Fantasy Of Fire and Ice [Completed]

[Tharivle]

At the sound of the low cry of what had to be a very big uldean all three of them stopped and flinched at its sound. Ice man narrowed his eyes and scanned towards the center of the city even though the view was still blocked by buildings. "That was an alpha..." Ice man whispered, leaning down to be closer to each of their ears. "The big one that was seen outside the fire keepers town is about a third of its size and is likely its offspring, and will also likely lead the attack on the city."
They all knew that the alpha had just given the order to attack because after the echoing stopped the battle cry of the one was answered by the distant cry of many more. Idren and Catalina exchanged a very nervous glance. Then ice man chimed in again, "He will be protecting your stone, and he will be guarded. That is the bad news. The good news is he will only have about 4 guards and another 10 somewhere in the city."
Idren actually went a little pail as Ice Man spoke. But at the last sentence he turned around and was looking very annoyed, "How can any of that be good news?" he sputtered out sharply.
"What is good is that he will only have 14 total instead of the 2,000 ish that would have been here a week ago. And he won't lower himself to fighting us until he is all out of guards. So we have to go hunting before we can confront the beast, because we don't want to face 14 in close courtiers all at the same time." He replied calmly.
Idren was speechless, so he just turned away from the sentinel and looked at Catalina.

They all new that the odds were against them and the force coming against them would eventually outmatch their current defenses, when they heard the distant cry followed by the sound of an army, that matched theirs one for one when it takes five to kill one. It just crushed their spirits. They all winced at the battle cry that seemed to erupt from the forest. The enemy was yet to be seen.
"Everybody to your posts and stand ready." Yato gave the order even though he knew that everybody was already where they needed to be. Then suddenly all was quiet. There was no visual but it was dark and the uldean hadn't broken the forest yet.
"Detection net?" Yato asked, and a young man answered him, "Nothing so far."
"Tower 7, flair!" Yato commanded. And a few seconds later the tower closest to the forest lit up and shot a bright blue sphere into the air, it arched up into the sky toward the forest, lighting up the sky as bright as the sun could. It took a second but after the flair was high enough everyone could see into the forest and they saw a sea of black and red against the trees. That no longer had snow on them because of the heat put off by the creatures. "How did they get past our detection net?" Yato asked hastily. The same man as before looked at him and moved his mouth but if he said something it was not heard, because it was drowned out by another battle cry as the army surged forward. Everybody had just recovered from the shock of the first cry when the attack started. If not for the automatic defenses the city might have been overrun just because of shock. As the first uldean hit the first trap the flair was dying out and there was a flash of blue as a basic spike trap activated and shot an ice stake out of the ground and impaled the creature through and through in the center of its chest. That one creature died instantly but that victory was crushed as the mob surged forward.
"8 and 6, open fire, Wall, light them up." Yato was speaking normally and was on the wall above the gate on the forest side, but people in the towers and on the wall seemed to hear him perfectly, because almost instantly towers 8 and 6 lit up and shot out a series of small fast shots that if they struck an uldean it would hurt just that one, and fewer larger shots that would explode upon contact affecting an area. The wall also light up as lenses made of ice formed every 10 feet, and shortly after they were up, light that was clearly of the fire keeper making light up the giant lensed and seemed almost to explode upon contact of the army because of the haste in which the creatures scrambled to get away from the beams of light.
Because of the initial defense and disorientation that the uldean encountered as the battle began it looked for a moment that their defenses could hold and kill them faster than they could push forward. But that was not so... After only a minute of hope the army was able to start pushing forward. The beams of fire no longer made them turn and run but made them freeze and hide their eyes. This was good because it made easy targets for the towers but bad because then the surrounding masses could advance unchallenged. The traps wile devastating for one or two uldean that were closest, didn't scare the surrounding uldean, and the masses advanced much more steadily.
It only took 15 minutes and the army was halfway thought the minefield. The stronger traps were closest to the wall but the army was advancing much faster than expected and will less causalities as expected.

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina listened to Ice Man with a blank expression. He was only saying things she already knew; Eron had detailed much of it to her several times before, and again right before he had left her to start preparing their city for defense. She turned her eyes to meet Idren's when he looked at her, and gave a nod. "He's right." She swallowed softly, realizing that Idren's reaction was a little more appropriate considering the situation. "Doesn't make it any less terrifying.. We have to try, or neither of our peoples stand a chance." She took a deep breath, and then looked at Ice Man.
"We would cover more ground if we split. Idren and I could handle ourselves if we did, especially with my new.. abilities." She paused, and glanced around them. "I'd rather head to the back of the city and work my way forward, if you want to come from the front? We could make quick work of the 10 and then regroup before breaching the Tower."
The plan sounded weak and futile as she said it, but what else could they possibly do?

Zuko grit his teeth as the distant cry sounded, and closed his eyes briefly as the army outside answered. He was atop the wall, for now, and thought quickly of his family. His wife, who had convinced him to let Catalina go to the Old City, and who waited in their village for the attack that would happen if they lost here. His son, who had dusted off his armor and now stood in the courtyard awaiting the breach. And his daughter, who had some crazy plan to defeat the uldean without fighting the army. May the Gods of Fire help us all..
His eyes opened in time to watch the flare, and with a grim expression, he processed the fact that the uldean were already upon them. "Flames up!" He ordered, and each firekeeper on the wall lit their flame brightly, focusing it through the lenses that had been made for them. They tried there best to get the uldean to stop, but it seemed futile. Zuko waited until the army had started to reach the main wall, and then he ordered his men to draw their arms, and made his way toward the courtyard to defend after the breach.

