Fantasy Of Fire and Ice [Completed]

[Flutterby]

Catalina stood, bow ready, behind a large tree and watched the side of the clearing the sentinel had indicated with one eye. The uldean came crashing into the clearing faster than she thought possible. They were within 10 feet of her in seconds. She raised her arms and pulled back slowly to her cheek, aiming carefully for the uldean's eye. She waited, and waited, and just when she was considering the idea that Idren had bailed, his ice lance flew and all hell broke loose in the clearing.
She was told to stay concealed for as long as possible, because she was hardly any good, and she tried to follow that instruction. She would have, if not for the fact that Idren froze. The other uldean flew through the air straight toward him, ready to make a single blow to end the human. And Idren just stood there, staring up at it, his sword useless in his hands.
Catalina stepped out from behind the tree, and shouted, "IDREN!" Her bow was still raised, but before she could let the arrow fly, the sentinel met the uldean in the air and saved the moron.
She allowed herself a breath of relief, but it was cut short when there was a low, undulating noise to her left. The first uldean stirred from the ground, and started toward her. She had woken it with her stupid, girlish screaming. She did the reasonable thing- she ran.
Catalina took off at a dead sprint into the woods, weaving in and out of the trees like a gazelle. The uldean probably would have caught her, if not for its injuries and the thick undergrowth of the woods. She couldn't run forever though. Her eyes caught a low hanging branch, and she took one flying leap to grab onto it. With the uldean closing, she pulled herself up, and then up another branch and another, until she was out of reach of a claw swipe. As the uldean broke into sight, she knocked an arrow, lit the head with bright blue flame, and aimed.
It followed her tiny footprints in the snow until they stopped, and then it stared at the blank snow for a moment. Slowly, it looked upward, just like Idren had only a few days before. As soon as she made eye contact with it, she loosened her fingers, and felt the fletching of the arrow brush her cheek as it left the bow, still ablaze with blue. It burried itself in the eye of the uldean, which let out a horrifying scream, one that actually sounded almost human.

 

[Tharivle]

Idren looked back and didn't see the first uldean or Catalina, but he did see tracks that lead from where the first uldean had fallen, and they lead right where Catalina had been hiding. Idren turned to the sentinel as they both realized what had happened. Then they both heard the piercing cry of an uldean. The good thing was that it was a cry of pain so maybe she has finished it off or hurt it a little more.
"Go, find her and finish off the uldean, I will follow." Idren said to the sentinel. And with that the sentinel nodded and ran off silently into the woods. Idren followed at a run but even at his fastest he lost sight of the sentinel within seconds because of how fast it could move.

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina dropped from the tree in a few graceful moves, landing a few feet from the uldean. It had stumbled around a bit, trying to pull the arrow from its own eye, but had eventually fallen to the ground and stopped moving. She was fairly sure it was dead, but it didn't make sense for it to be. Fighting fire with fire didn't work that way.
The uldean was hunched in the snow, laying on its side with its back toward her. She lit and knocked another arrow, and walked toward it as quietly as she could, one foot in front of the other. The sun underneath the uldean was sublimating quickly, creating a small fog bank that drifted off through the trees. Even when she was inches from its back, the uldean didn't move.
She walked around its feet, raising her bow a few inches higher. The uldean was still. She rounded to its front, and looked at its face. It was most certainly dead.
Radiating out from where her arrow had entered, like a shattered window, was the strangest thing she had ever seen. Lightning zigzags of dark, charred skin lay exactly underneath a harsh spiderweb of ice. The burns seemed to frame the ice, as if one had happened right on top of the other. Catalina's eyes grew wide, and she suddenly became aware of something thundering toward her through the forest. She took a deep breath and turned toward where the sound was coming from, and readied herself to fire as soon as the second uldean broke through the brush.

 

[Tharivle]

The sentinel was able to follow the uldeans tracks with ease, moving swiftly through the trees. After only a moment of tracking it came upon an intriguing site. Catalina was there standing over the corpse of an uldean and was aiming an arrow at him.
"Calm yourself Catalina. Both uldean have been slain." As it said that Idren then came out of the woods, "Hey there... Still alive, and killed an uldean. Both very good things."

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina very nearly let the arrow go without even looking at the sentinel. When it spoke to her, she relaxed and dropped her arms, putting the tip of the arrow out with a wave of her hand and putting it back in her quiver. She nodded at it, and then looked over at Idren as he came into sight.
Her first instinct was to yell at him for freezing and almost dying, but there were more important things to handle right then. "You need to look at this," She said, and moved back to the uldean she had just killed.
"I shot a flaming arrow at it, but.." She pointed to the ice that had formed on top of the burns around the uldean's eye socket. "I mean, Im not complaining because it finished it off.. but, uh, thats not normal."

