Fantasy &nbsp; Four Suits Volume 3: Shadows Of War

TPBx )

ChazGhost · Jan 15, 2020

Maxwell Jacob, Jack of Clubs

"Get the cannons into place as fast as possible men!" Maxwell ordered as he rushed to the front line after many delays in moving the cannons with him and his artillery squad. A squad of soldier quickly unloaded cannons into a trench, and Maxwell was helping them out as best he could. The cannons were set fairly far apart for reason that would come in later. After some time preparing, as the massive battle was going on not far from their very position. "Start loading the enchanted cannonballs into the cannons and aim them at their main force and thin them out!" Maxwell contiued to command as his troops quickly loaded their cannons with special enchanted explosive cannonballs.

"Cannons are all set sir!" one of the troops yelled to Maxwell once the cannons were set.

"Good..." Maxwell said before taking a deep breath before touching the first cannon and increasing it's size tenfold. Then he ran over to the next one and did the same. And so on so forth a few more times until all the squad's cannons were enlarged to ten times their original size. "Fire!" Maxwell ordered, covering his ears as best he could as cannons went off with a huge booming sound. The giant cannons ball flew through the air and crashed into the opposing army, and exploded. Then with a snap of Maxwell's finger, the cannons went back to normal size. "Okay, men reloaded the cannons!" Maxwell ordered as he took a moment to drink some water and readied himself to enlarge the cannons once more...

Remembrance · Jan 15, 2020

Ebel, Yisstra's Grove
Ebel awoke startled, immediately whipping his head towards the nearby treeline. He picked himself up, summoning his halberd to his hand, setting a new rune as he gripped it. Entering the defensive stance, with the halberd's axe blade pointed downwards and it's upper shaft laying on the palm of his left land, he lowered his center of gravity; preparing for anything to come out and strike him. With no delay, a bulky man wrapped in excessive pieces of armor flew out from the foliage. Following him, a 6 foot bark-like creature stomping it's way through the trees. The tall and well-built man appeared to Ebel as just that, Ebel was no man who could judge a person's fighting experience just by their looks. The man held a large battleaxe, his weapon of choice looked as though it was meant for two hands, however the man wielded it in one and twirled it around like Ebel would with his halberd.

In one magnificent display of strength and fortitude, the man disarmed the creature's arm and sent it backwards with a powerful kick. Lunging his way towards his opponent, Ebel caught a glimpse of him sliding some sort of jewelry over his finger. The bark creature had yet to give up however, and charged the man, only for him to respond by sinking his axe into the creature's knee, before clenching his fist and igniting his fist into a surge of flames. After the man punched the creature, sending it back with another kick, he sunk his axe into the it's torso, causing it to flail for just a moment before the man withdrew his axe. Again, plunging his lit fist into the dryad, this time, the man pulled out a glowing green crystal. The man stepped backwards after seeing the creature cease movement.

As the man turned, Ebel forwent his halberd, clenching his fists and entering a more traditional defensive stance. The man, however, simply ignored Ebel. That stung. Ebel watched as the man continued forwards; Ebel in some kind of anticipation. Although, what he had been anticipating did not come into fruition. Exiting his stance, Ebel pondered for a moment. That man looked as though he knows how to rid of creatures, such as that wood-like creature. Perhaps he knows where I can find a spider? Ebel quickly closed the distance between him and the man, approaching him from beside.

"Hello." Ebel tried to keep some form of formality with the man. "Could you perhaps lead me, or even just direct me to a.." Ebel briefly paused, remembering the rumors he scoured for and what they described the spider as. "A large spider with an orb on it's back?"

Kloudy

LazyDaze · Jan 15, 2020

HINDSIGHT IS 20/20!
Starring/Collab: LazyDaze & . D O V E

TIME: WEEKS BEFORE THE BATTLE

LOCATION: VALENCIA QUARTERS

X released a yawn for the ages as he strolled through the streets of Valencia. Nowadays, it felt as if everything had the propensity to completely drain his energy. Even now, how was he supposed to enjoy his vacation with all these uptight soldiers mobilizing. If not for this obvious stain on the Valencia experience, he had to admit it was a beautiful city. The mountains in the backdrop were particularly amazing. X checked his pocket watch; it was broken as always, yet it was always reliable.Whoever invented the phrase if you’re on time, you’re late could just die. He decided he had done enough sightseeing for one day, and with another yawn he made a u turn to face off with his newest ordeal.

Having to interact with the other Royals was always taxing, even though he did his best to contribute as little as possible. Was there any point to it all? Everyone was posturing and sticking out their chest. Including none royals, good freaking grief. Being a relatively new King, anything he said would probably be shot down anyway; moreover, anything he did not say would probably be touched upon by someone in the room sooner or later. All in all, there was no need to waste needless energy to pointless contributions. Once you were seen as competent, people would constantly look to you for answers instead of reflecting on what they could do for themselves. X, sighed as he thought about the work Ari and Hel...Helmark, Hallmark, Hellbound..(whatever that angry guy’s name was), carried the heavy lifting. Peace was more important than glory, and X’s mind was at peace...before today. Why the Queen of Hearts wanted to see someone like him was unknown. Maybe she was going to confess her love or something. Maybe she was going to finally share the sentiments of the others and tell him to get off his ass. “Hmm, probably the former. I heard that war brings out the instinctive nature to procreate…,” X muttered to himself before opening the door and casually strolling to the promised meeting place. It wasn’t the official meeting room, but it would serve its purpose.

“Yo, Guin right, how’s life treating you?”

The Queen of Hearts looked up from her seat at the center of the room, the table in front of her messy with maps and papers. Sanguine eyes focused on the newly arrived King of Clubs with a mix of disbelief and exhaustion. The female leader’s diligence has always been famed in the country; hence, seeing her in such spent state wasn’t uncommon. Regardless, she stood up with a straight posture before gesturing to the open seat across from her.

“King Valentine, please close the door and take a seat.” Guin requested, trying to be polite as she could as opposed to the King.

“Glad to see you’re doing well,” X said with an equally polite tone as he closed the door gently and took his seat. X’s eyes drifted to the table filled with unorganized papers, and not so pristine maps. Then his eyes drifted to the not so relaxed Queen. X maintained his infamous expression of blankness, doing nothing to give away what he was thinking. (Which at this time was the best way to make a poultry sandwich). The Queen was doing the same, burying the uneasiness of the situation under a mask of control. You couldn’t blame her, they were in Valencia after all...for war. “Please call me X, King Valentine is my father. Probably before I was orphaned though…” X said scratching an imaginary beard as he glanced thoughtfully toward the ceiling.

“You see it’s funny because…well nevermind that. Cutting to the chase, what did you need me for? If you’re planning a romantic getaway; I’ve been to a few spots I think you’ll like,” X said flatly as he began to slouch in the chair. It wasn’t too uncomfortable, but X was certain anything other than a throne was made for dwarves.

Guin stared at the strange man with utter disbelief. She couldn’t even fathom that this was the King of Club who helped beat the massive dryad and rumored to have went ham during his Kingship tournament. The Jokers were indeed right. Selecting rulers by holding a competition was nothing but a ridiculous idea.

Here they were, right in the jaws of war, and he thought that she called him out for a date. The blonde couldn’t even tell if he was joking or not because of his irritating deadpan face and flat delivery. She leaned back and crossed her arms, a disapproving look painting her face. “I’m gonna be frank, King X.” She began sternly. “I don’t think you’re taking this whole thing seriously. I’ve been observing during the royal meetings and I have noticed your detachment. While you do have my respect as a fellow royal, I can’t help but feel the need to point this out.” Guin looked him in the eyes, a certain grimness crossing her features. “A few weeks from now, millions of Argossians will march into this city and they’ll be taking no prisoners. And right now as we speak, hundreds of mages lose their lives in defending our borders and buying us more time.” She looked at the sketches of schemes on her table before clenching her fists in frustration. “Yet...the royals still don’t have a sound plan.”

While it was true that battle plans were being thrown around every now and then, Guin could see a hole in every single one of them. It was why she has been spending her days drafting her own, seeking to find the perfect plan to outsmart the Empire.

X took in every word as he noticed the cracks in her armor that were starting to show. His eyes traveled hers back to the map and a clenched fist that could only be described as adorable. He then returned to her disapproving face, a face he had seen often. She was no doubt a diligent Queen. Although everyone, except X of course, was contributing, battle plans were technically outside of her jurisdiction and an unnecessary burden, yet here she was mulling over strategy and war.

“...So in other words...you’ve been watching me,” X said with a suggestive riggle of the eyebrows while somehow maintaining a dry expression, much to Guin’s exasperation. How he was able to live with himself, we’ll never know. X shifted in his chair, now leaning forward with his elbows on the table. He was silent for a few seconds, choosing his words carefully and discarding history she didn’t need to know. “I don’t speak, when I have nothing to say…,” X stated seriously as he continued to look into the eyes of a Queen whose country was to be the battlefield of perhaps the grandest battle in this entire war. There were probably other things he wanted to tell her, things he wanted to tell a lot of people, yet, it was...troublesome. Perhaps at another time and venue, he would spill his guts, but X knew himself better. He’d rather just be misunderstood. Content to have her derive whatever his previous statement truly meant, he leaned back in his former position, glancing out the window before returning his gaze to the Queen of Hearts.

“And I’ve been watching you all. Running around in a frenzy trying to put together a last minute project before we get toasted by some tin cans. I digress, despite all my apparent shortcomings you were the one who called me here, but now I can’t imagine why you would wish to speak with the useless King of Clubs?”

A moment of silence passed while the two royalties stared at each other’s eyes, sanguine and silver ones holding secrets of their own.

“Because I believe you’re not useless.” Guin answered with certainty, holding his gaze firmly.

The Queen had heard the whispers down the halls. She knew that the man in front of her was a subject to plenty of mockeries and she could see why. It was because he let them. Why he would allow such disrespect was beyond her, but what she could gamble on was that a capable king hides behind his deadbeat facade.

“King Valentine, I don’t know why you’re hiding your potential, but I need your help. The people are depending on us to come up with a plan. The other Kings and commanders are discussing among themselves, scurrying for one, yet they remain unfruitful.” The blonde then moved her fist to thumb a particular paper on the table. It was clearly a draft, words written in a readable yet somewhat hasty manner while sketches of what appeared to be tunnels and mountains covered the other spaces. “That’s why I’ve been working on this.” She began, sliding the said draft to the King. “I plan to propose it to the coalition but something like this is admittedly not my expertise. Hence, I’d like to ask for your opinion and aid.”

X was remained still during the silent seconds that seemingly stretched on for an eternity. How she was able to see through his facade, X didn’t know. To his dismay, he didn’t see any route in which he would be justified in declining her request. “...Oof...you got me. I am a loaf by day and a genius mage by night. If anyone were to learn my secret they would be the targets of my various enemies,” X said sarcastically...or truthfully? He took the draft that was slid across the table, still locking eyes with Guin before shifting his attention back to the draft before her. He read through it once, then read through it again since he got a kick out of her handwriting. X looked up, his eyes squinting as he locked down the urge to laugh, returning said urge to his belly as he studied the paper once more.

“Guin,” X started as he slid the paper back to Guin, having already memorized it’s contents. “...Nothing is really hidden from those with sight; I simply allow the blind to be blind.” X looked up toward the ceiling as he quickly pushed out a troublesome thought from his memory then cut back to the matter at hand. “It’s good, I can make this more convincing, but you’ll probably have to work on coloring inside the lines though. You did this yourself?”

And so, the Queen’s gamble was right- X was more than a loafer of a king. Even though she did manage to get something about him right, she still couldn’t read him like an open book unlike most people. Guin even considered if he was insulting her artistic side when he mentioned about coloring inside the lines. The man was too random it was somewhat affecting her process of thought. Some of the things he spout were pure nonsense while some arguably held deeper substance.

“I did.” Guin replied to X’s question. She was glad to hear that he was willing to help her improve the plan and she showed it with a smile. “Right,” she began, placing her plan on the table once more and using her fingers so she could trace the parts she wanted to emphasize. “I think it’s very apparent that the Argossian severely outnumbers us; hence, we can only win this war if we play smart. We can use the hammer and anvil tactic with variations,” she used her index finger to point at the illustrated front line, “This is the front line. They’ll serve as the anvil, bait the Argossian forces in while a portion of our troops hide underneath the city’s tunnels. Then, with the Ace of Diamond’s help, we can transport another portion to the Argossian reserves and take them from behind- the hammer.” She briefly explained although she probably didn’t have to since it was all pointed out in the draft.

