the squeaking young woman's neck comfortably, grinning next to her. "If they couldn't work with a sweetheart like you then they don't deserve you." The Mercenary grinned confidently as he used his right finger to lightly press against her small nose, causing a surprised but listening blink from the Thunder Mage. The listening group turned to watch them with exchanging grins, almost as if knowing somehow before, finally, someone interrupted.
"I think I may vomit." Sevrenna's words cut into the exchange like a freezing icicle through boiling water. The ebony haired Swordmaster stood a few feet away from them, watching them with a comically dead-pan frown on her face. Alaric couldn't help himself from laughing at the young woman's words.
"Ah, youth!" He lamented briefly in his good-hearted laugh. "How I miss moments like these!"
"Sharpen up," Ulric advised suddenly his voice, though calm, was forceful enough to garner attention. The Paladin's eyes narrowed at the approaching forces; a similarly small battalion of ground-bound men on foot, all soldiers wielding steel lances. "Here they come." He added as he watched them hungrily. Hawke exchanged a silent nod with the frowning Sabine and the two nocked arrows in their bows; Alaric watched them with a similar nod of his own before suddenly slamming his own steel lance into the ground, a contrasting hard frown on his face.
As if appearing by magic, an alarming pair of ice-like stalactites shot up from the ground around the approaching forces. Hawke and Sabine both widened their eyes as they fired from their bows, easily sticking through two unfortunate roaring victims. Sevrenna growled as she suddenly shot through the field, leaving behind an Aegir shroud of fire in her steps; the swift Swordmaster swiped across Alaric's grown stalactites and her boiling fire soon smashed the pair, allowing the blood-filled pair of soldiers to drop with them.
Supporting his comrade however, the narrow-eyed Leo leapt through the air before spinning around in a wind-infused spin attack, easily batting away the pair of soldiers that rushed at her recovering. As he landed, he faced behind her and their backs lightly grazed against one another to testify the magnificent control of his Quintessence.
"Impressed?" The Mercenary grinned half-way 'round in her direction. The joyless Swordmaster snapped her eyes around in her usual firm scowl.
"Hmph!" She merely exclaimed back in reply.
The horse-riding Ulric shot past them however, his trusty silver lance attached to his dominant right hand. He spun it around before aiming it forward and, in no time at all, smashed it through the roaring enemy Cavalier's own iron lance, easily piercing him through. Though Leo grinned as he watched the exchange, almost as if at a jousting match, his keen perception had him shooting his eyes to the opposite direction to find himself being saved once more and this time by the firm-frowning Garrus.
Atop his dragon mount, the young black-haired warrior yelled as he slammed his iron battle-axe into the similar armoured Cavalier on the left. Perhaps this time with a weapon advantage over the poor man, his iron lance was smashed apart in the impact, and it was an even easier dispatch. The hard-frowning Dragon Rider opted to switch up to a satisfied smirk as he and his dragon looped around expertly in the air before hovering down safely.
Ulric turned to face the growing group of warriors and, viewing their victory over the left side of the mountain, he nodded in satisfaction of his own.
Time to inform, he thought to himself.
"We have successfully captured the second foot of the mountain!"
Astrid's eyes shot wide open and, as she snapped her head to the frowning Edgar, he nodded his leant frowning head down at her in response.
"My turn huh...?"
"You mean our turn!" The interrupting, grinning young Leo shot in with as he sauntered towards him from the other side of the mountain. Edgar couldn't help but give his companion a rare grin in response, nodding as they exchanged brotherly fist-bumps.
"Hell yeah."
"I think Selthris is-"
"He's already ahead, yeah," Leo answered for the blinking Astrid. She nodded in an assenting smile of her own. "What do you think? Meet up with Sevrenna and Tina on the way?"
Edgar nodded as he rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck from side to side. "That sounds like a decent idea," the Axe Fighter agreed in his objective frown. "I imagine they're all probably closer to the summit than we are anyway."
Leo turned his eye, and his grin, toward the summit's direction ahead of him in a grin. "Then it's up we go!"