 

[Tharivle]

Ice man didn't look pleased by her proposal but didn't object because it was probably the fastest way to accomplish their goal. He looked at Idren as if waiting for an order or an objection of the current plan, but when he was silent Ice Man looked at them both in turn and said, "Good luck." He then turned and headed off into the city alone. Idren watched him go, desperately wanting to tell him to stay, but he remained silent because it was as good a plan as they could think of.
"So now what?" Idren asked as Ice Man fully slipped from view.

The army was breaking through the defenses at an astonishing rate. The traps were not delaying the army and the towers just didn't have enough power. The army had lost about a quarter of their number when the masses reached the wall.
"Divert power from tower 8 to the gate." Yato commanded. "And condense all the wall personal to the ramparts above the gate. Don't let our guys get picked off alone and combing strength to deliver kill shots not just cuts."
At his command tow 8 fell silent and the gate came to life. The iron studded door hardened as if it were being actively frozen. Then 4 sets runes carved into the stone started glowing, one where Yato was standing at directly above the gate, one just behind the door itself before, and the other two were to the sides of the gate but up in the wall.
"Take your places. Remember the key is to slow them down. The longer they are out there the longer the tower has to kill them." An Ice Council member filled each circle of power save for the one Yato was standing on. "Divide the power into 3 twenty presents and give them to the circles and the other forty goes to the door."
The uldean hit the wall and the door with their fists, claws, heads, anything it seemed like. Anything that would chip away a little piece of anything. The pounding and scratching was relentless on the other side for the people in the courtyard. All the could do is wait for the door to break down. The door was being magically reinforced as well as rebuilt. and for the time being it was holding nicely.

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina watched Ice Man disappear in the direction of the main entrance of the city, and then looked at Idren. She felt a twinge in her gut, and for a split second, she considered convincing him to scale the wall again and take off into the mountains. She blinked quickly twice, and pushed that thought away. "Now, we head to the back side of the city and work our way forward, killing each uldean we see." There was a chill in her voice as she said it. She stared at him for a moment, and then stepped toward him. "Idren, I-" She cut herself off with a mouth shrug and a small shake of her head, as she took another step to him. It brought her chest to chest with him, and she leaned lightly against him, letting her eyes close. She rested her forehead in the crook of his neck; one hand hooked lightly around his hip and rested on his back. It was a careless way to hold someone. She took two breaths each one rushing over his skin on the exhale. Then, her eyes opened and she stepped back, too quickly for him to return the affection. Even though she was horribly embarrassed by the weakness of that moment, her gaze was steady when she looked at him. "Let's get a move on. We've got a war to win." Then, she drew an arrow and readied her bow, and lead the way along the rounded wall to the far end off the city.

Zuko directed any archers to help defend the gate, instructing them to have ice-bringers freeze the tips of their arrows before shooting. With any luck, the method would deal a few killing blows. The rest of his men, those armed with shields and swords, gathered near him in the courtyard. He spoke in a low voice to them, "Fight here as you would for any of our own people. If we fail here, our village falls next." He glanced around to make sure the words had been heard, and then continued. "Work together with the ice-bringers to find ways to deal killing blows. Have them chill your weapons if there is time, otherwise be distracting enough to give them openings for the head or chest. Slice off limbs if you can, that would slow the infernal things down." Zuko gave a small nod, and added, "Good luck and godspeed." He and his men spread out within the ranks of the ice-bringers, and then they too waited.

 

[Tharivle]

Idren was surprised by Catalina and the way she held onto him. And just as he started to relax and move his hands up to hold her back she pulled away. Idren let her go without a word and nodded in response to her words. She lead the way further into the city wile Idren trailed close behind. As they walked Idren started slowly infusing one of the knives with ice power letting the blade absorb and store the power until it struck something.
It only took a few seconds when the cry of an uldean was heard, but it was not next to them but rather farther off in the city. It seems that Ice Man had found one. But they could not dewl on how their new friend was fairing because over the sounds of the distant battle and the dual that was playing out between the sentinel and an uldean, a faint almost unnoticeable growl was heard. Idren spun around expecting to see an uldean behind him but there was nothing... "Did you hear that?" Idren whispered. They were in a small ally with nothing but walls on either side of them. Another growl, this time a little louder and definitely closer. Idren looked at Catalina puzzled. Then again, it was almost as if it was right on top of them. Idren slowly lifted his eyes up and a mere 12 feet above the two of them was an uldean. Idren yelled, "LOOK OUT" And at the sound of his voice the uldean jumped down. Idren stepped towards the wall of the building that the uldean had been on and turned. The uldean could not reach him because it had jumped to far away and could not reach behind itself as it landed. As he turned Idren had the very rare opportunity to have an uldeans underside to him as it was landing where he had been seconds ago. He lunged forward and plunged the knife into the abdomen area of the creature. The creature cried out in pain and landed a little awkwardly but was definitely not dead because it got up and spun around as Idren backed away.

Ice Man traveled with astonishing speed, running through the streets as easily as a gazelle runs through the wild. It only took a moment when he felt it, the small breath of air that was just a fraction warmer that what was around him. It was all the warning he had but it was all he needed. Clearly the uldean was not expecting to be expected because Ice Man stopped just shy of the ally and put up his hand. The uldean roared and tackled the empty space that he would have been if he had kept running. As the creature lunged out in front of him he shot out with his ranged attack. His shot hit the uldean in the side and sent him crashing into the corner of the building that was in front of him. Ice Man took not time with pleasure in this duel as he did in his previous one. He descended on the uldean wile it was still trying to pick itself up after being shot then unintentionally head-butting a stone wall. The creature tried to fight but was quickly silenced with a few well placed slashes and a final killing blow to the throat. It took all of 20 seconds for Ice Man to notice and then kill the creature.