X noticed Guin crack a smile. He was unaware of her mannerisms, but this was the first time X saw such a smile from the Queen of Hearts his entire time in Valencia. He listened intently as the Queen explained her plan; however, X never looked down toward the map since he was already aware of what was mapped out. Instead he chose to go over it in his head. It was somewhat amusing, all of these battle hardened soldiers present in the army, and here is this seemingly proper and prim Queen going through battle strategies. She was a woman after his own heart, if he had one. “...Take them from behind? No one told me the Queen of Hearts was so....aggressive.” X once again had that cheeky smile form underneath his mask as he then went on another tangent. “You probably have no idea how simplistically genius this actually is do you?” X paused for effect then proceeded to explain his previous statement. He placed his hand in his jacket and then pulled out a piece of paper along with a pencil as he began to re-create her plan.

“You flatter me.” While she chose to ignore his suggestive remark, a sense of pride briefly washed over the Queen when she received his compliment. However, she was quick to brush it off to give way to more pressing matters.

“I’m glad you brought this map by the way. Before arriving here, I was busy scouting the city and making one of my own, but there was no way I would have known about the tunnels.” X pulled out a folded piece of paper, balled it up and through it behind him. He could only curse himself for doing unnecessary work, but alas, he could make up for that later.

“Our current way of thinking was to attack from multiple fronts. However, given the structure of Valencia, we have no real need to contain the enemy from the sides; on that note, they would overtake us with their millions of reserves after our initial surprise attack. The use of William is also simple, but effective. We’re mages...might as well use magic right? Plus, with their numbers, the only way we win is if we use the element of surprise the best way we can. If that fails, we will then use the element of surrender.” X paused again to see if he would get a reaction from his imaginary audience and then continued before his pride was murdered by silence.

“Luckily, we don’t have to change the personnel. I’d say that Seren, Sahara, Seri...whatever...she should probably lead the tunnel ambush. Appearing in the middle of Argo forces is sure to draw heavy fire, so you’ll need someone who won’t die. Also, I’ll lead the charge to...take them from behind.”

X handed his version of the plan to Guin as he allowed his double entendre to fall flat yet again. He might have been a sloth, but his handwriting was always something people were surprised to see.

Despite the unrelenting and annoying innuendos the King of Clubs threw her way, the Queen of Hearts listened to his every word with undivided focus. It was becoming more and more apparent that the King knew what he was doing. She wordlessly accepted his recreation of her plan and took a good look at it. She was somewhat surprised to see his neat handwriting and she’d even dare call it fancy, it was almost hard to believe that it came from the sluggish royalty in front of her. People are truly full of surprises, she noted.

“Seria,” Guin reminded X, “And I agree. We would need an Ace underneath the tunnels and the Ace of Spades possesses the strongest physical prowess amongst their rank. On the other hand, I have no qualms about you leading the, erm, rear party. I heard about how you won your Kingship competition and I think you’re a very capable fighter.”

“Wouldn’t remember, I was drunk,” X said truthfully, not particularly worried if she would believe him or not.

Eventually, she tore her gaze away from the paper and returned it to the other occupant. “What about our air forces?” She prompted.

“Ah,” X said as he was pleasantly surprised by her suggestion. He was going to lead into that point; however, she was more capable than he gave her credit for. Since they arrived at that point without his own prompting he simply continued off of her point. “Probably our greatest ass set...They’re ass...that’s the joke.” X waited for a moment to gather his thoughts and then continued. “To be frank, I’m proud of their development, but our air force would never stand a chance against the aircrafts of the Argossians...who we happen to be fighting pretty soon. If I’m being honest with you, I do not think they are ready to make an appearance on the battlefield. However, if used creatively, we won’t have to worry about the idea crashing and burning, figuratively...and literally too I suppose. During this war, we’ve mainly relied on soldiers and their elite abilities. Things like aircrafts, no matter how rudimentary compared to their own, should be a relative unknown. Therefore, we will keep our aerial forces shelved until the other phases begin. Furthermore, we’re not going to guess and hope they won’t look up to the sky, we will force their focus on the ground. While they are dealing with the frontlines change in tactics, the sudden depletion of their reserves splitting them further, and the underground forces disrupting their cohesion, we make the debut of the Coalition’s Air Force and bomb them from above.”

Guin was now literally taking notes of X’s words, using a quill pen and an ink to immortalize them in a piece of paper. She knew that the Argossian aerial units were definitely much more advanced than theirs but the Airforce’s ships and the faction in general was her country’s special contribution. “I trust them.” She briefly commented, not bothering to look up from what she was doing. “Nonetheless, that sounds like a sound plan, King X. Perhaps the Ace of Diamonds can teleport the ships overhead the confused Argossians.”

One thing continued to bother X however. The plan was completely sound, but one word could render it meaningless, chemistry. X knew war well enough to know that they were not the only ones making plans. If the approaching numbers were any indication of what was to come, he was certain the main strategy of the Argossians was to simply overwhelm them with numbers. X’s worry was how the Suits would react to deviations and respond as a cohesive unit. As individual parts, he was certain they had an edge, but the key was to be greater than the sum of those parts, not less.

Deciding to return to an earlier topic of conversation, X’s eyes drifted toward a nearby window. “...To be honest, Guin, my stories have nothing on yours. Queen Guineverre, the light of her people and her country and Blanca family,” Sometimes he even wondered how he kept track of all his scattered thoughts. “You would truly be a fearsome foe...if not for the fact your love of red makes you quite easy to spot,” X joked. He was serious. The love that her people had for her made Guin more terrifying than any Ace, for even if you managed to defeat her and claim territory, it would most likely lead to immediate revolt. Citizens and soldiers alike would give their lives without a second thought during battle, or peace. In fact, to hold that power over others was even more terrifying the more X thought about it. If she was the wrong kind of person…

“Guin, perhaps we should just lure them in and blow up Valencia altogether,” X said without batting an eye, once again taking a tangent back to the original purpose of the meeting with an ulterior motive. He was sitting up straighter than normal. For the first time in the entire meeting, he was truly interested in what she had to say.

The Queen of Hearts immediately paused from writing upon the mere mention of her family name. She shifted her gaze upwards, finding the King’s silver eyes once again that was boring into hers. She was able to detect a sense of seriousness from him, for the first time perhaps, when he dropped his frank suggestion. Guin gently dropped her pen, furrowed her brows and glanced at their plan before returning her eyes to X. She wore this troubled look, as if she was torn between two pages.

“Perhaps.” She answered. Valencia’s citizens were either evacuated or conscripted to join the war. If they were to blow the whole city, only the enemies and those who have given their service to the coalition will die. As long as there was a war, death will always linger. It was inevitable… for now. “There are times when sacrifices need to be made. As rulers, the two of us should know it best. If we were to bait the enemy forces in and detonate the entire city, we won’t just be obliterating their forces but as well as a good portion of our own. But… if that’s what’s needed to be done, then so be it. In the end, what we can do, if we were to survive this war, is to make sure that every death won’t be in vain.” She fixed her eyes on him for the entirety of her response before returning to her work. “But I don’t think that’s what’s needed to be done, King X. The city would barely be able to fit the Argossian numbers. I fear the consequences would outweigh the damage we’d cause the Empire. Furthermore, I think we can achieve the same effect- probably with more damage and with less cost- if we stick with detonating the tunnels. They stretch across the valley and will hit more of the Empire’s land units since they will all be entering from one direction thanks to our mountains. The hammer, anvil, and airforce can clean out what remains.” The sound of her pen scratching against the paper filled the room for a brief moment. “This war is our last bastion. We cannot fall.”

After holding her gaze for just a moment, X burst out into laughter, “Holy shit, I was just joking,” X exclaimed as he wiped an imaginary tear from his face. He slouched back into his chair as he continued to stifle his laughter. Jokes aside, he was wrong. She wasn’t dangerous; she was extremely dangerous. Nevertheless, her reasoning was sound, but that only made everything even more terrifying. X reached out and lightly grabbed her wrist when he noticed how much she was writing. Did she have to take everything so seriously? “I think we’re good,” X said trying to hold in his returning laughter. “I didn’t come here to turn you into Hell Mut (Helmur).” X put his hands back in his pocket and stood up. “In any case, looks like you didn’t need me after all. If you present this at an official meeting I’m sure they can place the finishing touches and give it that official glow.”

On the other hand, Guin took heavy breaths when X’s laughter resonated throughout the room. The urge to grab him by the collar and drain the life out of him became strong, clawing from within her as the wanton to see him writhing in agony worsened. Despite her sudden homicidal thoughts, the Queen managed to keep her composure and kept on writing, digging the end of her pen deeper than necessary with every stroke. It was then when she felt his hands on her wrist and she couldn’t help but flinch slightly from the unanticipated contact. She couldn’t fathom how he could joke in a dreadful scenario such as the one they’re in.

“That’s not true, King X.” Guin digressed after his hand left her. “Your insights were very helpful and I’m thankful for it.” She then looked at the plan they pieced together then back to him. “There’s a royal conference the day after tomorrow, I think I’ll propose it then. When I do, can I count on your support?” An expectant look adorned her face, lips pursed as though she was somewhat apprehensive about something.

“Why would I have to-,” X started to say until he saw her face. She must have cast a spell before he entered the room, for X had trouble saying his 3rd favorite word. “You know how I do thi-,” once again X found himself unable to say no. He wanted to look away, but he couldn’t bring himself to even do that. Nevertheless, he continued to fight against what he already knew was inevitable in his heart. “...If you promise to stop looking at me like that then sure,” X managed to blurt out with an annoyed hint in his voice. She just had to up and ruin his vacation; the nerve of some people.

Guin innocently tilted her head to the side ever so slightly.

“Is that all? If I stay here any longer the people will start to talk. Not that I would mind or anything; my reputation already sucks.”

The Queen shook her head before standing up from her seat. “Thank you for your cooperation, King X. You’ve been helpful today and I look forward to seeing you more involved in the next meeting.” She extended a hand towards him out of formality.

X shrugged his shoulders at her insinuation as he made mental plans to increase is loafing output to offset the work he accomplished here. “Who knows, might catch a cold,” X said mischievously as he took her up on her offer of formality and shook her hand. X calmly, but instinctively looked down at her hand as they adjourned the meeting. It was sudden, but his entire being felt strange as an ominous feeling overtook him. He placed his hands back in his pockets and yawned, figuring it wasn’t rude since his mouth was already covered by a mask. “Let’s do this again sometime. Preferably in the after life,” X said with his trademarked frankness.

He bid her farewell and exited the room to handle the more pressing matters of nothing.

The King’s departure left the Queen in her own solitude once again. She returned to her seat upon hearing the door shut and began to ponder about the brief meeting. There was no doubt in her mind now. The King of Clubs has astoundingly proven himself to be a-

“Boneless oaf.”

Guin harshly whispered to nobody in particular, her expression shifting into a dark one. Her sanguine eyes drifted to her hand, the taste of the King’s soul fresh in her mind. X was lucky she managed to control herself from draining him entirely.

She was right. The King did know what he was doing. He was doing nothing! It was obvious from their encounter that he was a capable strategist- that he can actually do his job. He was not just a loafer of a king. He was worse. He was one of those people blessed with power yet they choose to hide and cower from responsibilities. The kind that only those with no ambitions will call wise. She, however, can spare no respect for people like him.

As Guin returned to her plan, she couldn’t help but feel pity for the Clubs. With a self-serving King such as he, she felt as though they deserve someone better.

Her.

She smiled to herself. Today has been productive no matter how annoying. She secured the support of a King- someone leading an entire kingdom’s army and a five-year military credits- and her plan was ready for polishing. The Coalition will listen to her, and everything will go according to her plan.