–
6
"You certain you'll be fine?" Selthris asked again over his shoulder at the atop Pegasus Knight behind him. Though his arms were folded and he frowned, his expression seemed to contain a hint of unease and apology in it. Tina seemed to notice but she opted not to give her unit commander and old acquaintance a smile regardless; she frowned and nodded back in response.
"I'm fine, I promise," she insisted and declared in her assenting nod. Selthris watched her for a second before lightly sighing through his nose and turning back to the front. "Besides you should be at the ready for the rest of the unit." The teal haired young woman claimed as she nodded her head to her left. Selthris snapped his own silvery head around in surprise before narrowing his eyes in the direction she pointed him in.
Sure enough, as if in response to her words, the ever scowling faced Sevrenna came marching up from the lower side of the mountain all on her lonesome. She twirled the steel sword she carried around in her right hand expertly, blood from her earlier attack still on the blade. The icy indigo robed Swordmaster opted to nod her head upward in greeting to the Pegasus Knight and the frowning swordsman ahead of her instead of opening her mouth.
"Evening," Tina greeted, her usually cheerful tone gone in place of a frosty one. Sevrenna opted to turn her own cold gaze back on the similar aged young woman, raising instead an ebony eyebrow in curiosity. "Do you never clean yourself?" The Pegasus Knight suddenly derided as she narrowed her eyes down at her. The Aselian Swordmaster's scowl soon turned worse, (if that were even possible) and her lip curled in a show of similar disgust.
"I'm sorry if I don't fit in with your friends from Etherthien," the raven-haired swords-woman shot back in open hostile, a sarcastic tone to her voice. "But I'm actually focused and driven," she criticised angrily before turning her lip up at her in veritable repulsion. "I'm no woman; I'm a fighter."
"How dare you imply I'm any less stronger than you are!" Tina suddenly exclaimed as she leant forward on her mount, narrowing her eyes down at the scowling Swordmaster.
"What do you mean imply?" Sevrenna snorted back in response as she snapped her hard-eyed scowl up on the similar faced Pegasus Knight atop her mount. As if called to action, the messy-haired Pegasus Knight hopped down from her Pegasus and advanced on the Swordmaster, glaring back. "You may as well be younger than I am; I've seen you fight," she claimed boldly as the Pegasus Knight finally approached her. "The best of Etherthien is no match for the best of Aselia."
Selthris' hard frown twitched as he listened, his silvery eyes still set forward at the summit high above them.
"You wanna prove that?" Tina shot out with in a suspiciously low tone of voice as she leant her body closer to the similarly young woman. The dismounted Pegasus Knight's arms swiftly shot down to her hips as she did so, however, she brought her right hand up from it and contrastingly softly prodded the scowling Swordmaster before her.
The two women stood glaring at one another; Sevrenna in a hateful scowl and Tina in an annoyed glower. Silence descended upon the trio before, Selthris, finally acknowledging the fast rising tension in the air, spun around to frown over at them.
"Enough!" He interrupted in a forceful shout, snapping his head back half-way to face the pair. Their eyes darted to meet his and he sighed, this time loudly enough for them to hear before re-opening his mouth to continue. "If you can't work together I'll send you both back to the main camp," the Lord warned as he turned his hard-eyed frown forward. Sevrenna rolled her eyes in annoyance and Tina turned her own disappointed gloom similarly away from them, both opting to stay silent this time. "Besides... you can both be strong, how about that?" The young adult smiled out very faintly this time as he turned briefly to face the surprised pair.
"She started it..." Tina comically murmured under her breath, immediately eliciting the scowling-faced Swordmaster's glaring wrath. The Pegasus Knight turned back to hop up on her Pegasus once more. When the side of Sevrenna's eye caught the approaching forms of two more Aselian soldiers, dressed in similar indigo shaded armour, Selthris thanked whatever god may have remained for the loss of their argument.
"That's them now." Sevrenna called forward lightly in her business-like frown. Selthris nodded as he turned back to face the grinning Leo, joined as ever by his objectively frowning companion Edgar.