The gate was holding fast even though it buckled under the assault, but for now they were trapped between the wall and the attacks from the defenders.
Then something peculiar happened. about half the army split off and moved toward tower 6 which was still firing into the army. The group gathered in a mob about 20 feet from the wall. Five pairs of uldean stepped forward. And the pairs faced each other. Then from the crowd five uldean charged the gaps between each of the five pairs, and once they got there they jumped and the pairs grabbed them under the arms and launched them through the air. Five uldean launched through the air and landed up on the wall or on the tower...

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina moved smoothly along the road, like an experienced hunter through the forest. She used the focus to chase away the redness at the tops of her ears. She slowed when she heard the uldean in the distance, and stopped dead when the sound of a nearby growl reached her ears. Idren spun around, but she froze and watched the area in front of them. "Yes.." She responded softly, just before the growl sounded again. Right above their heads. She lifted her chin, and made eye contact with the uldean on the roof right above them.
As the uldean jumped, Idren went to one wall, and she jumped toward the other. Idren got his weapon into the creature first, but as it turned, she took aim and let an icy arrow fly in its direction. Her aim was sloppy, and the arrow hit the uldean through the side of its neck. Thick, dark red blood spilled onto the gray-paved road as the uldean fell to its side with a screech, and grew still. Catalina looked up at Idren and sighed. "Well, the alpha will know we're coming now." She said softly, as she reached down and pulled the arrow from the dead uldean.

The fire keepers did the best they could to the help with the assault, and for a few minutes it worked very well to shoot frozen-tipped arrows into the mob below. Until a group moved off toward the tower, and physically launched uldean onto the wall. Most of the fire keepers froze, for a moment, as they tried to process just how much smarter the uldean were than they realized. One of Zuko's officer's snapped out of it first, and gave the order for archers to continuing firing. They managed to pic off on of the uldean, hitting it in the flank and sending it falling back to the ground. The attack on the door continued, and there was a harsh crack as something splintered. The fire keepers in the courtyard shifted, getting a better grip on the weapons and shields.

 

[Tharivle]

Idren smirked a little at her comment and then followed silently as she continued leading the way through the city.
A long low and very angry sounding roar rumbled through the city, freezing Idren and Catalina in their tracks. The roar died down to a sustained moan, and that is when they heard it. A low angry voice thundered through the air and into their minds, "Therree is a Sentinnelll in the cityyy...... Commee tooo meee my chilldrennn."
As the words vibrated through their minds Idren actually went a little pale. He looked at Catalina, and once the voice went away the sound of answering calls and distant running could be heard as all the uldean remaining in the city abandoned their posts and started moving towards the center of the city. After a minute the city was once again silent.
Idren turned to Catalina, "We need to find Ice Man before he tries to take them all on by himself.

Ice Man slowed to a walk at the roar, then stopped at the words. "Interesting...." he said to himself, "He can't be that scared of me can he?"
He say a flash as an uldean tried to skirt him to head towards the center of the city. He bolted down the street and somehow timed it perfectly. Ice Mans path collided with two uldean as then were running down a side street. He caught them completely by surprise. He dug his claws into the side of the first one slamming it into the wall. The second one lept through the air hoping to crush him into the ground wile his side was to the uldean. But Ice Man let go of his target and reached to his left and grabbed the uldeans left paw and pulled it across the creatures body wile backing up, spinning the uldean to its back in the air and avoiding the tackle. He then let the uldean tumble as he turned back to his original target that was still trying to pick itself up. He simply reached under its neck and pulled back, instantly killing the uldean. Then he turned back to the second one to find it scrambling to run away. Uldean are fast but don't accelerate or turn very well. It was hitting walls and stumbling in its frenzy to escape its attacker, but no success. It took only 10 seconds for the sentinel to match the creatures speed then overtake it. Ice man hit it in the back with his ranged attack then as he ran by he slashed the creatures hind legs, hamstringing the uldean. Ice Man turned and in one motion he deflected the uldeans arms up and away and camd down with both hands to sink his claws into the uldeans chest, killing it in one swift motion.
Ice Man smirked, that is why he pulled all his guys back. He started running toward the center of the city in search of Idren and Catalina.

The fire keepers were not the only ones stunned by the flying uldean. The ice bringers were shocked but moved into action at Yatos command. "Form into groups of no less than five and engage, tower 6 change target to any uldean that goes air born, extra power goes to the army sending them flying." The forces on the wall condensed and attacked. The tower changed its fire from in front of the gate to the uldean that were now coming in drones. 5 more pairs stepped forward and started throwing. The tower could not keep up, it was killing with every shot but was only taking out about two thirds of the uldean that were coming over. There was one fire keeper to every four ice bringers, this was good because you only needed a little bit of blinding but a lot a bit of damage. The forces were largely successful and were not very taxed, but it wouldn't last. Soon the uldean were able to mass on the wall as more broke through the towers fire, and they attacked the defenders in pairs and threes. The defenders were holding out, but now they had to work hard, and against the seemingly endless numbers, they were getting tired.
Just seconds after the tower switched its target there was a crack... The uldean had cracked the ice coating that was reinforcing the door, and before it could be sealed, the crack was hit again and the ice broke apart. There was a terrible scratching sound as the uldean could now hit the door itself. The door was holding but the army held its breath, for the gate was buckling under the force without its extra support.