 

[Tharivle]

Idren looked at the injury and noted how it appeared to be an ice attack. "That is odd" Idren said shortly. "How did you do that?"
The sentinels eyes narrowed and looked very critically and suspiciously at Catalina. "Very good question" said the sentinel.

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina reached down and slowly closed her hand around the shaft of the arrow. She glanced at Idren, and responded, "I set my arrow on fire." Then she yanked the arrow out with a hard pull, and wiped it in the snow before it went back in her quiver.
She pointed at his sword. "That thing did something to me. My fire apparently is not real fire anymore." She looked over at the sentinel, not missing the suspicion on its face. "Do you know anything about ancient ice healing, or do you only know combat?" She figured that if Idren had no clue, the centuries old ice creature might.
Whatever it was, it was unnerving. But they didn't actually have time to talk about it now. Even though it seemed like nightfall inside of the creepy forest, there was actually a few hours until dusk. They needed to reach Caloria before the attack began on the ice city, and they were running out of time.

 

[Tharivle]

The sentinel acknowledged Catalinas question, and tilted his head forward in response, but it also picked up on her unease as she looked around at the woods around them. "I have a possible explanation, but it would be better if I explained what I'm thinking wile we walk."
Idren was looking both confused but impressed. "He is right, we should walk and talk. Catalina, lead the way."

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina gave a nod, and then she lead them back to the edge of the woods. They now walked right near the edge of it, since Catalina knew the sentinel would sense any uldean nearby. She had a feeling that there wouldn't be though; the uldean would leave as few of them behind as possible, and probably would keep most of those in the city.
They only had about an hour left of walking, and then they would reach Caloria. In the distance, slightly in the direction of the forest, a single giant peak rose above the horizon.
"Alright, ice-man, whats your idea?" She asked softly, keeping her voice down just in case.

Spoiler: For future reference

Link to reference picture of Caloria: Caloria
With darker, almost black stone

 

[Tharivle]

The sentinel was silent for a few seconds and he almost looked puzzled. "Hmmm, I have never been called by any other name than Sentinel. I think I like that name, Ice Man" The sentinel shuck his head and regained his focus. "In addition to my skills and abilities I was also created with the full magical knowledge that accompanied the first Ice Council, and wile evil they had such knowledge and power, the city was truly a sight to behold when it was in its prime." He trailed off at the end a little bit as if the memory made him sad but quickly snapped back into his old blunt explaining voice. "The process that was used on you was meant to draw out ice from Ice Bringers after they use to much power and their inner magic tries to compensate, or sometimes it happens in children that accidently use magic before they even know what magic is. But because you have a heart of fire that had not overheated but somehow gotten too cold without shattering. The ice was drawn out in the same manner that it would have been as an ice bringer but because your heart was frozen and you didn't die the ice would have left an impression that changed your heart to a melding of both fire and ice. Your fire is still fire and can burn, but your fire is also cold. It all depends on what you want to do or what is needed. If you shot me with your bow the attack would be hot because I am a creature of ice, but when you shot the uldean your magic was cold because it was a creature of fire." The sentinel paused for a moment and looked around then looked at Catalina. "I must say that I am impressed. Before the war there were hundreds of people, both fire and ice, that tried to freeze or heat their inner magic in an attempt to grant them a melded power. But in every case they died slow and painful, or they lived and lost their magic. All except for two that is. And that is a fascinating tale to tell, but you don't want a history lesson." The sentinel paused for a brief second and appeared to inhale like taking a deep breath after talking a lot. "Long story short you survived something that has killed hundreds of very powerful and driven people, and in time you will be able to unlock a great many abilities and powers." The sentinel walked along in silence after that looking between the two as if he was waiting for a question.
Idren listened patiently to the explanation and was suppressed by how much the sentinel actually knew. He also really wanted to hear the story about the two people that had survived a merging of powers.

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina let the sentinel talk as much as he wanted, giving him a sympathetic look when he spoke fondly of the former glory of the city. Eron had spoken the same way when he had taken her to see Caloria when she was barely 18 years old. She hadnt been back since then, but the image of the city against the mountains was burned into her mind.
He eventually cut himself off, right when he seemed to be getting to the interesting part.
"Actually, I think I do want the history lesson." She said confidently. If so many people had died or become barren attempting what she suddenly had, she definitely wanted to know about the two that had survived. "What about the two that worked?"