"Yo!" The ever sociable Mercenary grinned over at them, balancing his trusty Hero Sword across his shoulders in an amusing mirror to his Axe Fighter comrade. "Damn! What happened here? Feels like a bomb went off." He chuckled good-naturedly as he turned his eye on the uncomfortably frowning pair of women next to him. Edgar shook his head disapprovingly at the Mercenary and sighed, drawing an amused listening grin from their commander.
"Ya know for a smart guy you can be pretty dense Leo." The Axe Fighter sighed comically, the atmosphere gradually turning into a playful one.
"Whaaat?!" Leo laughed back at his older friend. "Well, not everybody can be perfect." The Mercenary humbly gave in with a bantering grin, shrugging as he did so. As the smiling Selthris approached, he turned to face him with his grin and the pair shared a slapping brotherly handshake.
"Chief," the Lord chuckled as he regarded his close companion. "What took you both so long?"
"Well we could have easily have beaten even you guys here if this guy had finished his homework early," Leo joked as he edged his thumb in Edgar's frowning direction. As he was mentioned however, his frown switched to a shut-eyed, head-shaking grin, rare and all from the usually stoic Axe Fighter. "Nah seriously but I hope I didn't keep us too long," Leo chuckled again humbly as he turned his head back to face his best friend and commander. "I imagine we got a schedule to keep."
Selthris shook his spiky-silvery head softly in response, his smile still on his face. "We're fine in all honesty," the Lord claimed as he slowly turned his body around to face the front. His smile slowly dissolved as he did however, as if reverting to battle-form. "We just have one more thing to do." He spoke, this time in his frown. As if reacting to his words, the scowling-faced Sevrenna marched alongside the trio, standing behind them dutifully as she spun her steel sword around. Tina followed along the other side, her pegasus hovering forward to join them.
"Whoever's up on that summit..." Leo began lowly, and with his usually confident grin attached to his expression.
"Is gonna really feel it," Edgar intoned with his lower voice before putting on a tiny grin of his own from Selthris' right, turning his eyes over to face the Mercenary with. "Right?" He asked for clarification, merely receiving a chuckling nod in response.
"Team Three...," Selthris began before swiftly unsheathing the familiar sword at his hip once given to him on Etherthien's Mount Wrulz, the Hakai. "Move out!"
"It certainly is noisy," Llewel murmured from his comfortably lavish seat, sipping from his cup as he did. His eyes watched the growing din of the talking and marching shadows of soldiers ahead from the tall platforms that surrounded his open quarters. "I wonder what's...?"
As if to respond to his quiet question, an amber armoured soldier dutifully rushed in to his main camp and bowed quickly in respect, as if to force out the pleasantries.
"My lord, things have gotten desperate," the nameless soldier began as he pulled his head up from his bow, visibly sweating beneath his helmet. Llewel's brow furrowed in further confusion as he listened, raising an eyebrow with it to match. "Our forces have been pushed back and-"
"Why are you reporting to me, soldier?" Llewel interrupted impatiently and petulantly as he placed his cup down on the small table next to him. "Where is general Apheia and Alder?"
"Th-That's just it my lord; they've been routed!" The soldier exclaimed back in response, a visible wince beneath his helmet. The listening strategist's eyes widened in silent shock. "The Aselian forces have ambushed both foots of our Mount Brookhead! They've plugged our routes to attack them with!"
Unable to find the words with which to respond with, Llewel could only stare back in his widened eyed frown. His mouth opened, as if to respond with some words, but it stayed in suspended animation; simply left speechless.
"My lord, what are your orders?" The soldier added, this time with a determined frown upon his face. "My lord!" He called out louder and more forcefully, as if to pull his superior from his trance.
Llewel's eyes widened once more and, as they did, he gasped and shook his head involuntarily. "I-I am... alone...?"
"My lord!" The soldier exclaimed this time, causing him to gasp for a second time in watching and listening to him. "Our forces are on the brink of annihilation!" He called forward desperately, his own eyes widening, respect and formality unofficially left from his tone of voice. "What are your orders?!"