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina stopped in her tracks next to Idren, and shut her eyes. Having that voice in her head made her noticeably nauseous and pale. When she opened her eyes again, Idren was looking at her, and saying they needed to find Ice Man. She nodded stiffly, swallowing heavily. "Let's go." She agreed softly, placing an arrow along the bowstring just in case. She lead the way toward the center of the city, zigzagging through the maze of streets. The sound of the moving uldean stopped, and the city was eerily silent. Their footsteps echoed softly, and each time they turned, the grit on the ground scraped between their shoes and the stone street. Catalina slowed down, and as they rounded the last corner, they stepped into the town square.
The square was mostly paved with the same deep gray stone that the entire city was made of. But, inlaid in it, were bright red stones, forming the mosaic image of a large, ornate sun in the center, flames swirling out from the center. Just off to their left rose the House of the Eternal Flame, the large round tower with the red roof that they had seen over the wall. Up closer, one could see the faded red marks. In the city's height, the tower had been covered in red-painted runes of protection, focus, and a few for good luck. Catalina's eyes rose to the top of the tower, where at the top of the spire, a three-pronged flame pointed into the newly-dark sky. It aligned perfectly with the emerging Mountain Star.
She took a deep breath, and looked back down, her eyes landing on Ice Man, who was just across the square. She waved him over, and once he joined them, she spoke.
"Correct me if Im wrong," She said, looking at Ice Man, "But I would guess that the alpha has set up in the Council chamber, at the top of the tower. The lower level uldean will be on the floors in between, and they will have the advantage of height and surprise. And that crystal, the one that looks like ice.. Its somewhere dark, hidden in purple cloth. I wouldn't be surprised if the alpha had it with it, but I also wouldn't put it past the sorcerer to hide to somewhere deep in the tower. The good thing is, the uldean can't touch it." She stopped to take a breath. "So once we have it, they can't really take it back, not without dying."


Zuko watched with hard eyes as the forced on the top moved to respond to the onslaught. Eron was up there, somewhere, a master archer not unlike his successor. His attention was stolen from looking for Eron at the sound of the second crack, followed by the terrible sound of uldean claws hitting the actual gate. They would be breaking through withing the hour, if not in the next 20 minutes.

 

[Tharivle]

Ice Man nodded in agreement, "I agree, the old council chambers would be ideal for a layer and the building was built to give the defenders the advantage, no matter who was defending. What if the plan then Miss Smoke?"

The towers have doors from the ground inside the city but they also can be accessed from the wall. The uldean had fought their way to the door leading up into tower 6, the defenders that were between the uldean and the tower retreated into the tower itself and started trying to fortify the door.
The door to the tower cracked.... then gave way as it splintered into thousands of pieces ad an uldean crashed into it. Some uldean were going into and up the tower pursuing that pocket of defenders, but the majority that made up on the wall were jumping down into the city and were heading towards the courtyard.

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina thought silently for a moment, suddenly feeling the night-chill creeping up her neck. "Well.." She spoke softly, glancing between the two of them. "The way I see it, is we have two options. Either was stay together, go through the main entrance, and get through purely by sheer force. Or, we could split again. One group in the main entrance, one group through dungeon entrance. It has a back stairway to the main floor. They might not know about it.. or they know about it and mightve barricaded it.." She trailed off and gave a shrug.
"I mean, at this point it kinda is what it is. They're in there, and we're out there, so we have to get in one way or another." It felt like they were all out of plans at that point, as the sound of the distance battle echoed far enough for them to hear. "Its not like we're going to avoid hand-to-hand with these things; once we go in, there will be no space for fancy maneuvers or shooting my bow. So it boils down to, do we want to try to squeeze them by coming in the back, or is it more important to be able to protect each other at close range?"
This was the part of strategy that she wasn't good at. She was an excellent shot, and a fair hunter, but her skills with a sword paled in comparison to Idren's, and a large part of her was scared of being a liability in this situation.
Another rumbling roar came from the tower in front of them, and for a moment it sounded like the alpha was chuckling. The Ice City had been breached.

As the tower was overrun, and uldean began pouring over the wall, Zuko looked to his right. His son stood there, and their eyes met. Catalina's brother reached out and squeezed his father's shoulder, and Zuko nodded back. Both of them were thinking of the other two family members, both preparing for their own fights.
The firekeepers warmed their hands, and their blades, and a few of them turned to each other and banged their shields together.
"May the Eternal Flame guide us home!" Zuko shouted to his men, and then the first uldean burst into the courtyard with a roar. Zuko shouted something, covered by the sound of the roar, and suddenly a bright light burst in the air above the courtyard. It was the light of hundreds of candles, illuminating the square in near-daylight. It slowed the approach of the uldean, buying them some time.
From the top of the wall near the intact tower, Eron turned and looked at the light. He repeated the incantation, adding his own power to the light, and it grew brighter.

 

[Tharivle]

"I will go in the front, and draw as many as I can. The two of you sneak in the back. ill meet the both of you in the council chambers." Ice Man replied, seeing her uneasiness in making the tactical decisions. Idren nodded in agreement and followed Catalina as she led the way around the side of the tower.

Ice Man watched them go, sad because he knew that the uldean didn't know about the other door because he didn't know about the other door. And because they wouldn't be guarding the other door he knew he would have a hard time fighting 10 uldean at once. As soon as Idren and Catalina had disappeared from view he walked up to the doors and slowly pushed them open. He walked in revealing a large round room with old bookshelves and desks. It once was a library but everything inside had been chard black over the years by the uldean. The air was hot, he could tell there was at least 5 uldean in there, he could see perfectly in the dark but there were piles of ass everywhere, and any one of them could conceal an uldean. He knew it was a trap but he couldn't not go in, once he made it to the middle of the room the doors swung close behind him and there were two uldean standing in front of the door. Then two more came out from behind bookshelves, then two more moved from the shadowy sides of the room, and they all started circling him in a clockwise fashion.
"Come on then, I haven't got all night."