FIN

AI10100 · Jan 16, 2020

Callum

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"The search for knowledge drives us all."

location: Yisstra's Grove
interactions:

Ambiloquous

Kloudy
mentions:

Callum observed the others. They looked extremely fatigued. He looked nervously at Jana, giving her an uneasy smile. There were six of them, seven including the dead man, and probably even more when they entered - and yet here they were. What more with only the two of them? The two of them were capable, yes, but he doubted they would have an easier time in there. At times like this, he did wish he was here. But the war was still going on and they couldn't just suddenly pull him out - what a shame. He would have been more at ease if he was present.

"The... berries?" He reached over to take the berry that was offered to him - observing it. To him, it was nothing more than a normal red berry. But if it caused that... to happen with the guy, then it was truly a dangerous thing. He looked around to see that there were plenty of berries around. "Thank you for the warning." He took off his backpack and grabbed an empty lidded flask to collect some berries later.

So this Beast Hunter is travelling alone inside, for sure, since the others are out here already. He looked at the scroll curiously. "The Mercenary Guild huh? Got something to fetch in there?" Callum curiously asked. He knew the Guild took on many quests of varying difficulties, but to think that they would send out adventurers to Yisstra's Grove. There was a lot of danger with that. The rewards was likely very high due to the risk involved. That's how they operated after all.

"I hope he's alright." He muttered. If they ever encounter him, it would be nice if he could ask what they should expect or anything like that. Maybe even aid them in travelling inside the Grove. Considering the fact that he seemed to have his own agenda, however... well, whatever comes will come. He'll deal with it when the time comes.

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codedbycrucialstar | hidden scroll

Xanto · Jan 17, 2020

Kaiden Alderidge

Ever so slowly, the entire battlefield came into view. The war engine became visible along with an almost clear path toward it. Argossian fighters were falling left and right on the path from what seemed to be an invisible force- Mors vocet. Kaiden suddenly shifted his gaze off to the side, his eyes landing on his crew's movements. Of course. The deadly path to the war engine was an all too familiar sight from his days with . . the Assassins Guild.

He could remember it like it was yesterday. Embarking on few rare deadly group contracts and eliminating foes in mere silence as a single invisible force was something he'd grown accustomed to by the age of 15. None of this surprised him now. Just imagine taking up individual contracts with the guild as a mere child. Turning invisible and swiping away was near second nature to him. Nonetheless, Kaiden was glad his brothers and sisters joined him in this war. He was glad for the Guildmaster's mass order.

Not spending any more time thinking about the guild, the undercover assassin's eyes moved away from his crew and back to the battlefield. The war engine had abruptly halted most likely from some sort of mechanical malfunction. However, things were just getting started up in the skies.

"Commander! If we can get close enough to those Argossian flying machines, I can tether them to us and let ‘em tear off their tails. They’re more delicate than we are," A voice called out, catching the Airship Commander's attention. He simply glanced over his shoulder at a new face before scanning the enthusiastic mage for an equipped parachute. Good. She was ready. Perhaps she was one of the Clubs who got jostled into his airship.

Kaiden parted his lips ready to respond, until Hudson interrupted him with a message from the King of Diamonds. The Air Force was to strike with great precision, while approaching the wyrm. Wyrm. That's probably what they referred to the giant towering creature as. That monster was so high up in the air, it was natural for the Air Force to engage it.

You'd think the commander would have had time to properly reply to the unfamiliar mage. Instead, the ship was met with a loud crack and sudden jolt. Both disturbances signaled they were well over the battlefield now. "Stand by," Kaiden muttered to the Clubs mage, without diverting his attention from the battle below. He kept his strong stance at the bow of his airship. However, the same couldn't be said for the rest of his crew. Some of them unsteadily stumbled after his airship shook from what Hudson reported as "one of Helmur's group's antics." Ah, Helmur. That rough soldier was usually around Kaiden during peacetime. As members of the Hearts military, they were very well acquainted with one another . . in terms of conflict and tension. Both were forced to work together even if they publicly clashed every so often. But that was exactly it. The two had the same goals, just different ways of getting there.

Slight curses could be heard around the main deck due to what the rest of the crew deduced was from Helmur's recklessness. A jolt wasn't the only byproduct from thousands of explosives detonating in batches. Soon a massive fog rose from the battleground to cloud the skies. "Wind mages, clear the smoke," Kaiden commanded, moving his own hand from right to left so his airship's view wasn't obscured. Some mages joined him in filtering the air where they could. Then he placed his other hand forward ready to wind strike, only to realize the thicker fog they'd drawn close to. "Bugs?" Kaiden questioned before receiving Hudson's confirmation, "Cannons, aim!" The cannons swiveled at the airborne insects soaring towards the airships with arm blades. Close combat. With that quick catch, he suddenly added, "Barriers up!" Defensive mana barriers materialized as generators activated. "Fire!" At Kaiden's command, enchanted cannonballs launched into the sky, hitting the middle range with midair explosions. Meanwhile, close range bugs squashed against their shields.

"Update the admiral," Kaiden informed his telepath as he watched some insects break through firepower and slash at their barriers. The air fleet would soon be upon the wyrm. Alas, their estimated time of arrival was too good to be true.

"Commander! Empire Sky-Steeds, twelve-O’-clock!" A separate voice announced. Kaiden's head whipped to the left, noticing a new wave of Argossian planes approach. The Sky-Steeds had no problem shooting down insects on their way over.

"Word from the admiral?" Kaiden asked his telepath, who in return silently shook his head. Sky-Steeds were the fastest opposing airborne force out there. Those things could dodge airship cannons and fly faster than their random insect enemies. However, Kaiden had been observing them for days. He knew they were less durable than even the flimsiest airships. Speaking of which, it didn't take long for the Sky-Steeds to encircle individual airships and pelt them with gatling fire. "Fire cannons at the insects! Knock Sky-Steeds down if possible!" He commanded so his whole crew could hear. The insect swarm was a more reliable target since it was slower than an Argossian plane.

Kaiden seemed somewhat disturbed as he clenched his jaw at the sight. He looked like he was extending his patience, waiting for . . something. What drew the line for him though was when their neighboring airship started losing altitude. "Word?!" Kaiden raised his voice in urgency at Hudson, while waiting for the air force admiral's orders. Activating the generators and firing cannons were all part of training. The admiral's earlier order was to depend on barrier endurance levels till they were on top of Argossian forces to bomb them. However, they didn't expect the insects. They also couldn't drop bombs yet since the fleet was still over suits frontlines. And as Kaiden expected, the admiral underestimated Argossian firepower.

"Admiral's airship has been downed," Hudson finally reported with tightly shut eyes. The assigned telepath seemed like he was fighting through his own thoughts. In reality, their network was being overcome with unbelievable messages. "Second-in-command," Kaiden furrowed his brows at the news, but carried on nonetheless, "Word from the general?" A whole war was enough to think about. Grieving would be saved for later . . if there was a later. At least their leaders were spread across the fleet. If one went down, there was near zero percent chance the others would follow right after. "Red 10 down," Hudson reported another airship knocked by the Sky-Steeds. This wasn't just any airship though, it was the general's. "Third-in-command," Kaiden's hands subconsciously formed into fists as every second passed. It didn't help that they were busy switching leadership roles, while Sky-Steeds were slowly bringing them down one by one. "Third-in-command!" The commander shifted his now cold gaze to Hudson, "Hudson, third-in-." "YOU!" The telepath shrieked feeling as much pressure hit him in the face as it now hit Kaiden's, "Air Force Commander Alderidge, you're next in line." Poor Hudson was almost hyperventilating, "You are now in charge of the entire fleet's operations."

What a noticeable title change. Airship commanders led one ship. Air force commanders led . . well in his case, 500 ships! Kaiden's facial expression shifted from furrowed brows to wide eyes at the realization. All air support now depended on him! Commanding one ship was way different than commanding the entire fleet with 499 more. How many were even left? Why didn't he find out he was third-in-command till now? In what tale did third-in-command ever have to lead a massive war's only air fleet? WHEN?!

Now.

Now was no time to panic. In fact, Kaiden calmly converted all his adrenaline into positive energy. It was a technique the monks helped him pick up to alleviate his previous dark tendencies. He had to save what they had left to save what they could. Did that make sense? Hm, maybe he was sidetracked.

With a deep breath, the new air force commander placed a calm hand on his telepath's shoulder, " . . fleet updates." Hudson was shaking. This guy seemed to be reacting more crazily than his assigned commander. Look at Kaiden! He just looked like he found out about an odd secret! How could he be that calm? Ha, but it was only an illusion to their eyes. In reality, Kaiden's heart was pumping out of his chest. No one else needed to know that though. Hudson forced himself to stand still before replying, "Lost 10% of our airships from bug swarms and Sky-Steeds shoveling firepower against our barriers. Some generators are down, and some decks are filled with holes. Most Argossian LMRA’s and radio tower trucks for long-distance communications have been destroyed." The fight was going by quickly, and their rate of casualties was slow. That didn't stop the fact that one airship was falling every few minutes.

Now Kaiden's crew looked to him for answers. Their airship's barriers were still buzzing strong, but they all had to move quick.

"Halt cannons, full speed ahead, delayed 45 degree left turn on my command," Kaiden ordered all airships through Hudson. The least he could do was provide longer airtime and protection for the weaker airships. "Turn!" His word was loud and clear. In an instant, every other airship dipped down for their right side partner to cross over in a 45 degree angle. Then the lower airships leveled with the rest at a 45 degree left turn.

Just as the fleet shifted left, a sonic boom exploded. Not only did they evade the cold boom, but also the ice spears that rained down on Valencia. "Ace of Diamonds is attacking us all, sir," Hudson gave the update. It made sense when the darker clouds began forming overhead followed by hail and a snowstorm. . . now out of all times. What a perfect day to fly high.

"Request for aerial support. King of Clubs would like to coordinate an attack with the air force," Hudson called out as Kaiden encouraged his people to resume cannon attacks once again, "He's 'over in they yard'." The air force commander glanced at the Argossian half of the battlefield. They were still too far to fully view the commotion happening at its center. Well, that was when the King of Diamonds's telepathic message reached Kaiden. A few words of encouragement. Just what he needed . . even though some of his comrades have already literally fallen from Argos and bugs. Nonetheless, it was a message well received.

"Halt cannons, full speed ahead, vertical shift into inverted wedge formation on my command," The air force leader ordered out loud, "Shift!" On cue, all airships either decreased or increased in altitude, shifting into a vertical triangle formation before flattening out on the same horizontal level once again. Earlier, the Admiral's wedge formation placed a singular airship at the front tip of their triangle (wedge). Now, the tip inverted. The line at the back was now in the front. The ship at the front tip was now at the back. Airship pairs switched sides with one another during the 45 degree left turn. Most if not all of the weaker airships were now inside the new formation, while the stronger ones were outside taking on Sky-Steed firepower. "Straighten!" At that call, all airships corrected their 45 degree tilt and flew straight ahead.

"Half of the wind mages in each airship use wind currents to filter out Sky-Steeds and bugs from the middle of our formation. All airships close in! Feel free to knock into some Sky-Steeds by chance!" Kaiden made his new formation tighter, removing most gaps for enemy aircraft to comfortably fly in. Additionally, a wind current channel was being created in between these airships to blow opponents out and around the fleet.

He faced Hudson once again, after giving out his commands. Just because the commander was busy didn't mean he forgot about the king's request for aerial support. "'Over in they yard,'" Kaiden quoted with a raised brow as Hudson nodded. "We'll send them our airships," Kaiden smiled a bit as the fleet shifted accordingly. "Sir? May I receive specifics?" Hudson requested, while watching half of the airship's wind mages blow Sky-Steeds away. The air force was still tens of miles away from X's part of the battlefield. "When we are within range, all collapsing airships will be guided by all on-board wind mages toward the Argossian forces attacking the teleported team behind enemy lines," Kaiden explained, now joining the 50% of wind mages in his airship with channeling surrounding Sky-Steeds and bugs out from within their formation. Hudson waited for him to say "it's a joke." . . but it never happened. The telepath put his hand to his head, yet kept his gaze on the commander. He really meant it huh? Then, Hudson sent out his reply to the request, "We'll send you our airships."