Retreat briefly entered the strategist's mind but then he swiftly remembered the Sohanthian creed.
Even if he were to return to the empress' side, she'd no doubt have him killed.
No, he thought. Our only remaining option here is to stand and fight.
He stood up from his seat and tried to force his legs to stop from shaking. "We will push them back!" The strategist exclaimed suddenly and optimistically, attempting to put on a hard frown as he did so. "We still have one warrior that can turn the tides of battle after all!"
The soldier's own eyes widened, almost as if he recognised his words in response. "You mean...?"
"Yes!" General Llewel grinned out this time, as if his confidence was returning to him. "We still have... 'Dorkoth of the amber country!"
–
7
Even as they approached the end of the last group of yellow-shaded soldiers, Selthris spun Hakai 'round his wrist with an inquisitive frown adorned on his face. Team Three had faced no real issues as of yet and, as Archibald slowly flapped down to meet with him, he turned to face Tina atop him. Selthris shot his head upward once in a silent gesture with his business-like frown attached to his face.
"That's it commander!" She called down at him, shaking her head in her own frown. Selthris raised a silvery eyebrow upwards. "There's no more enemy units!"
"Tch!" Sevrenna shot in with as she yanked her steel sword from the gurgling throat of a deceased soldier. She kicked his body for good measure before marching over to join them. "This is hardly a fight; aren't they supposed to be the empire? The most feared military nation on the continent?"
"I wouldn't get overconfident," Leo advised as he stepped between the pair, grinning over at her in response. "Overconfidence-"
"Invites death," Edgar finished for his close comrade, swinging his free left arm around his shoulder as he walked towards them. When the Mercenary turned his head to meet the Axe Fighter's he couldn't help in shaking his head with a visibly amused grin. "Right?"
"Are you finishing all my sentences today?" Leo grinned back, tilting his head comically as he did so.
"See anyone else up there?" Selthris questioned, turning his eye back on the boarded Pegasus Knight. She blinked back down in his direction and she nodded.
"It seems like there's only a few people left; I just seen two men inside the last structure just up ahead," the young woman informed briefly in her nod. "I think one of them may be the commander."
"Then that's who we'll finish with." Selthris responded in a low-toned, hard frown forward. As Sevrenna listened next to him she couldn't help but break out into a wide grin, watching him before swiftly following his example and shooting her gaze forward.
"Hell yes we will." The Swordmaster agreed in her usual coarse way of speaking, marching alongside the unit. When they finally reached the structure in their main camp however, one of the two men that their comrade had mentioned finally emerged from the area. A tan-robed older man smiled over at the unit of five alliance warriors and raised up his arms, as if to ward them off.
"Please, do not be alarmed!" The man called over, eliciting a few raised eyebrows from the listening group. "I am the Sohanthian commander; my name is Llewel-"
"You're the commander?" Sevrenna suddenly shot out with as she advanced on him in her interruption, raising her steel sword to point directly at him. The stringy muscled man winced and took a few steps back in squeaking shrinking as he watched, clearly intimidated. "Then you're mine." She hissed over as she glared at him, a hungry look in her eye as she advanced forward. Selthris' left arm shot over to stop her however and, with it, his narrowed silver eye. When she snapped her scowl to meet his, she glared at him.
"Why?!"
SMASH
The structure that the enemy commander had suddenly walked through burst open to reveal a hulking brute of a man. The unit turned their eyes over to him, mostly in shock. Selthris' own hard-eyed gaze followed him and watched him stomp over suspiciously.
"That's why." The Aselian noble replied in his own low tone of voice. Though proven wrong in her line of thinking, the Swordmaster merely growled back at the thumping man before her.
"Commander... that thing's too big for just one of us to fight," Tina whispered over from her mount, her eyes never leaving the grinning giant. The previously worried Llewel leapt behind him, as if to hide from the incoming enemy forces. "I don't even know if you could take it."