The sky lit up as the uldean came over the wall. And wile it was helpful it was also disheartening.
"Tower 6 defenders activate your hearthstones then join the army in the courtyard.... Abandon the tower." Yato knew that if that tower stopped shooting then more uldean would be able to make it over but there were almost 50 people in that tower and he wasn't going to just let them die. "Transfer power from tower 6 to tower 7" Tower 6 fell silent and tower 7 light up and started firing into the mob of uldean. And over the sounds of battle the popping of teleporting cold be heard as the people evacuated the tower.
The uldean were also running along the top of the wall toward where Yato was commanding directly above the gate. "Sir the uldean approach our position..." Councilmen Keahar said.
"I see that" Yato said as he looked to his left. "Take command, it is time for these lizards to learn just how good a warrior I am." They switched places and Yato drew his sword and took position at the front of the line on the wall leading up to the gate.

As the uldean made their was through the city they didn't try to break into all the homes and ransack everything. The went straight for the courtyard where the defenders were gathered. The uldean came into sight and the defenders made a solid circle, making a magical shield so thick that it could be seen. The fire keepers had gathered into groups to combine power as well. Ice lances and ice coated arrows started flying as the uldean came barreling at the army. And they were actually killing most before they got to the shield, and those that did make it bounced off.
But then there was another crack, and the gate broke a bit. One could see the uldean through the door because it was no longer a door, but rather a wall of ice that was continuously being reinforced. The gate had failed and it was only a matter of time before the secondary wall failed.

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina gave a silent nod and tugged on Idren's sleeve to get him to follow quickly. She lead the way around the large round square, and around the back side of the tower. There was a single staircase, only about 8 steps, that lead to a door set into the tower. It was a singularly unforgettable entrance. It lead into the dungeons, which had been used mostly as a general prison over the year.
Catalina stood next to the door, and whispered an incantation softly, the tip of her finger glowing soft orange. She pressed it to the door just above the knob, and listened until she heard the soft click. Quietly, she pushed the door open and stepped inside.
It was pitch black inside, so she lit a small blue flame on one hand and used it to see. In its dim light, she could just make out the bars of the cells. Half of the floor held something like 10 cells, and the other half was partially an emergency store of weapons and half a wine cellar. Catalina slowly drew her sword with her free hand as she turned slightly to her right and walked toward the stairs. They were tucked away into an alcove of the wall. The reality of the situation was that the tower had been built with two walls. In this particular spot, there was only one wall, because the stairs and the door took up that space. This made the tower more soundproof, and kept these stairs from being seen from the outside.
Catalina used the same incantation to open this door, and as she pushed it open, she wrinkled her nose. The strong, sulfur-like smell of the uldean wafted through almost instantly. From beyond the door, she heard Ice Man say, "Come on then, I haven't got all night."
She pushed the door open very slowly. It was situated between two bookcases and concealed by a heavy purple curtain, one of many that concealed windows elsewhere. She could just barely make out the uldean circling Ice Man, only about 5 feet from where they stood. Catalina looked back at Idren, confirming that he was ready to attack, and then looked down at the ball of fire she held in her hand. She threw it straight up into the center of the room. Catalina watched it fly, and whispered to herself, "May the Eternal Flame guide me home."
The ball of flame stopped in the center of the room, and the shocked uldean paused for just a moment to look at it. Catalina took advantage of that moment, and charged the nearest one, coming at it low to slice through its side and arm.

 

[Flutterby]

Eron watched the other tower fall grimly. The firekeepers near tower 7 were making no impact with blinding the mob of uldean, so he called to his archer together and stationed them inside the tower, out of the way of the ice bringers. These men stood together, hands on their neighbor's shoulders, and channeled all of their elemental energy to the ball of light in the sky. He sent those that were competent to the bottom floor of the tower, ready to storm into the courtyard when they saw an opening.
It flared brighter, now lighting the day like a full summer day. Some of the smaller, weaker uldean shrunk away from the light, only to be picked off by the lances and arrows flying at them.

 

[Tharivle]

Ice Man was just as surprised by the light as the uldean were, but he decided to take advantage of it. He saw Catalina charge with Idren right behind her, but didn't look long to see how they would fair. He shot out with both hands hitting two different uldean that were directly to the sides of the one that Catalina was attacking then turned to face the other three that were now done being dased and were converging on him. He ducked under one tackle, but a second had charged without jumping in anticipation of Ice Man going low. He was hit in his side, as the uldeans head crushed into him like a battering ram one could hear the sound of shattering ice, kind of like when someone steps on snow that is frozen but then breaks the thin layer of ice and sinks into the snow. He did not cry out but made a face that showed pain. Ice Man twisted out of the uldeans grasp before it could drive him into the floor. The Third took that chance to try to tackle him. Ice man ducked again and then slashed the underside as well as pushing the uldean, sending it flying into the wall on the other side of the room. Then he took a hit as one of the two that he shot originally had decided to go after him instead of Idren and Catalina, It lunged and bit him in the leg. holding him in place. Then Ice Mans original attacker jumped on his back, biting down on his shoulder/neck and clawing his sides wile forcing him to the floor. This time he did cry out in pain as the uldeans jaws closed around him. It was a shrilly high pitched scream that didn't all go with his low cool voice. As he went to the ground he plunged his claws into the skull of the uldean biting his leg, instantly killing the creature. Then he summersaulted forward, taking the uldean on his back with him. The uldean released him as it was slammed into the ground, and Ice man was able to finish the roll and return to his feet. He turned around as the uldean that had charged him smashed into him again. He tried to out muscle the creature, which if he had not had pieces of his left arm and right leg missing, would had been easy to do. But instead he had to backpedal as the uldean gripped him with its arms and drove forward with his legs. The uldean pushed him into the wall and was biting the air inches from his neck as Ice Man used his right arm to hold the creature back. Wile he was holding out against the uldean holding him against the wall, the other two were standing back up and approaching him, not including the two that were engaging Idren and Catalina.
Idren followed Catalina and attacked the uldean that she was. They both hit, one right after the other, crippling the beast greatly. Idren then turned to the other, the one that Ice Man had shot but decided to attack them anyway. The uldean was slow because of the effects of the ice blast, but it was charging. Idren slapped the ground with his hand and the floor turned to ice between him and the uldean spreading out from his hand in a line. The creature slipped a bit but was still coming but then a ball of ice formed around one of its back legs tripping the creature, but breaking under the momentum of the charge. The uldean belly flopped and slid as its back leg was held back and his front legs slipped to the sides on the ice. Idren then simply stood and stepped to the side as the uldean slid past he brought the tip of his sword down with both hands, plunging it into the uldeans back, burring the blade almost to the hilt.
He then turned and looked to see Ice Man pinned against the wall and two more uldean converging on him.