Kaiden glanced at the Clubs mage after what seemed to be forever, "We could use your tether right about now. Snap their tails if possible. Our main goal is to drag them out of our formation." Within a few moments, he sent out another order to all the airships, "All non-wind mages, send out individual spell attacks to Sky-Steeds and bugs! Drive them out from our fleet or better yet, eliminate them!" He wouldn't stop until most if not all opposing airborne enemies near them were away from individual airship proximity and around their fleet. "Alright, let's go ripple. Outer ring, 16% of wind mages in each airship will do channeling. 34% on firing cannonballs. Inner ring, 40% on channeling. Remaining wind mages stay on airship propelling. Keep moving forward!" The outer ring firing cannonballs acted as somewhat of a shield for the weaker airships in their formation. Plus, their whole fleet kept moving forward regardless of the defensive orders. Kaiden continued, "Outer ring non-wind mages, Sky-Steed elimination is your priority. Cannons aim for bugs. Wind mages! Rotate through assigned position distribution to conserve mana."

With the commander's orders in motion, there wasn't a body on any airship that just stood still. "Once channelers are complete, half of that group does cannons, while the other half helps propel our ships faster!" This was the tactic he used to hold off enemy attacks till they reached Argossian lines.

After a while, Hudson came in with a report, "Airship collapse rate has been reduced, sir. Morale has increased. Our full fleet is now on top of enemy lines." At the sound of trespassing enemy territory, Kaiden got back into commander mode, "Collapsing airships! Aim at the wyrm and other bug forces for now. Release golems, bombs, and paratroopers before personal airship abort. Once we are in reach of the King of Club's location, we pull through with our coordinated attack and send collapsing airships there. Beware of friendly fire." Soon enough collapsing airships began to fall against bug hordes on the ground. Some even collided against the wyrm's body. Look up everyone, air support was finally here. "General rules here on out. Now that we've crossed the Argossian line, drop all your bombs, paratroopers, and golems as soon as possible! We'll use every piece of these airships we have left! Crash them down behind enemy lines!" Kaiden declared with a raised fist as his fellow soldiers cheered.

LazyDaze
Mentions:

Mechking · Jan 17, 2020

The road Throm rode on lead deeper into a forest, animals could be heard more frequently and the sunlight was getting more and more obstructed by large trees. It was quite peaceful and serene and Newmoon was relaxing a bit. The road made it easy and comfortable to travel on.

As they rounded a slight curve in the forest path, three individuals suddenly jumped out of the woodwork and in front of Newmoon. As an additional one stepped behind the horse with his bow drawn, it became apparent that they had no good intentions. All four of them were elves, wearing rugged clothes and wielding shabby weapons. Two of the three elves drew out their daggers, while the one directly blocking the path held his bastard sword menacingly. He was their leader, his posture, stronger build and commanding voice made it obvious.

"Alright, you know how this works. Hand us your money and fancy weapons and we might let you live."

(

Count Brimstone )

Goonfire · Jan 17, 2020

Ahlmus Thorn

Ahlmus froze as the familiar signature of his mentor’s mana expenditure drew closer, quickly. “What the f—“ His confusion turned to horror; the shaking ground and falling chunks of stone and plaster brought a horrible realization to the time mage. There was no way this was an accident. Was this why William was sorry?

Ahlmus felt sick, betrayed, and furious, a whole negative cocktail brewing in his stomach. He instantly regretted joining forces with the defective Ace in a vain pursuit of power. He simply wanted to go home and make amends with his siblings now, but one major problem stopped him from leaving just yet: he wasn’t sure if Travis was dead yet. The half-elf glanced around quickly, trying to locate his opponent.

—————

Vivianne Frisk

Vivi watched in awe as everything happened in rapid succession. She was officially aboard the command ship, and several city blocks were annihilated in one strike. The peppy girl wove her fingers together, extending them to pop her knuckles before she composed herself to begin her defensive routine. No amount of disaster would hinder her and others’ contributions to the war effort. This was the moment for which all Suits soldiers were training.

Argossian sky-steeds raced towards the airship. The hot-pink summoned swords flashed into existence over her shoulders and, with a wave of her hand, bombarded the first airplane, piercing the thin aluminum hull. In response, it pulled up, playing into her plan. Several fluid motions spawned her signature tethers between the small enemy air fleet. The lead sky-steed dragged its followers off-course and off-balance, causing some to lose altitude at an alarming rate. The tangle of planes tightened together, causing a massive, fiery explosion on the ground below, in the crater resulting from William’s barrage. They were no more than flies caught in the web of the Clubs’ party planner.

Speaking of flies, Vivi found a nice swarm of giant insects buzzing the airship. Despite the high volume of cannon fire, several flew past the defenses. The redhead unsheathed her sword, but threw it upwards instead of gripping it. “Reverie!” she called out, the enchanted blade glowing before orbiting her. In a display like bungee ballet, she tethered herself to two points on the ship, the longsword spinning with her to attack the stray bugs as she ascended. With it, she sawed through several, followed by another barrage of summoned swords that spiraled around her in gorgeous, practiced formation. Ending her counter-attack, she descended, the tethers and blades fading away after her feet touched the deck. Her weapon dropped into her hand lifelessly, the spell having ended with a bow from the conjurer.

Finally, the commander gave the orders to bombard the Argossians. Vivianne was as excited as the rest of the crew. She fired a colorful puff of confetti from her palms before tethering two bombs together. “Aye aye!” she declared as she armed the explosives with her mana. She enthusiastically struck the first blow against those assholes below. Treating the chained bombs like bolas, she twirled them and then hurled them down, their momentum steering them true.

—————

Leolin Hravart III

A solid hit! Leo wasted no time conjuring up several quick, explosive fireballs that streaked towards Three, hopefully solving two major problems at once. He shuddered from the release of that cold mana, then began floating down. His eyes went wide, watching the destruction of his city at the hands of an equal. His head whipped between William and the wyrm. He needed to make a decision quickly: make sure Farlene didn’t walk away from this alive, check on Alaric, or help that bold, familiar heat signature in the distance smite that bite-sized turncoat. The Ace of Hearts looked towards Guin for a word of advice as the world fell apart around him.

. D O V E · Jan 19, 2020

Guineverre Victoria y Blanca
The Queen of Hearts

A scornful smile adorned the Queen's face while she watched Leolin strafe Four from above. It seemed like the Flushe was helpless against their combined efforts and she was certain even she wouldn't be able to survive the Ace's incoming bombardments. It was then when she finally addressed the familiar magic linking with her. She flung her attention to Three and saw the heroic man from Valencia sneaking behind her just as the mad woman screamed for their souls.

Unfortunately, Three drew her own cards in quick successions and sent her counters. A lofty humanoid cockroach-mutant emerged from one of the wyrm's plate and blocked Alaric's attack. The brawny oddity then picked the warrior up and hurled him at Twig, almost as if he was a weightless projectile. Guin then noticed the cloud of bugs growing thicker and thicker behind the Jack, contemplating if she should abandon her post and help him or not. In the end, she chose to focus on shrinking her barrier, making absolutely sure that Four won't be able to escape Leo's wrath. She felt relieved when Twig managed to dodge the double-sided assault although the same couldn't be said for the poor warrior that blasted through the bugs. Guin briefly remembered watching him compete against Chesh during the last Kingship tournament.

Nonetheless, the Queen quickly brushed it off and returned her attention to Leolin and Four's battle- especially when she heard the latter mention something about a 'next phase'. It seemed to have turned into a one-sided fight and the blonde has no qualms about it. Once her childhood friend was done pelting his opponent with fireballs, she straightened herself and looked at the result of the fight.

It was then when she felt it.

Guin's eyes widened when she felt a massively powerful aura, its sudden presence alone sending courses of chills all over her system. It was at that moment when she decided to look up, gasping at the icy spear-like constructs dotting the sky. She held her breathe when her sanguine eyes found the Ace of Diamonds, the reality of what was to come dawning unto her.

"NOOOOOOO!" The Queen cried just as the traitorous Ace sent his spears to wreak havoc in her city. She helplessly watched as Valencia succumbed. The city she tried so hard to protect shattering right in front of her very eyes... at the hands of someone who was supposed to be their ally!

Then small chunks of ice began to fall from the sky. Soon, ones about the size of a small comet rained down and a winter blanket replaced the scarlet-painted grounds of Valencia. Guin wasted no more time and blinked beside Twig, constructing a barrier over their heads to save themselves from the sleets. "Our city... gone..." There were pain and anger in her hushed voice. "Nothing is going according to plan. The Argossian, the Flushe, and now that treacherous Ace... I won't let them get away with this..." It was as if cracks were beginning to show on her armor of control. She turned to face Twig. "One at a time, each of them will pay. You and Leo make sure that Three won't live to see another day. Perhaps you could distract the large mutant for him." The Queen then found the eyes of her Ace, looking at her expectantly.

Guin disappeared from her position and reappeared beside Leolin. She grabbed him by the shoulders, forcing him to look her in the eyes. "One at a time, Lion. We'll make them pay." She repeated her words with conviction. "I'll have Three command her wyrm to shoot me. Strike her while she's distracted and avenge the death of our people. We'll end her, right here, right now." Came her vengeful whispers.

Finally, the Queen of Hearts teleported nearby the wyrm, her constructed wings keeping her afloat parallel to where the Empire's War Engine was. She was in a reasonable distance from Three's massive beast, enough so that it could turn its head and she would have enough time to get away if ever her plan worked. She drew Dawnbreaker and pointed it at the Flushe, sending bullets to her direction so she can catch her attention.

"What a fitting end!" Guin repeated Three's words from before, "To be destroyed by a woman infinitely more beautiful than yourself!"

The blonde mocked, sounding desperate and acting like the recent turn of events made her forget that the wyrm can manabeam her into dust. In truth, Guin has confidence in her plan. She doubted that Three would be able to tell what she was going for. She believed that the woman's crazy personality, her fragile vanity, the sudden shift in weather, and the facts that her mind was split into thousands of beings and those beings were being attacked by the reinforcements were perfect ingredients for a rash decision fueled by spite.

Guin cackled and kept on firing at Three, doing her best to lead her on. Unbeknownst to anyone, she was preparing herself to blink away if ever the Flushe take her bait. Her intentions were quite daring. She wanted the wyrm to shoot the War Engine while Leo and Twig gang up on Three while she was distracted.

Tag/s:

TPBx · Jan 20, 2020

War Engine Control Room
======================

"Driver, how does the damage look?"

"Engineering teams have reported that one of the track are busted from the attack, but the rest of the tracks seem to be operational," one of the officers responded.

"Tell the engineering team to divert power to the rest of tracks and lets keep up the pace towards the target. Gunner, are we in firing range?"

"Yes, Engine Commander, our main guns are within firing range," another voice responded.

"Commence full attack, it looks like the mages did our job for us."

"Yes, Engine Commander, all guns target the enemy fortress and fire on my mark."

"Driver, has the power been diverted?"

"Yes, Engine Commander," the driver replied, "tracks have stabilized, all teams reporting systems are green."

"Full speed ahead then," the Engine Commander replied as the burly, bearded man took a seat in his Captain's chair. He stared at the view port as the behemoth of a machine rumbled to life as the driver pushed forward on one lever, then the next, then the next, putting the War Engine at full speed. The guns resting up on top of the gargantuan machine turned, their long barrels now facing towards the city. The Engine's shadow revealed the nature of its true size as it came closer to the front. It's shadow covering the land as the literal mountain of a machine barreled toward Valencia.

The gunner pressed a button on his control panel and gave the order to fire when ready. Inside each gun tower the gun crews loaded the first volley of ordinance into the firing chambers as the respective trigger men lined up the shots on their targeting screen. Then in a split second, the War Engine rocked as the force accompanied by an orchestra of explosions, fire and smoke pouring from the behemoth's towers. It was more beast than machine, a call back to times of old, but this time man managed to tame the dragons and make their power their own.

SentinelSevn · Jan 22, 2020

Abilities

Location:
- Valencia, Hearts

Interactions:
COLLAB w/:
- William Rundell Haus Code

Kloudy
- Lloyd Einstadt

Coyote Hart

Final Battle
William vs Quillon & Lloyd-Rohan
PART 1

William's shimmering eyes turned towards the frontlines, fixating on Arimand's face with perfect clarity and detail despite the miles of distance between them. He saw anger, outrage and a hint of desperation. They had been hard-pressed to push back the Argossians this much. William could understand his reaction, but it did not sway his conviction now.