"Come on Teens," Leo shot over with his affinity for nicknames, grinning at the messy-haired Pegasus Knight before snapping his gaze over to the knuckle cracking man. "Sel's the strongest guy we got; he ain't losin' to this nobody."
"Agreed." Edgar objectively nodded alongside his close companion, frowning as he always did.
"That's not the point," Selthris muttered as he glared back at the smirking faced man above them. "I'd rather not kill him if I can avoid it; we've already done enough of that."
Listening to him on her right, Sevrenna's low scowl twitched and, as if triggered by his very words, the robed Swordmaster abruptly took off toward them. Most of group let out shocked gasps in her direction, unable to respond in time.
"No!" Leo called out, eyes widening. "Sel, do something!"
"Dorkoth!" Llewel squealed out from behind the hulking man before turning and running, presumably worried for his safety.
Watching the speedy Swordmaster rush at him in a direct scowl, the grinning Dorkoth brought his knuckles down from cracking them and let out a single grunt as he smashed his fist into the ground where she was approaching from. Spitting up rocks, grass and other such things, he barely saw her disappear into an after-image of her sailing form. With a challenging and amused chuckle, the large brute snapped his hulking arm to his right to back-hand block the reappearing and scowling Sevrenna at his right. Slashing her steel sword across his forearm she widened her eyes when she watched it bounce off harmlessly. As her opponent's grin turned on her, she couldn't help but grow tense as he 'rounded the rest of his body around, presumably for a counter-attack.
Dorkoth rumbled loudly under his throat as he pulled his free arm back and, still recovering from her slash attack, the Swordmaster could only watch in widened eyes as she hung in mid-air like a kind of limbo. The fist finally came breezing through the air but, as it did, a silver lightning bolt suddenly sparked in between them; when Sevrenna re-opened her eyes she found the back-facing form of Selthris standing between them, his two arms coated in electricity and crossed together in a defensive formation. Undeterred by the new intruder, Dorkoth's grin never left him as he mashed his fist against the young man's defensive form.
SMASH
The two struggled for a few seconds but, before the other members of the unit could even approach to help, Dorkoth's rumble grew louder and with it, his power. Selthris' silvery eyes shot wide open when he realised his defence failing; even though his lightning affinity coursed through the undeterred hulk, he was uncaring. Finally pushing through Dorkoth let loose a morale-filled war cry and, like a cork from a wine bottle, Selthris was soon plucked from his defence and sent sailing back through the air, rolling as he was. His artificial electricity followed him and Sevrenna's widened eye, grit toothed frown watched before snapping back to meet the jolted Dorkoth high above her.
"Commander!" Tina called out as she approached before kicking her flying steed after him, soon disappearing into the night sky in pursuit.
"Cyclone Smash!" Leo's call came from the frontlines; Dorkoth's grin soon left him and he swivelled his head 'round and upward to find the plummeting forms of Leo and Edgar, their wind and earth Quintessence joining together in a joint effort. The pair of Aselian warriors collided their contrasting weapons into the newly defending Dorkoth. His bulky arms shot forward in a similar defensive cross formation. To his credit, the seemingly unrefined fighter managed to block the youths' combined effort, merely being sent skidding back a few steps.
"This... is not good." Edgar murmured out from his earth-style attack, both hands on his steel axe as he did.
"Ya think?" Leo whispered down in a bout of worried sarcasm, teeth grit and all. As if reading their very thoughts, the hulking Dorkoth grinned widely as he pulled his arms apart and brought them both down imposingly. Their eyes widening, the pair of friends immediately back-stepped as fast as they could, barely avoiding his primal smash. Boulders, grass and rocks once more were spit up from his laughing assault. Before he could pursue the retreating two however, he heard a sudden and noisy clang behind him; widening his eyes he swivelled his body around to find the re-scowling face of his former opponent Sevrenna below him. She held onto her steel sword, now stuck deep into the rocky ground below her.