 

[Tharivle]

The battle in the courtyard was a stalemate. The uldean bouncing off and or getting shot, but getting reinforced, wile the defenders just kept on shooting and holding up their shield. That is when a heartbreaking sound was heard. The uldean had lined up like they were doing to throw others over the wall, but instead of going over, an uldean was thrown into the ice wall that was holding back the majority of the force. The uldean came crashing through the ice instantly dying but making a hole that a couple others jumped through before it was sealed. The two that made it through alive came down on the ice bringer rebuilding the wall, batting him aside like he was a ragdoll. It only took another couple hits and the wall crumbled down. The uldean were now pouring into the squair for the gate had been breached.
On the wall Yato and his most skilled men did not make a shield or lances, but worked together in a dance of death that only came with working with someone for years could accomplish. He and his 10 men were cutting, shooting, dodging and stabbing. They actually charged the uldean. Each one of them being a defender of the other. Yato slid under the attack of the front uldean because he knew that those behind him would dice the creature apart and be by his side in seconds. After just a few minutes of fighting (and whooping the uldean as they attacked in twos and threes.) They heard the gate fail. And seeing the skill of this group the uldean in front of him jumped off the wall either into the city, or back into the crowd that was now progressing through the gate at an astonishing rate.

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina's upward slice carried her past the uldean; she turned quickly as Idren landed his blow and then moved to attack the other uldean. The uldean lunged toward her with its good arm in a long arching swipe. She parried it with her blade, the uldean choosing to reel back over losing its hand. She tried to take advantage of the opening, but she was clumsy when switching hands, and the uldean made a second swipe with its injured arm and caught her shoulder.
The contact, which was mostly just an awkward slap, burned horribly. Catalina's face screwed up, and she made a rash lunge at the creature, swinging her sword at its neck. It stumbled, Idren had dealt damage to one of its legs, and she made contact with its chest. As it continued to fall, she let the weight of her sword turn her, and when she was facing the uldean again, she thrust it straight into its chest. When she pulled her blade free of the fallen uldean, the handle was noticeably warm, and the tip glowed faintly.
Catalina turned to look, and found that not only had Idren dispatched the other uldean, but he was turning to help Ice Man, who was pinned to the wall by one creature and being approached by two more.
The firekeeper took a quick breath, and then scooped up a singed book from the floor. She chucked it at one of the uldean, a glancing blow off its shoulder, before charging toward it in attack.

As the gate broke, and confusion took over for a few moments, the firekeepers at the bottom of the tower ran to their comrades inside of the magical shield, passing through by virtue of their charms. Zuko watched the gate fall, and felt his heart sink. The city was soon to be overrun.

 

[Tharivle]

The uldean that Catalina had thrown the book at looked lazily back at her, but when she charged with Idren beside her it squared off and roared and the other uldean moved quicker to try to finish off Ice Man.
Idren drew his knives and threw them each at the uldean holding Ice Man. One blade bounced off the creatures back but the other buried itself in its back leg.Then he turned to engage the uldean facing Catalina. She was in front and the uldean was nearly upon her.
Seeing an opportunity Ice Man pushed through the pain and made his injured arm move and he cut into the uldeans underbelly. As he did this the second one lunged. If he would have been pinned like he was just seconds before the uldeans paws would have crushed his head into the wall, but his captor was weekend. Ice Man grabed the uldean holding him and pulled it closer wile sliding to the left a little bit, putting the uldeans head right where his had been seconds ago. Unable to change its attack the uldean crushed the others head into the wall, killing it. As the dead uldean fell to the ground Ice Man grabbed the blade from its leg and plunged it into the side of the other, who was dazed because it hit the wall weird because it was not expecting to see his pray duck out and then accidently kill its comrade. Weakened by the injuries throughout the fight and now this deep stab the uldean crumpled and Ice Man stabbed it again at the base of the skull, killing the fifth of the six uldean. He then turned to see what had befallen the other two.

There were no uldean on the wall. They were just poring into the courtyard. and now they had completely surrounded the army and trapped them inside their shield.
"All power to the gates central magic circle." Yato commanded. The tower fell silent and the other two circles stopped glowing. Yato walked back to where he had been originally and took his place back from Keahar.
Even though the city was only about 20% powered the amount of magic being supplied to Yato was making his hand glow blue, and his whole body rippled with power. He threw both hands forward and a stream of energy hit the top of the shield. As the power rippled down you could see the men and women relax as the strain of holding up the shield was lifted. "Rest for a moment if you need it, but I wont be able to hold this channel very long."