 

[Tharivle]

The sentinel looked suspiciously at her for a second, then nodded in acknowledgement and started telling the tale.
"Mind you this was a time that wile separated by the forest it was very common to see fire keepers in the ice city and ice bringers in the fire city. It was an ancient time before the war. A young man destined to take over as the next grand ice master had an unusual gift. His magic manifested itself in red ice. He was a one of a kind, and wile it was truly ice it was red like fire. And from the fire keepers was a young woman that too was in line for leadership, but her fire manifested itself in a blue flame. She too was one of a kind. Nobody could explain how or why they had the opposite color to their form of magic."
The sentinel glanced down at Catalina to try to read a reaction but continued nevertheless. "The two of them met and became very good friends, bonding over one of their passions. In their spare time together they would go to whatever blacksmith was closer, fire or ice, and teach/learn how to mold weapons and armor of the two different magic's. This went on for a few years and both city's prospered. The two of them separately planned to surprise the other with gifts of their own creation that would mark their 5th year to the day after meeting each other. After exchanging gifts they decided to help one another try to meld their magic because they were both so familiar with the other magic but simply could not use it."
The sentinel paused again looking at both Idren then Catalina to make sure they were still listening and interested. "So instead of helping one another one after the other they took that particular leap of faith together. Because they were proximal in raw power they decided not to cool/heat up one another, but to swap hearts. He transferred all of his magic to her at the same time she sent all of hers to him, and she was red but frozen wile he was blue but burning. Nobody knows how the transfer didn't instantly kill them, the only guess is that because the colors were switched naturally, switching them to what would be normal almost instantly allowed for the transformation to happen. When they both woke up they could use both colors and both kinds of magic."
The sentinel then addressed Catalina directly, "I believe that the only reason you were able to survive is because your natural fire is blue, and switching to the blue magic unlocked your full potential instead of killing you"
It then stopped and looked at Idren then his assortment of weapons. "But even with all that what I find most astonishing is that the catalyst talisman used to heal Catalina is none other than the sword forged by Kendra as her gift for Chrostopher, and that you Idren carry both that sword, and the knives Chrostopher made as his gift for Kendra. With their unlocked power and weapons capable of utilizing both fire and ice, the two of them became the most sensational hero's and leaders the valley has ever beheld."
There was a long silence as both Idren and Catalina processed what was said. "In short. You (looking at Catalina) lived because your fire is blue and the sword used to save you was made by a blue fire keeper that survived a melding. And you (looking at Idren) happen to have the complete set of the most powerful and influential weapons ever forged in your possession."

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina listened carefully as the sentinel spoke, trying to get all the information the first time, so that her questions could be for new information and not clarifying. When he got to the end, she gave a funny little smile, and all she said was, "My mother's maiden name was Kendra."
As they had been walking, the ground beneath their feet had been changing a little. It grew steadily more rocky, and the soil took on a darker color. After a few minutes of considering what he had explain, she said, "What happened to them? Did they just live long happy lives and die of old age?"

 

[Tharivle]

"When the story was told that is how people ended it. But nobody really knows." The sentinel said in answer to her question. "The last thing anybody knew was the two of them left to explore the mountain to the north that Mountain Star is named after, and they were gone longer than expected. Search parties went out comprised of anybody that would volunteer, and there were allot, but nothing was ever found except for their weapons. And those weapons were said to be lost in time and during the war, until now that is."
The sentinel looked north west through the trees in the direction of the mountain, even though it could not be seen he seemed to know exactly where it was. "The two of them didn't seem to age normally. Their friends all grew old and died wile they seemed to be reaching their prime, it was after a couple of funerals that they decided to go on their journey, but they never came home. Because of that there was allot of speculation that they left their weapons to be found and are living up in the mountains."
Idren had been silent but couldn't help but wonder one thing. Why did the sentinel seem to have memory not just knowledge of past events. So he asked, "How do you know so much? You speak as though you were there, but you were created during the war and this story is from before that."
The sentinel winced a little at the term created. "I was born, not created....." He said flatly, "I knew nothing when my memory began. But in flashes memories came to me. I couldn't not follow orders, that was built into me. But it seemed almost like I was something once, and that I had been asleep and simply was woken up..... Over time I remembered everything, a life from a time of wakening and confusion to being a great warrior and guardian.... But no matter how much I try I can't remember the weeks leading up to my sleep. Then my next memory jumps to being unable to not follow the every command of the Ice Council." The sentinel was talking very sadly and after finishing he was just walking along and staring at the ground.
Idren was suppressed at the level of emotion that he was showing. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you had a life before the war."
The sentinel looked at him and smiled, "Matters not young master, unlike those before you and your father, I like you and what you are doing. Even if I could say no and not help you, I believe that I would help anyway."
Idren smiled weakly but then stopped in his tracks and looked up at the sentinel looking confused. "You said me and my father?"
"Yes, he woke me up almost 20 years ago..."