He raised an eyebrow down at her curiously, attempting to work out her intentions. When he saw the sparks around her blade quickly escalate into fire however his eyes widened and, just as he attempted to leap forward, the circle around his legs and body erupted into a majestic explosion of pure fire. Opting instead not to call out toward him, Sevrenna's black hair blew wildly and the fire lit up her wordless, scowling face as she watched him with a kind of silent fury. Finally the fire dissipated with the use of her Aegir however and, when it did, the remaining group of three people were borne witness to the most shocking sight yet.
The hulking form of Dorkoth's burnt body stood imposingly before them, his clothes burnt to rags from the earlier attack. As he lowered his defending arms, the burnt grin on his face revealed his fatigue or, rather, his lack of it. Sevrenna's eyes widened and she lost her usual scowl in place of a bewildered frown, as if unable to find the words with which to respond. Taking the initiative this time, Dorkoth used her shock to his advantage and laughed as he raised up his right leg before smashing it down noisily. Sevrenna had to keep herself from falling back down the mountain itself, gripping her steel sword for a handle.
He's going to charge at me, Sevrenna thought in growing panic, her eyebrows lifting up in concern.
As if reading her thoughts, the grinning Dorkoth made ready to charge forward before stopping briefly to scowl around half-way behind him. His ears seemingly caught the similarly charging forms of the hard-faced team he had defended from earlier; Edgar and Leo flew at him with their earth and wind Quintessence powering their blades. Seemingly uncaring of the pair however, his grin returned to him when he swung his right hulking fist behind him to smack the yelling pair of comrades back the way they came. His hungry eyes snapped back to grin down at the grit-toothed form of Sevrenna below him and, as he made ready to charge once more, something else even more shocking happened.
Sevrenna's eyes widened for the umpteenth time when she caught the sailing form of a lightning bolt itself; Dorkoth's eyes also widened and he shot up his arms to defend against it. Though successful, he found his charge impeded completely and with the interruption of a new rival, the large man snapped his sparking body 'round to glare at the intrusion. The bolt of lightning skid across the ground before swiftly materialising into the hard-scowling form of the Aegir aura covered Selthris Vikeruce. He spun around with the bolt he was before and twirled the sword he carried, Hakai, 'round his right arm before suddenly stabbing it roughly into the ground.
The pair stood their ground together and stared one another down as a bull and a bull-fighter would. Sevrenna's brow furrowed suspiciously as she watched the crackling, lightning form of Selthris; when she noted his usually dull silvery eyes had soon switched to a haunting black her own eyes widened.
"Why have his eyes changed?" The Swordmaster could only think to herself in silent wondering.
Soon however, the grinning and thus far wordless form of Dorkoth opted to move first; the hulking brute this time changed his charging target to the scowling-faced Selthris. The ground shook shockingly and the watching group could only view the confrontation in silence as they recovered from either their earlier attacks or their fatigue.
The imposing Dorkoth rushed at him with an unsubtle but effective roaring smash of his two fists. Seemingly hitting dead-centre, the large man's eyes widened and his grin grew even further when he saw the young man's scowling form after-image in a manner similar to his earlier opponent. Expecting an attack from one of his sides, Dorkoth laughed as he shot up his right forearm to block the incoming youth's black lightning infused kick.
This time, surprised however, Dorkoth's eyes shot wide open and his grin was finally lost to him. When the kick connected, the ebony electricity from his body joined with his and he was sent a surprising distance back, toward the edge of the mountain. Dorkoth gasped in shock and he turned his eye down on the frightening set behind and below him before hissing in anger when he found his right arm suddenly unresponsive; it hung below limp at his side and he roared in anger as he attempted to move it but to no avail.
"Go commander!" Sevrenna hollerred over, her eyes widening in her own kind of anger. "Push him off!"
Dorkoth's own growl and glare shot over to her before they snapped suddenly ahead of him to find the similarly glowering form of his suddenly imposing enemy. Unfortunately for the large man however, he had managed to lose sight of him entirely; his eyes widened and he darted them around in search for the young man. Unsuccessfully locating him with his eyes, his ears picked up movement from his undefended back and, as time slowed down for him, he swivelled slowly to face the scowling form of his black lightning-encased enemy.