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina feigned right, as a right-handed person would normally attack, and then moved left to direct a backhanded slash toward the uldean's side. It was able to avoid the blow by leaning away quickly, but it put itself off balance. Catalina didn't have much of an opportunity, but she tried to capitalize on it. She stabbed it's leg, just above the knee, before moving out of range of its flailing claws. It seemed that all her strike really did was make the beast angry. Switching her blade back to her right hand, she used her left to make a small blue fire-ball, and then she thought about it being cold. She chucked it at the uldean, which didn't bother ducking since it assumed fire couldn't hurt it. It hit it in the left eye, and froze on contact. The uldean roared in pain and rage, now half-blind, and once it had recovered, charged for Catalina as quickly as it could.

Zuko and his men watched Yato take the strain of the shield, and the others around them relax. There was so little they could do; fire didn't hurt the uldean, and if there was a way to lend their magic to the ice-bringers, they didn't know it. Instead, they just stood on the inside of the shield with their weapons. If an uldean charged the shield near them, they stuck out their blade so that the tip would prick the creature's hide as it hit the shield, but no real damage was being done.

 

[Tharivle]

Idren looked up to see the uldean charging Catalina but it could not see him because of the ice that was stuck to its eye. Idren lunged forward with his sword stabbing the uldean in its side just in front of the back legs. The creature lost its momentum as its wounds took its strength away. It slumped forward just as it reached Catalina, but was not dead. Idren started towards it and razed his sword as to stab it at the base of the skull, then brought the tip down and buried the blade in the uldean. The creature was dead.
Ice Man had let himself fall to the floor after seeing the last uldean fall, and he seemed to be very hurt. He tried to stand and got about halfway up and a terrible cracking sound was heard as his leg actually broke off. He fell back to the floor and fell on his injured shoulder. It was like glass shattering when he fell, as his shoulder hit the ground and the entire arm broke off.
Idren rushed to his side when his leg broke but wasn't able to catch him as he fell.
"We must press on." Ice Man said as Idren reached him.
"You can't even walk and you want to go fight some more? That is a bad idea." Idren replied.
"Agreed, which is why I need to heal, but I will be completely defenseless and brittle wile I heal."
"Then heal yourself, we will protect you."
Ice Man looked skeptical at the idea of giving up what little power he had at the moment but gave in, "I will be as quick as I can."
Ice Man laid flat on his back then went completely ridged. Ice started forming around his wounds and severed limbs and they started healing and growing back. But as he healed the shiny swirly blue that covered his body went gray and dull. He Looked dead, if not for his limbs growing back Idren would have thought just as much.

"Brinnngg thhee boooyy. Killlll the otthhersss." The voice was clearly the alpha. Idren looked over at Catalina and they could hear the footsteps of the uldean as they came running down the stairs. towards them.

 

[Flutterby]

The uldean roared again as Idren struck it, but its roar was cut off when he ended its life. Catalina winced a little, as she looked around the chamber they were in. The dead uldean, and their thick orange-tinged blood, were now strewn about what had once been the Council's library. The amount of destruction around her, most of it long-forgotten bits of her people's history, broke her heart.
Her thoughts were shattered, as Ice Man's leg did the same. She moved to his side as well, watching the exchange silently. Her gut tightened when Idren promised they would protect him; out of the six uldean in the room, he had killed three basically on his own. The first uldean had burned straight through her armor and onto her shoulder, which was now throbbing. Idren didn't show any sign of injury, yet, but he defnitely couldn't hold off the rest of the uldean. How many would there be, five, ten?
It was then that the voice of the alpha came through. She turned and looked at Idren, her blood running cold. What could they want with Idren alive? The sound of the approaching uldean grew louder; they didnt have time to try and figure it out. She brought her blade end and tried to think about making it cold, but she had no idea if her new magic worked that way.

 

[Tharivle]

Idren quickly collected the two knives. He was strangely quiet and determined, not showing any signs of fear or doubt. He drew two runes on the floor, one by the hallway where the uldean would undoubtable come from and the other in the middle of the room. He then set the knives on the rune in the middle of the room. He then stood and moved to stand next to Catalina.
"That is a locating trap, when something steps in it the knives will fly at whatever is standing there. It is a smart spell, the knives wont miss."
Idren looked down at Ice Man, then drew his sword and waited without another word.

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina gave a sharp nod, her eyes on the runes, and then looked up at him. "If we die, I'm sorry I tried to kill you the day we first met." She said softly, as the sound of a low growl could be heard from the other side of the doorway they faced. She lowered her fire-orb a little, letting more light into the darker corners of the room.
There was a moment of silence, where the shuffling of uldean feet stopped just outside of visual range, and then chaos reigned in the chamber again. The first uldean that came through was small, and killed instantly by the flying knives. The uldean behind it didn't seem at all surprised; Catalina had half a second to wonder if it had been sacrificed intentionally. The first and second uldean through the door came straight at her, although the second one seemed to be trying to get around her to Ice Man. The third and fourth through the door went for Idren, albeit a little less ferociously. The uldean attacking Catalina were going for the kill, while Idren's needed to disarm and disorient him enough to drag him up the stairs.
The first uldean swung at Catalina, and again she parried with her sword. It hissed a little as it struck uldean flesh, and the creature yelped. The second uldean tried to come at her from her left side. It received a chilly flame to the face, and fell back a little, trying to scrape the ice off its eyes.