"You would not comprehend why. This is what's best for our people."

He raised a hand directly into the sky, his gaze settled in the offending King's direction. Icy mana welled up in the Ace's palm until it grew wide and flat, spanning 20ft in diameter.

"For survival."

The telepath would pick up his thoughts as he spoke them. A large, spinning disc of solid ice was flung by William through the air. Pure arcane manifestation soaring with sharp revolutions as it crossed the skies of the battlefield, various Coalition soldiers throughout the second lines could not help but stare up in wonder at the sky as a massive circle of ice flew over their heads. The wonder did not last, of course, as many had already made the connection that someone with incredible ice magic was attacking everyone, including the Coalition. And there was only one person who could have possibly betrayed them to do so.

Arimand's personal retinue began to panic as the disc began to bear down on them, casting a daunting shadow. As it drew close, the disc broke apart into multiple smaller-sized discs the size of dinner plates and all moving at the speed of a high-caliber rifle round. Acting more like a scatter-shotgun than a frisbee, William's attack would impact all over the space that Arimand and Helmur's soldiers occupied. Disrupting their movements and carving through many, the destruction would prove to be a harsh response to Dornwell's interruption.

~~~

"Have you lost your mind, Ace of Farces?" Phantomsong shouted to Will, "Killing your own people? You should be ashamed of yourself! Look at how low you've sunk!"

"Walk forward," Phantomsong commanded Lloyd.

"Wha? Okay then," Lloyd said nervously as he walked up to stand side by side with Quillon even despite his warning to run

away. Lloyd felt an unnervingly powerful energy course through his body. In his mind, confusion was the only thing present. Did Phantomsong really think he could take on the Ace of Diamonds himself? Had Phantomsong himself finally gone mad? Perhaps Aces were prone to madness. William turned once again to face yet another distraction. He could feel something tampering with his vision, and there was only one mage strong enough to affect him so.

"Quillon…"

A portal emerged before the two mages in Valencia and they were greeted by the sight of William on the other side, still floating hundreds of feet in the air. Heavy winds buffeted frost and snowflakes at them from through the dimensional gateway. A heavy silence filled the warped space between them as William gazed between the two individuals, his arms crossed and his expression dark. He looked like he had been told something terrible and wanted to do something about it but couldn't. It was a sharp stoicism. His glowing eyes finally settled on Lloyd, although he almost seemed to be looking past the surface of the man's eyes.

"Rohan, this is your magic." It was less of an enquiry and more a statement.

"I thought I had killed you."

“You can never kill the Gold Standard,” Phantomsong said proudly, “Besides, it’s my job to make sure corrupt royals such as yourself don’t live to see the light of day. Not when you’ve abandoned your duty to be the figurehead of your people and become a monster.”

“Phantomsong…?” Lloyd asked, “What’s this all about? Who is Rohan?”

“That’s me,” Phantomsong said, “Yep, I am Rohan Gold, the Ace of Diamonds. The true and just Ace of Diamonds.”

The sudden admission of his identity came as a surprise to Lloyd. He still hadn’t gotten over the realization that Mia was the first Queen of Spades, but this… Phantomsong was the Ace of Diamonds?! A legendary hero of the kingdom was stored in the sword at his right hip, and it was about to strike down the mighty William Code?

Lloyd’s approach to Quillon’s side came as a surprise to the Ace, and he looked down at the boy with his brow raised questioning his certainty. Once the battle began, Quillon knew that there was little opportunity to turn back, and the nervousness on Lloyd’s face gave him very little confidence that he was prepared for this. But the Ace didn’t deter him anymore. He gave his warning, the boy’s choice henceforth would be of his own.

The portal opening before them brought a familiar face into view, the glaring features of the popsicle-brat being less intimidating to him more than it would be to others. But of course, Quillon hardly ever took anything seriously enough to be intimidated. He watched as William’s eyes only glanced in his direction before they settled on Lloyd, more specifically at the sword that dangled along his hips.

Quillon allowed their introductions, or re-introductions for that matter, to go without his interruptions. Merely because he too was interested in the sword’s history, if not because it would give them another edge in the coming fight.

“William..” Quillon began, raising a hand up to his brow in a mock salute. “Long time no see. Looks like you took a page out of my book and laid waste in your own way. I knew you looked up to me.” A somber half-smile fell upon his lips, knowing that whatever peace that stood between them now was going to do little to prevent more chaos between them. William ignored both Rohan's idiotic introduction and Quillon's undeniably tasteless humour, considering the nature of the situation they were all in.

“Now if you just want to explain why you did it, that would be fantastic.”

"I have been shown where all this leads," The younger man switched his piercing gaze to the other Ace, holding it coolly.

"These wars cannot be allowed to continue. One side must be defeated."

“Right, right. You know most people try to win their battles, right?” Quillon continued, the sarcasm heavy in his words like he wasn’t speaking to someone who didn’t already know the obvious. “This isn’t a win, William. You’ll have nothing to come back to once this is over.” The words left a bitter taste in his mouth, despite his manner of speaking, he was chastising the other Ace from his own experiences at Parma. A history that he had spent a long three years of solitude condemning himself for. William scowled in response, before shaking his head in slight frustration. He waved an arm behind himself, gesturing at the Coalition battlefront.

"Magic cannot survive. The crusades will not stop with the defeat of these Argossians. The scales are tipped too far out of your favour already."

A hearty and mirthful laughter resonated from Rohan. It was a peal of mocking laughter; laughter someone makes when they know the person they are laughing at has lost their mind.

“No, William, you young duck, I’m afraid you’re just too conceited,” Rohan said, “Those with powerful magic will prevail in the end against the Argossians. What you are doing is practically ensuring that everything Stryker worked for is destroyed at the hands of the Argossians.”

“Is that what you want?” Rohan accused, “Do you want to destroy every last chance mages have at survival, even when they didn’t have the choice to be born with powerful magic? Even though they have won the right to success with their superior blood?”

William's expression twinged with visible annoyance, his scowl switching back to Rohan-Lloyd with a withering expression. He had almost forgotten how vocally insufferable the previous Ace of Diamonds had been in life. It reminded him all too well exactly why he had decided to usurp his position. It was not for William's ambition, but because no one that belligerent could be allowed to administer justice to a people. Even now, William believed himself to be the more righteous of the two.

"Stryker built a kingdom cemented in peace and unity. Mages like you have warped his dream with power and ambition," He stabbed a finger at Rohan with cold accusation of his own.

"I am ensuring the survival of all. When this battle ends, survival will be won with the death of every mage."

William's eyes held such absolute certainty.

"Including my own."

“You aren’t going to make that decision for me.” Quillon rebuked, his eyes narrowing towards William as he watched for the other Ace to finally make a move. He rose his hand and placed it atop Lloyd’s shoulder, mana running through him that should sufficiently boost the boy’s sight and hearing, as well as dull any blows dealt by William.

“That decision is going to be made by me, the victor.” As much as Quillon wanted to avoid the fight, the inevitability of it was obvious with the manner William was speaking. There wasn’t much able to convince the Ace of Diamonds anything even in their prior confrontations, let alone now.

On the other hand, Rohan was brimming for a fight. The former Ace of Diamonds held a grudge against William ever since the day he was killed. This was time for payback, for revenge, to satisfy his bloodthirst.

“Oh, sweet chickpeas,” Rohan said in his humored voice, “Looks like the mutt’s lost his mind. Seems like it’s time to put it down, just like any rabid dog. And this time, I won’t be defeated by some cheap little parlor trick.”

While Lloyd felt Quillon’s mana flow through his body, he also felt Rohan’s mana flow through him, in an unpleasant surge of power. Was this what it was like to have strength? To be able to topple cities with one blow?

“Sorry kupo,” Rohan said.

“Sorry for what?” Lloyd asked, moments before he felt it. His arms went down to his hips, drawing both Rohan and Mia. Mia blazed with a dark pulse while Rohan sizzled with power. Lloyd was no longer in control of his own body.

“I guess I’ll help out if it means Lloyd’s survival,” Mia said in a small voice. Moments later, Rohan raised Lloyd’s arms, now his own, and with a fancy twirl of the sword, blasted a powerful and rumbling bolt of lightning at William, the sound of which resonated throughout the ruins of Valencia. Quillon hoped he wasn’t being too hasty, as he soon released a surge of mana in William’s direction in tandem with Rohan’s attack with the sole focus of overwhelming the other Ace.

In an ironic gambit, William was distracted by Quilloon's casting of magic first. Deeming the man to be the more dangerous of the two, his genetically enhanced eyes shone as they ascertained the exact effects of the spell as Quillon was casting it. Vision-cursing, it seemed. Understandable given William's advantageous eyesight, but predictable. He then felt its effects as a vignette cloaked the edge of his sight. What he failed to predict was the direct attack launched at him from Rohan. Closing the swirling portal immediately and raising a forearm, William failed to avoid the lightning bolt entirely and was shocked backwards a few feet in the sky. The shadowy edges in his peripherals receded as the short space between Quillon and he was cut. Having taken the hit directly, he inspected his forearm and noticed that, despite his singed sleeve, there were indeed considerable cracks in his Second-Skin. The icy layer that covered his body repelled most physical trauma, but it was apparent that Rohan had clearly retained his power since being defeated. William gazed down at the two Aces in Valencia from above, challenge and zeal in his every fibre.

"Come."

Finding the success of Rohan’s strike, Quillon repeated the tactic by sending more spells to nullify William’s sight. He slowly raised his palms towards the air, his telekinesis pulling the rubble of the torn Valencia out from the ground. With a flick of his wrist, the ruins of buildings floating around them were sent soaring haphazardly in William’s direction, like scattershot. In his free hand, Rohan gathered a ball of electricity, and working tangent with Quillon, he chucked it at the Ace of Diamonds in a curved throw, hoping to hit him on the side while Quillon got the front. William felt the vignette return, but still yet retained the majority of his clarity. Raising a hand, he formed several masses of ice and snow that collided with the incoming rubble in great earthen explosions. With his other hand, he generated a 5ft wide portal that swallowed up Rohan's energy ball and another portal deposited it directly above Quillon's head.

Quillon’s precognition warned him of an oncoming strike, and he forced his body to its limit to quickly leap backward, narrowly avoiding the ball of lighting that fell where he once stood. He raised his hands towards the ground beneath the portal, sending the chunks of scorched earth up where the ball had originated from towards William. Rohan similarly took advantage of William's portal as he sent a flicking bolt of electricity through the portal, hoping to shock William at the other side. Seeing the spells before they were cast, William had reflexively closed the portal on his end and replaced the exit-portal with a new one directly in front of the two Aces. Burnt rubble and lightning shot out at them like a shotgun blast.

Quillon forced the incoming rubble and lightning together, the small explosion on top of the close proximity forcing the two backward a couple of feet. He continued his barrage towards obscuring William’s vision with minor spells, as he built up more time to release a stronger spell. Rohan had a similar ability to William, being that of mana detection. Through this, Rohan saw that Quillon was holding back. So similarly, Rohan motioned for Amelia to act, instinctively revived the bodies that laid on the battlefield into lifeless zombies that shot aimlessly up at William. The ice mage ignored the gunfire entirely as various ballistic rounds flew past him, squinting in annoyance as black spots began to crop up in his field of view. He flung forth a hand and various dense icicles the size of dragon teeth began to pour onto the two's position like an artillery strike.

Quillon again rose more rubble into the sky to collide with the oncoming icicles, raining a mix of hail and dust onto both him and Rohan. The aimless gunfire from the soldiers began to become more focused, even shifting direction in midair as Quillon merely used their close distance to William as a means of preserving mana for a final push for William’s sight. Rohan didn't have the mana to spare to deal with William's attacks, so he let Quillon keep them safe. Meanwhile, he readied Amelia and took a stance dominant to her side. The next time William struck out, Amelia would be ready. Several bullets left tiny scratches on his Second-Skin, which filled out smoothly. Feeling his vision edging closer to distortion, William placed a hand on his two Chaos Skulls and passed mana through them. Tossing them forth, his ethereal minions fell back to the earth and impacted on the ground with a resounding boom. Craters were revealed as the dust cleared between the two crash sites and ghostly skeletal forms rose to their full 6ft heights. Meanwhile, William allowed a portal to envelop himself, appearing two miles above the obscuring klouds and robbing Quillon the target of his final sensory push.

"Kill."

Kloudy · Jan 24, 2020

Yisstra’s Grove
(Central Spade Kingdom)

The dwarf wrinkled his pudgy nose as Callum inquired further as to the nature of their visit. His eyes turned distrustful and he immediately stashed the scroll back into his satchel. Behind him, his companions stopped what they were doing to glance up and stare at Callum with steel. It was clear that prying too much with these type of people was a risky business.

“Ah fenk iss best if yuh move on na, yung’un…”

On the ground, the man with roots whipping about his eviscerated torso came to a rest as the thrashing died down. The plant matter buried in flesh settled and slowly snaked their way into the earth, anchoring the corpse to the ground. The strange nature of this flora was unknown, but it was possible the berries were snares to trap mammals and turn them into fertiliser for the forest. An alchemist would have even hypothesized that mushrooms would grow from the corpse in a few days.