"Noooooooooooo!" Dorkoth finally let loose in an initially low but high growing volume roar of concern as the growling Selthris stepped forward to sweep his legs. The ebony lightning joined with the grunting Dorkoth and he found himself falling to the ground on his side; unable to move his right arm or his legs now from contact with the strange electricity, he could only watch as the young Lord pulled his left lightning-encased fist. Time slowed down for him for just a second before, suddenly he drove his arm into the larger man's frontal plexus.
DROOM
The explosion, not just from the young adult's attack but from the collision he sent his enemy into, caused the mountain to rumble quietly, echoing down to the base. The structure that Dorkoth had destroyed earlier was rent asunder even further, leaving almost nothing left. As if already having seen this before, Leo sighed as he peeled himself up off of the battlefield, grunting as he cricked his neck and ran his shoulders 'round themselves to restore feeling. Edgar followed his example and the similarly frowning Tina brought her pegasus down to join the group.
Sevrenna could only stare back at the newly black-eyed scowling form of Selthris Vikeruce, silent awe on her open lips.
–
8
"Well done Sel," Leo gasped out as he ran his spare wrist across his front mouth, as if to wipe off the dust that had gathered from his fall earlier. He sheathed the Hero Sword he so faithfully used before turning his dusty grin on the frowning Lord. "For a second I didn't think we'd get outta that alive."
"Yeah," Selthris agreed with in a low smile of his own after briefly shutting his eyes to change his form back. His intense black electricity and Aegir aura soon dissipated with it. "I'm sorry I wasn't here to help."
"Don't sweat it," the Mercenary grinned back as he shook his head dismissively, raising his arms to rest behind his head. "Can hardly help when somethin' like that ha-" He began in his sociable grin before widening his eyes as he snapped his head around to find the frowning Sevrenna advancing toward them, clearly looking for an audience. She seemed to look out of sorts however and turned her eyes away from the pair, drawing the two young men to exchange unsure looks with one another. Before they could even question her however, the frowning Tina hovered towards them atop Archibald, his wings flapping lightly.
"Commander!" The Pegasus Knight called down, pulling the Lord's own similarly frowning attention. "We should stop the attack; confirm the kill!"
"I agree," Edgar called over from the side as he also peeled himself up from the battlefield, groaning lightly as he shook his head. He edged his free thumb and head toward the area of impact in an obvious gesture. "We should go check."
Reacting with a simple and wordless nod, Selthris advanced forward, silently gesturing to the frowning Sevrenna to follow. She marched along behind the two men and, as Selthris yanked out the Hakai from the ground on his way, she watched his back intently, as if curious somehow. Finally however, the team of five reached the destroyed main camp only to find the badly burnt and barely alive form of Dorkoth.
"Hard to believe he was so intimidating earlier...," Tina murmured as she watched him from atop her pegasus. "Look at him now."
"No-one messes with the big boss man," Leo teased jokingly in his humorous grin as he softly knocked the smiling youth next to him on the chest brotherly. "That guy had a lot of strength but no real skill in using it."
"Exactly," Edgar nodded in objective, quiet agreement. "He was definitely fierce... but I've seen stronger opponents."
"We've done enough here," Selthris finally answered however and this time in a business-like frown. He swayed his hand across the air, as if to gesture that the battle was over. "We're returning to camp." He intoned out as he sent the Hakai to his sheath quietly before turning to leave. Tina nodded and quietly urged her pegasus to keep up with her superior, flapping along quietly.
"You betcha," Leo agreed in his grateful grin, nodding as he turned alongside his close friend. "I hope Garrus is makin' cookies again!"
"Those were nice." Edgar rarely smiled in nodding agreement alongside the chuckling Mercenary.
"Right?!" He boyishly grinned, exchanging a humorous high five with the Axe Fighter.
"That's it?"
Selthris blinked before swiftly about-turning his body half-way to meet the interrupting voice, eliciting the rest of the team to follow in his movements. Sevrenna stared back at him, visibly shocked.