 

[Tharivle]

If there was any truth to what they heard the alpha say then for some reason it wanted him alive. and that meant that he had the advantage because the uldean would be passive ish towards him. So after the first uldean died he charged. Idren drew his sword and lunged as the uldean split into pairs and attacked. Idrens stab was rushed and clumsy. The uldean facing him sidestepped and dodged with just a little cut on the shoulder. Idren let the first go by him and stepped away from the second wile slashing. He caught it in the chin, but it only seemed to make it mad. Idren clanked at Catalina and she seemed to be fairing better than him.
The uldean that ran past Idren continued towards Ice Man, and Idren noticed this. He slapped this hand on the first rune that had originally been the target and placed the sword on it. As soon as he let go of the blade the uldean was feet away from Ice Man but was passing over the other rune. The sword shot like a spear with lightning speed, burring itself hilt deep into the uldean. The blade went through the heart and dropped and killed the uldean instantly, it fell just inches away from Ice Man but didn't actually touch him. Idren saved Ice Man but in doing so he gave up his weapon and left himself open. The uldean that he cut in the chin hit him across the face/chest, sending him flying backwards and dazing him. He could hear Catalina yell something.... maybe his name.... He was being dragged away.... then the lights went out.

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina managed to wound the first uldean heavily in the side of its neck. It wasn;t dead yet, but it was lying on the ground not attacking her anymore, so that was good enough. She turned to face the second one, which had melted the ice off of its own face by then, just in time to see Idren go flying across the room. "Idren!" She really needed to get out of the habit of shouting his name when it wouldnt help. He hit a bookshelf, fell to the ground, and didn't move. One uldean scooped up one of his arms, dragging him upstairs, while the other two closed in on her and Ice Man.
As Idren was taken up the stairs, Catalina was left to defend herself and Ice Man. The uldean seemed to have realized that he wasn't going anywhere for the moment, and converged on her. She glanced around the room, looking for something that would help her. Her gaze feel on Idren's sword. She launched her sword at one of their heads, and ran to grab his. Somewhere in her gut, she knew this sword would be more help to her right now than her own.
The fight lasted what felt like forever. With the use of Idren's icy blade and her new cold fire, she managed to dispatch both uldean, but not without a new burn on her cheek and a considerable gash in her right leg. She moved over to Ice Man, who was still gray and lifeless as he healed. She swore softly. "Ice Man, if you can hear me, I'm going after Idren. Please hurry and come help me." She whispered.
And then she stood, placing Idren's knives at her waist, sheathing her own sword, and carrying his in her hand. Slowly, she worked her way up the darkened stairs. There was three floors above her, and no way to know what waited on each of them.

 

[Tharivle]

Idren woke up as he was dropped on the floor. He laid there for a second wile he collected his thoughts. Then he realized very quickly how hot it was in this room. He sat up then stood up quickly. He did not get all the way to his feet when the alphas voice range through his mind, "SIT" it commanded harshly. As the word range through his mind his knees buckled for no apparent reason and he fell awkwardly down on his butt and sat there. It was very dark in the room. He could not even see his hand when he held it in front of his face.
"You have something that I desire greatly Idren son of Yato." Idren could hear the voice in his mind and could feel the movement of a very large creature circling him.
"How do you know my name? How do you know my father? What do i have that you could possibly want?" Idren replied.
"I am of fire, you are of ice. And I have in my possession the greatest ice artifact ever created." There was a pause, then the alpha continued, "I want your power, I want your heart."
Idren chuckled a little bit, "But if you take my heart I wont have one, and i am just not okay with that. Sorry but find a different one."
"You misunderstand little one..." The border of the room lit up with dark red flames, lighting up the room and allowing Idren to seethe remains of the council chambers and the alpha clearly. And the alphas nose was inches away from his. "I do not need your permission..."
With his last words and upon seeing him Idren became completely paralyzed. He was nose to nose with an uldean that was about 4 times bigger than any he had ever seen, and they get big. Like all the others it was black and scaly with red embers dotting its armor. As it breathed in its belly glowed red, and as it breathed out flames flicked out of its nose and the sides of its mouth. The eyes were sharp, intelligent and cold. Wile they looked like balls of fire, it was obvious that this creature had no heart, no compassion, no mercy. "This will hurt Idren" it said in an amused tone, "How much it hurts will depend on how much you struggle."
The alpha moved with lightning speed. Idren didn't even blink and he still missed the creatures right arm come forward, push him onto his back then pin him down. The alpha shifted over him so it was towering above him with its weight on its back legs. It stretched out its claws and slowly surgically cut/burned his armor down the middle all without cutting Idren. Once the armor and clothes were cut it flopped them to the side exposing Idren chest. Then the alpha leaned over and nosed Idrens chest. As soon as its nose touched Idren he screamed. Letting louse a cry of pain as blue flames started swirling up from his chest and into the alpha. The alpha breathed in the energy and glowed with power as he did. "This wont take long now, just relax Idren."

Ice Man could hear and see everything that was going on around him. When Catalina leaned over to tell him she was leaving he wished he could tell her to stay, that e only needed 5 more minutes, and that it would be safer for both of them if she didn't go. But he could not move, or speak, or even reach out with his mind. So he watched her go, dreading the possibility that any one of the 10 dead uldean were not actually dead, and could kill him with one lazy halfhearted swipe. But the five minutes passed without a sound or a ster. The color instantly rushed back into him and the outer layer of ice melted away. Ice Man stood quickly, briefly examined his body and limbs. Seeing everything was in order he started to move towards the stairs when he heard Idren cry out in terrible agony.