~~~

The Beast Hunter ignored Ebel’s initial greeting as he continued to trudge around the edge of the forest, pocketing his crystal in a pouch at his waist. He slung the Great Battleaxe over his shoulder and scanned the treeline for something. Continuing to ignore Ebel’s request as he walked, the giant of a man stopped suddenly as Ebel elaborated on what he was looking for. A guttural grunt came from the Beast Hunter as he continued to sweep the treeline with his gaze.

“Glistuns.”

There wasn’t much one could ascertain from just one word, but it at least confirmed to Ebel that the man knew what it was that he was searching for. The Beast Hunter took out a beastskin flask of water from his belt and indulged in a hearty gulp before returning it to its holster. He started forward once more, lengthy strides carrying him quickly across the overgrown grassy plains as they kited around the Grove more. It was clear that he was searching for something, but what that something was…

Soon became apparent as he made a beeline for the trees randomly. Coming to a slow stop as he approached the nearest tree and knelt by it, the Beast Hunter seemed to pick up something from the ground. On closer inspection, Ebel would notice that it was a scrap of cloth likely torn from a piece of clothing. The Beast Hunter was smelling it, turning his head this way and that as if he were the real beast in this scenario. A faint acrid smell came from the cloth, although Ebel didn’t have the senses to guess what specifically it was.

The armoured man stood up once more and began striding into the forest, walking through brambles and bushes filled with red berries as if they weren’t there. If his trail hadn’t been clearing an open path after him, Ebel would have struggled to penetrate the sheer barrier of shrubbery that was facing him at waist-height.

Remembrance

AI10100

Ambiloquous

The Royal Flushe
(Valencia - Frontlines Left Flanks)

Three was not in a good mood.

With her mind split between tens of thousands of different insects, her sanity was in a questionable state. While her pride maintained that she was perhaps the only physic-hivemind mage on the continent thus far, the practice of it was actually quite painful on her mind. Each insect dying was like a tiny pinprick on her consciousness, and hundreds were dying by the second. Her teeth grit in concentration as she tried to balance her attention between multiple different locations, including her own current one. Having Four telling her to speed things up was not helping either.

Adonis shielded Three from the incoming fire with his body, effortlessly striking an imposing stance as bullets and winds buffeted off of his shiny carapace uselessly. Three called more flyers to shield her as Adonis then leaped off in a display of extreme might. Using his powerful physique, he landed on Guin’s barrier with a resounding crack and smashed through it. Picking Four up, he then turned and jumped back to Three’s position.

“Bah!” Three snarled at Guin as she was taunted by the wench, straining as she remembered that she had to enact the next phase. As much as she wanted to blow Guin away with her wyrm, the next phase would fulfill that urge more than adequately.

“Mimics are but cheap imitations, wench!”

With a deep groan, the wyrm suddenly began to move. However, the suddenness of its movement was the real surprise. Utilising all of its strength and speed, the wyrm moved at ridiculous speed, the armour disappearing beneath Three’s feet as if it had teleported away. The wyrm had repositioned itself so that it’s impossibly giant maw was above the current group that was fighting. Three grinned at Guin. Even if she tried to teleport away, the wyrm’s jaws were too wide for her to do it in one jump. The wyrm let loose a mighty roar and plunged downwards, swallowing Leolin, Twig, Guin and the Flushe up in one swift lunge.

It spiralled headfirst down to the ground and a massive boom resounded across the battlefield as it bore a wide hole into the earth. The ground around it erupted from the shockwave and the left flank of the frontlines crumbled as a minor earthquake displaced the land with which all the soldiers stood upon. Tanks and sentinels fell into cracked crevices that formed ravines, retinues of mages were turned into the air and bunkers crumbled at their foundations.

Inside the wyrm, Guin and Co were stood upon a sticky wet surface that squished remarkably like flesh. The viscosity of the gel that coated the inside of the wyrm made it hard to move. It was dark, but the gel had a slight bioluminescence. There was a dripping sound coming from the darkness beyond them, and some kind of pounding sound. It soon became clear what the latter sound was as Adonis, Three’s ripped stud of a bug, shot out from the darkness like a bullet and tackled Leolin far into the distance. Having separated the Ace from Guin and Twig, Three’s voice carried through the cavernous body of the wyrm. She laughed in her slightly crazed-manner.

“Hahahah! You thought you could get the best of me? Of The Incandescent Farlene Charlemagne?! I’ve fought mages wiser than you!!!”

The body of the wyrm rumbled ominously...

Coyote Hart · Jan 24, 2020

Twig had watched helplessly as Valencia was destroyed-- all the shining architecture and culture, gone in a moment through what seemed to be an ice attack. There was only one person that Twig thought could make an attack that powerful, although he wasn't certain. There was a feeling akin to glass breaking inside of his chest. It hurt so much to see the crumbling city. It was likely the basis of many mage's hopes and dreams. And those hopes and dreams had just been crushed underhand. Not to mention, it was many pieces of gold washed down the drain.

For now, Twig knew that he was ironically safe from the snowstorm inside of the wyrm. The sudden and unpleasant turn of events that led him and Guin alone in a cavern of the wyrm's body seemed to have some upsides.

Twig took a second to get used to his surroundings before he pulled his trenchcoat closer to himself and pulled up his hood tighter. The gel of the wyrm was honestly incredibly disgusting, and Twig was glad that his Joker outfit had enough layers to protect him from the climate. Twig began to take off his mask since there was nobody in the wyrm's cavern except for Guin, although Twig stopped halfway. The air was stagnant and putrid, so Twig put on the mask once again. The herbs stuffed into the nose section of the mask was made to partially block out the stench of blood, but it also seemed to be useful to block out the bad air.

"Guin, how are you holding up?" Twig asked the Queen standing next to him. Guin's face had a sort of traumatized sort of look to it. Twig honestly couldn't blame her. The destruction of Valencia was as stark as a painting in Twig's mind, and he could imagine that it was probably worse for Guin, since she likely looked at Valencia like it was her own child.

"They'll face justice. They'll face retribution. All of them-- the one who destroyed our city, the Argossians, the Flushe. We won't let them get away unscathed, not after all they've done to us. I'll help to ensure that," Twig said in a small voice to Guin. It wasn't that Twig wanted to be quiet, rather there was a slight quivering in his voice that made the usage of any higher volume unstable. He felt strange wetness slide down the side of his cheek inside of the mask... was he crying?

Goonfire · Jan 25, 2020

Leolin Hravart III

Leo sputtered, losing his grip on his emotions for a moment. He felt like the helpless child he was fifteen years ago, when his mother was diagnosed with terminal illness. Before he knew it, a shadow loomed over him for a split second. The wyrm swallowed him and the others before he could react.

The new, grotesque environment forced the ace to come to his senses. He was thankful to be with the others; despite their trouble overpowering the Flushe, they kept him anchored emotionally. He needed to be strong for them, if nobody else. His first move was to rub his eyes, activating his thermal vision in the process. "Guin... I..." The whole area was warm and humid, but he had another surprise coming when he looked up...

The instant he did glance around, a hulking form assailed him, lunging onto him, cutting him off mid-sentence, and flinging him deeper into the wyrm. Hot Poker flew free from his hand, left to bounce and roll about in the wyrm's mouth. Upon landing, Leo immediately let rip a forceful blast, coupled with a shove with all four limbs to repel the grappler's assault, using Adonis' momentum to essentially bounce him. "Alright, devil... you've faced me once before while I was at half strength," he started through gritted teeth. "Now... I'll send you flying all the way out the other end of this thing..." Leolin pounded his fists together thrice, small burps of flame springing from them with each strike. "... ALONG WITH YOUR MASTER!" He finally cannon-jumped, using his own immense strength and dexterity and the squishy, elastic esophageal lining to build his momentum to line up a whole series of precise ricochet maneuvers. The noise produced was like a hail of gunfire, growing in frequency until he cut loose and launched a heavily-augmented, explosive haymaker to hopefully blindside and overwhelm Adonis.

TPBx · Jan 25, 2020

Travis noticed the shift in the tide of the battle. With the Ace of Diamonds going on a rampage like Quill did ages ago, with Ahlmus distracted by the growing dangers around them with all the events of the battle unfolding, the former King of Spades made his escape. Dashing away from the generator and taking flight using his Gryphon form, soaring away from the battle back towards the safety of the Argossian front. With the War Engine on its way, Travis knew that if he made it back to the safety of that mobile fortress, he would be able to have his wounds tended as the Time Mage managed to land decent blows upon him.

Goonfire

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

Athania stirred. She awoke in a mystical white space, where life ceased to exist. Surrounding her were black flames that did not burn her, yet they engulfed every thing around the Shadow Mage. She stretched out her hand and touched them, but felt no pain. The sun shined upon this blank canvas of a world with light made of darkness. There was something peaceful about this place. Where nothing seemed to matter as all of existence seemed destined to meet this point. "Is this the world of the dead," she thought, strolling down endless halls of black fire and brimstone. The skeletons and their warped, agonized faces did not frighten her as much as they inspired a sense of melancholy. After some time she encountered a young woman who held out her hand towards the shadow mage, beckoning her to come.

When Athania stepped closer, the woman tightly grasped her hand and pulled the girl towards her. Her facial features were blotted out and her eyes were made from the same fire, but she could feel that this woman seemed familiar. The world began folding in on itself. The walls of white gave to true indescribable nothingness as all of existence disappeared until only Athania and the woman remained.

Then the Shadow Mage awoke.

Athania found herself in a daze, her bodied seared with a dull pain as she came about in the care of a woman just a little older than herself. Her wounds seemed to be tended to though in the hands of someone less than happy that she existed and in their care. "Where am I," Athania asked as she looked around and tried to get a sense of the unfamiliar environment she was placed in. "How long have I been out," she added on, her head throbbing with a light headache.

LazyDaze

Remembrance · Jan 25, 2020

As Ebel asked the man to assist him in his journey, he appeared to be not obtaining any attention from the large man. This went on until Ebel described the creature he was looking for, seeing as the man stopped his long, stomping strides along the treeline of the grove. This moment lasted for only a second before the man continued his strides only after he let out a voice Ebel never thought he'd hear. “Glistuns.”

Upon hearing that word, Ebel remembered what the woman he had asked for rumors from had said to him. "That is right, a glistun.." As him and the man went on, the man's lengthy strides forcing Ebel to have to stride as well. The man was looking for something, that as much was apparent to Ebel, but what could the man be looking for. It was odd for Ebel to question others' intents so strongly, yet Ebel had resolved long ago that most people can't be trusted nor can their intents be good. Perhaps it was the lack of speaking and the distracted look the man gave, or perhaps the man just had the appearance of somebody not to trust. Ebel would've continued his investigations into how to judge somebody from their appearance before the man slowed his pace and knelt down by a tree.

Ebel stopped in his tracks as the man investigated something although his large frame prevented Ebel from seeing what he was investigating. Moving to the man's side, Ebel saw just a piece of ripped cloth... Really? A piece of cloth, no more than the size of my hand is worth looking into? Ebel grew more confused as the man sniffed the cloth, acting almost feral, as if he was beast. Ebel could smell the cloth just fine from his place and what it emitted wasn't such a pleasant smell.