"Is what it?" He asked.
"This is our enemy," the robed Swordmaster urged as she gestured down at the unconscious form of the beaten hulk. "Why are we leaving him alive?"
"Because we've spilled enough blood tonight," Selthris answered very quickly in response. Though she tutted loudly enough for them to hear, clearly disagreeing as she snapped her eyes away from his, she soon re-faced them to frown hard back at him. "I'd rather not kill any more people if I can avoid it."
"Fine!" The young woman finally spat out in grudging agreement. Selthris' silvery eyebrows shot up in visible surprise and even the listening Leo and Edgar shared a similarly bewildered look together. "But... I want a word alone with you," she finished, this time bringing her eyes back up to frown at his. "In private." She insisted as she narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the rest of the group. Though Leo nudged the young king's side in a teasing grin, Selthris brought him to a swift close with a gentle raise of his left hand, chuckling alongside him. He nodded at the staring three, allowing them to continue on forward, leaving the two alone. Selthris lost his smile in favour of his ever serious frown as he swivelled to face her, a hand on hip as he did.
"Yes?" He merely asked, popping up a curious eyebrow.
Her hands instinctively went up to the necklace around her neck and, as they did, Selthris' eyebrows rose up again in recognition.
The same necklace that Leo managed to find?
I'll have to pay him back for that, Selthris thought to himself in a silent reminder.
"I...," she began slowly, her eyes limpid and half-closed as if unsure on whether to continue. "I wanted to... thank you for...," she started again as she closed her left fingers around the tiny emerald around it and showing it to him, raising her eyes to face his as she did. "For this."
"Oh." He merely said in response, his eyes widening in honest shock.
"Um... I know I reacted badly earlier this morning but I...," the Swordmaster began as she watched him quietly. Selthris suddenly felt the same kind of unease he did three years ago, when saving Tina. Familiar feelings welled up inside him and he watched her carefully. "I'm grateful," she insisted in a rare gentler tone. "And I'm sorry for... for shouting at you earlier."
Selthris could only stare at her in silent shock, his eyes still widened. Sevrenna's left eye narrowed suspiciously at him and her scowl soon returned in full force.
"What?" She hissed over angrily. Her tone managed to pull him out of his bewilderment and he merely put on a nervous smile as he shook his head dismissively.
"N-Nothing, I'm just... surprised, that's all," the Lord honestly admitted before regaining his frown. "I can't take any credit for it, really," he admitted this time however. She raised an ebony eyebrow at him and tilted her head. "Leo," he began, this time in a light smile. Her eyes widened in recognition, briefly darting over to the leaving Mercenary in response. "He was always smarter than me."
"What do you...?"
"Leo's the one that found your necklace," the Lord admitted honestly as he used his free left hand to point at the small emerald hanging on her neck. She widened her eyes and snapped down at it. "I tried looking for it but I found little to no time to be able to do it." He claimed in his apologetic frown. As she listened to him she could only blink, before slowly lowering her eyes down to the emerald on her neck.
"I guess...," she began almost dreamily, turning the gem over in her fingers. "If more people were like... you two then..."
Selthris' right eyebrow shot up in honest confusion and suspicious curiosity as he listened. As if fearing his response however, the hard-faced Swordmaster regained her scowl and marched along abruptly forward before gently smacking his chest with her back-fist.
"Thanks." He heard her say before swiftly continuing on to follow the other three. Selthris turned to watch her in a curious frown, blinking as he did so. Numerous things went through his head; why was the necklace so dear to her?
Family heirloom maybe?
Could be, he thought.
He couldn't help but crack a grin however when he recalled that look on her face not a minute prior.
Was that actual gratitude from Sevrenna?
The woman that reamed him in front of the key members of the alliance that very same morning?
He shook his head in a quiet laugh, growing curious how Leo would react to his lovely gesture. Briefly shutting and re-opening his eyes in dismissal, he walked forward after the disappearing group, a strange and funny feeling welling up from within him.