The man stood up with ferocity before once again, continuing his strides but this time, he walked with an air of confidence and veracity. His strides were, however, faster than before, causing Ebel to have to pick up the speed as well. Regardless of the man's previous actions, Ebel followed him, hopeful that the man could lead him to what he was looking for.

This grove isn't so beautiful anymore.

Kloudy

Athanas · Jan 25, 2020

Everything had been going well.
Helmur had leapt right in the midst of the Argossian lines. He hacked and cleaved and bashed with unparalleled ferocity, the bullets of the soldiers being stopped dead in their tracks by his shield and armor, while their heavier weaponry could not shoot at him, for collateral damage would be a lot greater. The more he slew, the more powerful he seemed to become, and before long there were entire trails of dead or dying Argossians in his wake. Enemies trying to flank the madman from either side were stopped by either the sudden appearance of a noxious cloud, or bursts of scorching flame, a maneuver practiced often.

Taking note of how the battle was going, Impaler had been using his staff as a focus to fire concentrated blasts at the airborne vehicles of the enemy. One might think that hitting such fast-moving targets would prove impossible, but the man was not in Helmur's gang for no reason: He'd been trained to hit targets smaller and slower than some sky-steed. One after the other, they went down, still vast in number but dwindling rapidly.
His maniacal buddy, too, had taken stock of the situation: First, he unleashed a copious amount of smoke grenades which he had enchanted: Those on his side of the battlefield would be able to see through them will little issue, but the enemies firing upon them would not. In this manner the concentrated fire of the Argossians lost much of it's effect, at least in the areas he could cover with his grenades. Immediately afterwards, he drew an enchanted crossbow, with enchantments to allow it to lob projectiles with much greater speed and accuracy than normal. The draw time made his firing slow, but every time he loosed a grenade, a machine gun nest went silent-and a loud laugh was heard from the man.

Warhound was working protection duty, ensuring his comrades were not hit by stray bullets. He had set his shield down, which acted as mobile cover, and was firing shots with an enchanted longbow, doing his best to thin out the Argossian lines and allow an uninterrupted push.

All was well, until out of nowhere, William returned to the fight, and suddenly unleashed a massive storm on everyone, laying waste to Valencia itself. Impaler turned around, shaken out of his firing routine, and could barely believe his eyes.

"What's the fucking problem, Imp? Why's everything subzero?"

"The-The ace! The dwarf one! He-He's fucking blasting us to bits!"

The men all paused briefly, trying to make sense of what the hell were they supposed to do now. This sudden attack was really unexpected and irrational. Thankfully, both sides were affected: Many sky steeds were coming crashing down left and right all around, and entire firing lines were decimated by the ace's assault. Warhound switched positions, hefting his shield and covering the rear of the group-a wise idea, because William had decided to heavily barrage their general direction.

Helmur's killing spree was coming to a climax-drenched in gore and glowing bright-orange, like he was burning, the commander was cleaving his way towards a homnuculus that seemed to have been wounded. Such a trophy would be most worth it, both on a psychological perspective, but also to present to his father, when he realized just how bad the storm must be affecting the morale. He struggled internally for a moment before his commanding side won against his bloodlust, and he used the last of his newfound power to leap back to his own lines before it expired. Turning to his worried companions, he made an assuring motion with his hand

"There is no need to despair, lads! Look-Sky-steeds can't fly in this weather, and their defensive positions are being wrecked. There's only one avenue of escape-forward! Fetch a telepath-tell him to instruct all commanders that the plan remains unchanged despite difficulties. In addition, inform three regimental commanders to redirect their regiments and reinforce the right flank push-we must strike where the enemy is weakest. The flanking must be complete"

After a brief pause to collect his thoughts, he willed his voice to boom several times more loudly than normal, so he could be heard over the hailstorm that raged above.

"Brave Men of the Coalition! The diamond ace has gone mad, and is pelting his own people. He will face punishment most severe for this, but for now, we must not let the plan falter! Look, in his madness, how he has helped us: The sky-steeds are falling down left and right, and their fortifications and armor is crumbling. The only way out is forward, boys: Only way we'll survive is through the tincans. So reform, and Charge!"

His speech did have some effect, and the demoralized soldiers very soon began reforming and pressing the attack against the disheveled Argossians once more, his gang assuming their usual roles. He did not give a rat's arse about valencia, he only cared for victory. Feeling his rage return, he once more leapt into their lines, once again seeking to carve a path through them.

Mechking

TPBx

. D O V E · Jan 27, 2020

Guineverre Victoria y Blanca
The Queen of Hearts

The Queen of Hearts landed with a splash moments after getting swallowed, her face and armor catching thick smears of luminescent and sticky substances that seemed to stretch across the vast darkness. She cautiously stood up with a groan, flailing her arms around to get rid of the disgusting liquid before wiping her face clean. A forbidding mix of pounding, dripping, and rumbling echoed throughout the wyrm's internal recess, and Guin almost missed Leolin calling out to her.

Even so, whatever the Ace wanted to say got knocked away when Three's jacked bug pounced him straight from nowhere, blasting the two of them further into the cavern. For a moment, Guin looked somewhat distraught before a furious look eventually took over her features. Three, that damned frump, will pay a thousand fold for everything she has done!

Eventually, Twig checked on her well-being like the kind doctor that he was. In that moment, Guin wanted to lay everything in the open. She wanted to confess that she felt horrible- that she felt utterly useless and she no longer has any idea what to do next. That she tried so hard but despite all her efforts she still couldn't protect a single city. That in the end, she was still the same weak and pathetic girl who can't fucking protect anything!

"I'm fine," she lied, "Don't worry about me."

However, the Jack's talk of vengeance did its job to the Queen's morale, reminding her of what she was fighting for- Justice. Eyes for an eye, teeth for a tooth. She will reclaim everything she has ever lost, and return what others dealt her a thousand times over. "Together, along with Leo and the others, we'll give everyone their due." Guin's voice was unwavering, unlike Twig's, as she reached a hand to his shoulder. "Thank you."

The comforting exchange was cut short when Leolin's voice resonated from afar, his fire lighting the way and giving them direction. Guin delayed no more and pointed at the direction of the light. "We'll need to regroup." She said, constructing a platform for them to ride on so they could traverse the clammy environment much faster. "I don't know what other tricks Three has under her sleeves but that rumbling sounds like a bad omen. Let's keep our senses sharp." She helped her companion get up on her creation before they headed to follow Leolin's signs.

Kloudy · Jan 27, 2020

Coalition Forces
(Valencia - The Battlefield)

The archers had made decent work of portions of the wyrm’s chitin armour, but the real work was done when several falling airships crashed down into the side of it. Hefty explosions detonated on its side and cracks began to form in a couple plates. While they were far from felling the giant beast, it was certainly an advantageous blow if someone powerful were to try to tear through it.

As a result of Three’s wyrm disappearing beneath the ground, the entire left flank of the frontlines had collapsed entirely. With the terrain now an unnavigable desolated plains, the fighting had shifted its focus on the centre-right side of the battlefield. The Argossians were indeed being pushed back by the ferocious Coalition charges despite the difference in technology. Spurred by passion and pride, the Suits soldiers’ moral proved more effective than the cold calculation of the Argossian firing squads. While the Empire’s armour tried to mow down the melee with heavy weapons, there were plenty Rank 7-8 mages around to deal with them as the came.

On Helmur and King Arimand’s side of the war, the fighting had crept all the way up to the feet on the War Engine. It was here that mages had begun to lose their steam, their magic sapped as they had to rely on nothing but their weapons. And even those had been sapped of their enchantments. But it meant that they had engaged in the melee involved with the Argossian engineers at the foot of the metal goliath.

~~~

Kaiden and his air force's tactics had proved successful. The Sky-Steeds were falling out of the sky lies flies in a smog cloud. From the combined assault of ranged soldiers on the ground to the buffeting winds coming from both Kaiden’s Fleet and William’s snowstorm, the main formation had begun to crumble and the Argossian aircraft withdrew in order to fall back and reform their position. With a cheer, the mage sailors whipped the remains of the fleet into gear and powered ahead.

With the disappearance of the wyrm, Three’s airborne swarm of bugs had broken off their attack too. Funnelling down into the hole the beast left behind like water escaping into a drain, the flying army detached from clawing at the Coalition airships’ shields as one. With a clear run of the battlefield ahead, nothing but the remaining regrouping Sky-Steeds stood in Kaiden’s way to the Argossian backlines where King Xixix and his armies were holding off the Argossian counteroffensive. They fought valiantly, but with no support the soldiers were beginning to crumble despite X’s excellent leadership.

And there still remained the challenge of navigating William’s Winter Extinction, the comet storm continuing to rain icy boulders on all who dared exist below.

Athanas

Xanto

Mechking

LazyDaze

The Royal Flushe
(Valencia - Underground)

Adonis was stood stock still as Leolin bounced around the walls of the wyrm’s stomach. As he came to launch a furious assault at the large bug-man, it began rolling around on the ground. While it may have seemed that it was writhing in agony from the damage, it soon became clear what it was really doing. This slime was not only sticky, but was also a natural flame-retardant! The kinetic impact of the fiery spellfire began driving Adonis back as he attempted to block it with his forearms, but he did not catch alight. Three’s mocking voice echoed once more from the darkness.

“Ohoho hoh! You thought I hadn’t prepared for you, Ace of Hearts? My dear Adonis is enchanted to resist your magic, and the inside of my wyrm has evolved a mucus incapable of combusting!”

She laughed with obnoxious mania.

“You will die here, Ace of Fools! Idiot! Loser!”

~~~

As Guin and Twig moved, they would be able to detect what sounded like laboured breathing. It seemed to be far away, but the echoes of the wyrm’s cavernous insides were deceptive. Suddenly, something dropped from the darkness above and landed between the two Hearts Royals. The mysterious something revealed itself to be Four, still heavily injured but apparently now missing the chunk of airplane that had been sticking out of her. Judging from the lack of gushing blood, she had managed to close the wound somehow.

“I would advise against struggling, you will only experience more pain.”

Four’s voice seemed about as strained as her movements as she adopted a defensive stance. Being so close to the two, her mana-neutralisation magic seemed to be in full effect. Despite her state, she appeared to be fairly adamant in defeating the two of them herself. A rueful smile touched her face to accompany her furrowed brows. This clearly wasn’t going entirely to plan for her either, but it was still within the parameters.

Meanwhile, the rumbling emanating from the wyrm had stopped.

Coyote Hart · Jan 27, 2020

Twig knew that Guin was lying. Such a simple statement-- 'I'm fine' -- was one of the easiest and dangerous lies to pull off. It was only two words after all. After this, Twig resolved, there would be more planning to ensure that justice was truly served. Twig knew how hard Guin worked-- tirelessly in the oil black night while Twig has slunk away to bed under the excuse that he was sleeping for his health. It wasn't fair that Guin worked so hard for everything to just fall apart.

But first, as Twig pulled his weight onto the floating contraption that Guin made, he had a duty to takedown the Royal Flush. They floated down the eerily dim caverns of the wyrm's stomach until suddenly a familiar figure fell out of the ceiling and between the two of them-- It was Four, insisting on a fight even despite her condition.

"I don't know how you sealed off your wounds," Twig said to Four as he drew his smallsword once again, "But if you keep fighting us, that wound is going to reopen, I don't think you'd survive through it. Plus, theoretically, if you do win against us here, what will you do next? That wound, which you've just sealed off, is undoubtedly infected from the airplane."

"Is dying really worth it to fulfill whatever goal you are after?" Twig asked the martial artist, "Can't you just step down?"

Even after his little speech, Twig had a doubtful feeling in his chest that it had any effect on Four. As far as Twig could tell, Four had made up her mind to stand her ground. It was unfortunate, but Twig positioned his sword in a proactive position. If Four insisted on fighting, Twig knew that his understanding of the Kite form of Yi Fenca would allow him to utilize Four's exposed weaknesses in her sensitive condition.

Ambiloquous · Jan 29, 2020

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

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

♣

Clenching her fingers so hard she made crescent indents on her palm, barely pausing just short of piercing skin, she managed to stop her fingers from grabbing the dagger in her sleeve and stabbing something. That suspicious tree by the side, the disgustingly red berry in Callum’s hand, that dwarf she simply just didn’t like the look of, anything. She was jittery. It had only been four hours for them. Four hours. Four hours and six gone. Cal and her were only two. How long would they last? Even if she’d only learnt basic math, she could tell the odds that they survive past the first hour were dangerously low.

Needing to do something with her energy, she returned the nervous smile Cal gave her with a strained grin and patted him on the back. Hard. Even she could tell it was force enough to wince at, maybe even smack a kid or two into the party in front of them. Taking down two with one, what a bargain. If only he was a snot-nosed kid and she didn’t care enough about him to toss him to the metaphorical wolves. But he wasn’t and she couldn’t and here they were.

Cal was nice enough to worry about the Beast Hunter, but she didn’t give half a copper about his well-being. Jana changed her mind, not even half a copper. He wasn’t worth her hard-earned money. “Maybe you should worry more about us than about him, yeah? It’s not our problem if he’s suicidal.”

As the party of adventurers turned hostile and the plant-man grew roots and anchored himself to the forest floor, Jana took a step forward with a scowl, as if trying to start a fight. She didn’t really want to scuffle right before entering Yisstra’s, but she more so didn’t want to seem like a lily-livered wuss new to the whole travelling and hacking thing. If there was one thing she hated more than being stupid, it was being cowardly. “Move? Why should we when you were the ones who called us over?” She let out a snort. They were technically the ones who moved over when the dwarf spoke to them, but those were little, unimportant details.

♣

| Interacted With:

AI10100

Kloudy |

[/div]

. D O V E · Jan 29, 2020

Guineverre Victoria y Blanca
The Queen of Hearts

The elven Flushe's sudden appearance undoubtedly presented another set of problems for the two royalties. Guin felt like she has been stripped off any dominion over her magic when Four landed in her vicinity, causing her to lose control over her construct and to be prevented from regrouping with Leolin. She gritted her teeth in response, frustrated at the fact that she couldn't even activate her drain, before pointing Doombringer at her opponent.

However, Twig was quick to distract Four with words and Guin seized the opportunity to flee from the mana neutralization. She dashed towards the edge of her floating platform before jumping off, landing with a sloppy roll that ultimately ended with her kissing the slimy ground. With a vexed groan, the blonde pulled herself up and quickly wiped her face before running away as fast as she could.

Guin knew that Twig had spent time learning new spells over the course of the last three years. In fact, she was the one who introduced him to plenty of dysidia-based magicks and even personally taught him a couple. However, she was also aware that the Jack spent a lot of time with the Jokers and his lover, significantly improving his swordplay. She has confidence that he would be able to stop the obviously worn-out Four from following her.

When the Queen felt like she was a good distance away from the two, she turned around and focused on her construct once more. While Four's landing did take them by surprise, Guin couldn't help but feel somewhat thankful that she chose to perch right on top of her contraption. If ever she did manage to get away from the mana neutralization, A number of tentacles would sprout from right below Four before they try to latch and tangle themselves all over her body. Even if the elf was to dodge these strong appendages, they would only stretch and chase after her. It would be obvious that Guin was once again determined to restrict Four in hopes to either capture or kill her once and for all.

Xanto · Jan 29, 2020

Kaiden Alderidge

Mana bombs dropped left and right onto enemy territory, blasting against charging Argossians. Thin layers of smoke from the explosions almost instantly Klouded sections of the battlefield. Once the smoke lifted, airdropped golems were revealed and ready for battle. It was quite the entrance indeed. Meanwhile, paratroopers were on the way down. These forces were diving just high enough to see over the smoke, but low enough to land almost unexpectedly.

"Excellent work, Vivianne!" Hudson, the commanding airship's telepath cheered as he walked back over to Kaiden. Very creative of her to hurl bombs into enemy lines like that. "Report," The air force leader stated with his hands calmly folded behind his back. "Our airships were able to crack a couple of the wyrm's plates," Hudson replied with slight relief after hearing how hard it was to fight the beast. Commander Kaiden Alderidge previously ordered all collapsing airships be purposely aimed for collision against the wyrm. He also ordered they release golems, bombs, and paratroopers before personal airship abort. Because of this, the air force took optimal evacuation procedures by not laying waste to any of the resources they were provided. Most if not all early collapsing airship crews also managed to safely jump out once their cargo was emptied. But best of all, they were able to seriously damage the wyrm's external defenses.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, a motion in Kaiden's peripheral vision caught his attention. The towering wrym DOVE underground, depleting the Suits left flank front lines in the process. The feeling was bittersweet. Both sides lost a good number of people from the wyrm's retreat alone. Unfortunately, it was still out there . . just not wrecking havoc on the surface. He'd keep an eye out for the wyrm if ever it resurfaced again.

"Report continuation," Kaiden requested only to be greeted by a short silence. The man shifted his gaze to Hudson who continued staring wide-eyed at the remains of the wyrm's scene. "Ah! Well sir, the wyrm has retreated underground," Hudson smiled, while gesturing to the obvious show, "Oh! But morale is up despite the War Engine being in full motion once again." Just then, Sky-steeds surrounding the air fleet began withdrawing one by one. "Your tactics were successful! The Sky-steeds are falling back!" Hudson cheered along with the rest of the mages.

Kaiden let the entire fleet have their morale boost, but his own brows furrowed at the Sky-steeds flying away. They were planning something, and he wouldn't give them the chance to coordinate. "Power straight ahead!" He commanded before the bugs simultaneously withdrew their attack on the fleet and followed the wyrm down under. His crew erupted into cheers yet again at their now cleared path. The bugs and Sky-steeds were completely off them.

Ah, but just as expected. The Sky-steeds only flew farther to regroup in front of them. Currently, the only thing standing in between the air force and the King of Clubs was the Sky-steed demonstration. "Argossian backline update," Kaiden looked to Hudson for yet another report. They prioritized the coordinated attack as requested by the King of Clubs. "They are holding up . . ish," The telepath glanced at the commander who raised a brow in response. "'Ish'," Kaiden repeated, returning his gaze to the front of the airship. They needed to hurry.

"Once we are in reach of the King of Club's location, we pull through with our coordinated attack and send collapsing airships there," Kaiden reminded all airships in flight.

"Sir," Hudson had a shocked expression stuck on his face, "The Hearts Ace and Queen were eaten by the wyrm." What. It wasn't too long ago when the queen literally tackled him out of no where. Now this? They didn't even get to go on their stroll! Er, not that that was the big deal anyway. Kaiden's eyes widened at the news, but he couldn't fully react with most of his crew's stares on him. Not now when they had to power through most. The commander gritted his teeth when his thoughts lingered back to the wyrm diving underground. . . Could they really be gone?

Clunk. An icy boulder shoved Kaiden's airship, snapping the man back to this reality in front of him. "Sir, our right fin is damaged!" A crew member called out as a piece of the airship's fin fell from Will's comet storm. "Keep up! If airships must absolutely collapse, aim for enemy front lines!" Kaiden commanded with much force integrated into his usually calm tone. With the wyrm gone they needed a new target to collide their airships into. Unfortunately, the War Engine wasn't within range. Enemy front lines were still a dependable target though.

"Fill the gaps in our formation and close in!" Kaiden commanded. Ha, Sky-steeds weren't the only ones reforming their position. All airships shifted to fill in empty gaps from recently collapsed airships; however, they still kept up with the inverted wedge formation. "Front lines, fire cannons at regrouping Sky-steeds! Ranged mages, take them out! Wind mages, push forward!"

LazyDaze

Goonfire
Mentioned:

LazyDaze · Feb 1, 2020

The blood of an argrossian soldier splattered across X's face as downed another soldier with his bare hands. He had lost track of his kill count amidst the chaos, but it appeared that 3 more soldiers would fill in the gaps for every one of their fallen comrades. It didn't come as a surprise, after all, if they were doing their job then most of the soldiers would be heading their way. Better to destroy the smaller force at the back and then deal with the main force once you regroup. As he observe the battlefield he could tell they had exhausted all of their resources and were now fighting a losing battle; they were not meant to fight this long...William was supposed to send them back...William. A couple of charging soldiers interrupted his thought process as they began to focus their gun fire on him. X calmly weaved through the gunfire; however, some grazed him as he decided to press forward rather than focus solely on defense. Once in range he made quick work of the two, grabbing them by their throats and crushing their windpipes before turning to his army once again. before sighing. "We're really cutting it close huh," he said to himself, glancing up at the sky once again.

"Fall back, fall back now! Long range fighters keep them at bay," X ordered after taking his eyes of the sky. He was conserving mana for the joint attack, placing a bet on the air forces arrival. He was aware of several other issues occurring on the battlefield as he suppressed the urge to rush things; however, he knew you couldn't handle everything at once. The first order of business would be to get as many mages out of this futile battle.
--------------------------------------
(Hours prior to the current events)

Wysteria was just about to take her leave. After her attempt to kill her, X explained summarized the situation before she agreed to take her to safety. Wysteria was admittedly taken aback by her sudden arousal from her slumber and did everything she could to avoid fumbling her weapon away. She tried to keep her eyes away from the IOU X had her deliver to the formerly unconscious woman. Somehow, she was beginning to feel responsible for his antics. She knelt down beside Athania, inspecting her to make sure she was truly alright, but no matter how she looked at it, Athania should have been fighting for her life instead of casually conversing with a stranger.

"U-um we're...I...I am Wysteria. I think you have been out for nearly an hour. I was scared since I didn't think you would survive...heh, especially since I tried to k-, ahem...A-anyway! X told me to carry you to the edge of Valencia furthest from the Argossians. It's anyone's guess who this home belonged to. We're not completely safe, but we should be safe enough for now. But now that you're awake, I'm not sure why X didn't just send you to the medics. You appear to be badly hurt,"

SANITY POINTS: 62
Roll: 75

1-33 (Wuu)
34-66 (Wysteria)
67-100 (Wendy)

Kloudy Xanto TPBx

Remembrance · Feb 4, 2020

Art de Glacé
Art didn’t want to be here, he hated the smell of death everywhere. Even though he had been supplied with an invisible ring, he felt unsafe and didn’t enjoy the feeling of observing his comrades not only kill without remorse, but watch them fall to the hands of the enemy. It was a sick feeling, seeing these people whom he worked with, fall to outsiders so weak. Was everything they had done to this point been for nothing? All the training; all the killing; everything. Had it really been for nothing? Art would’ve continued this train of thought, until he found a rare specimen among the outsiders.

Seeing a man armless, and a female soldier, he saw it as the start of an execution, however he was proven wrong when the female soldier swung the sword like an amateur and only landed a hit until she put everything into a stab. Art figured this was the end of the fight, the armless man would be dead and the female soldier maybe getting a promotion. However, the armless man kept going and plunged himself deeper into the sword until he eventually reached her, taking a chunk out of the girl’s throat.

Art continued watching as the man stumbled his way to what Art presumed to be his arm. Squatting near it, Art watched as the man’s severed arm reconnected to his shoulder. And at that moment, Art’s eyes lit with a burning desire; I want to see that man suffer. Art waited for the man to rip the sword out from his midsection to reveal himself. Pulling the invisible ring off his finger and into his pocket, Art spoke loudly to catch the man’s attention. “Well don’t you look like a bunch of fun? Like a field of trees, I can’t wait to cut you down.” Art walked closer to the man, he couldn’t ascertain how strong the man was, but if he lost an arm that easily, it’d probably be better to aim for joints rather than the whole body, although Art would still have to test his theory.

“Now I wonder…” Art wore a gleeful smile on his face, masking the sadism he had relegated to keeping behind closed doors. “Just how fast can you heal?” Art asked, his face becoming more serious and less gleeful. “And just how fast can I beat you into submission?” Having prepared an assortment of items in his grimoire in preparation for this event, Art was sure he could beat this man in terms of gear. And surely, he could beat him in physical ability. “Let me bring you the sweet release of death, you sick outsider.” Art entered a forward leaning stance, perceiving every sound, it was hard to look at but he eventually used the heavy idling sound of the war engine as a medium. Art snapped his fingers, traveling through the wave, arriving in front of the man, propelling at some high ass speed in a drop kick move, intending to hit the man hard enough to where his lungs collapse and his heart to rupture. Although the latter seemed highly improbable.

TPBx