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina looked profoundly confused.
Why would they leave, go unarmed into the mountains, and never return?
Why did Ice Man know so much?
Why did he say he was born, not created, when Idren believed otherwise?
How did the Ice Council bind the free will of an independent being?
And why would Idren's father wake him up, nearly 20 years ago?
Catalina looked over at Idren. He was young like her, only 20 or so. She stopped beside him, and looked across his face to the sentinel. "Did you being woken up have something to do with Idren's birth? We both would've been born around that time." She asked softly, not wanting to disturb his emotional state, but wanting the answer.

 

[Tharivle]

Ice Man was silent for a moment. It almost appeared as if he didn't hear the question. But then he answered, "No. The uldean were getting more and more active. Attacks and sightings were being reported closer to dawn and dusk, not just in the dead of night. They were sighted closer to the city than they ever have been since the war. I was woken to watch the forest, and to ensure the safety of those that lived outside the city walls. Idrens birth may have helped influenced his fathers decision, but was not the driving reason."
Idren was confused in every way. The asked, "If you had a life before the council found you then how did they control you?"
Ice Man looked at him for a moment. then asked himself, "Can you see me Idren? Because I can see you. I can see both of you."
"Yes I can see you, you are walking beside me."
Ice Man kind of chuckled for a second then replied, "Not physically. In your mind..." The second part of his response was never said out loud. His mouth never moved. But Idren and Catalina both heard his voice clear as day in their minds.
Speaking words again, "Any creature either born or created of magic can communicate, and sometimes if powerful enough do battle with, their minds. Humans can do it to but most of them don't know it. One can annunciate words of magic to help center their mind on what they want their spell to do, wile others will just think what they want and it happens. It is all the same. Magic comes from the sole but control and use of magic comes from the mind."
Ice Man let them ponder in bewilderment for a moment. "In answer to your question. My kin and I were found by a council member wile we slept in our frozen den high in the mountains. It was only after the war started that they attempted to bind us wile we slept. Because of our slumber and overconfidence in our dens defenses we were unaware of their presence. The council wore down our mental defense and then seized control of our minds with their own wile we slept. It wasn't until they had erased or memories and bound us to their will did they awaken us. In time our memory returned but no matter how hard we tried we could not unbind ourselves from them."
He paused again to let his words be processed by the two of them before continuing. "The council told everybody that they had created us and then sabotaged us so no more could be made. In truth they stumbled upon an ancient sleeping race and managed to control them. The council could not make more, so to save face even in defeat, they lied."

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina visibly flinched when the sentinel spoke inside her mind. It felt.. it felt like the way the uldean's cry would echo in her mind even after they were gone. She was silent, while he continued to explain, and even a few moments afterword.
Even though it was so long ago, she couldn't help but wonder if Ice Man was hurt by it all still, or if he was lonely as the last of his kind. She thought about that for a minute, and then shook her head slightly.
"Thats horrible.. your kind deserved better." She said softly. There was a good pause before she spoke again.
"Could.. could you teach a human to do that? To use their mind in that way?" Catalina didn't want to be insensitive about his story, but to communicate without words was one of the most amazing things she had ever heard of.

 

[Tharivle]

"Yes I could." Replied Ice Man, "And to communicate with the mind would only take a day or so to get good at. But putting up a defense takes weeks and attacking takes years."

Kehar led the group of fire keepers through the minefield of traps and other various defenses. Even though everyone had a charm on he didn't want to test them on the fire keepers.
Yato meet the group at the cities center and greeted them saying, "Thank you for coming, a perilous battle is before us. Your aid makes it less so."

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina fell quiet after that, but it was clear from her face that the topic hadn't left her mind entirely.
She took a moment as they walked to get them a little more food, handing Idren his portion before slinging her pack back on her shoulders. The sky was starting to become truly dark, and there was the all too familiar cry of the uldean rising. But this time, it was far, far away.
She knew that there was probably at least one or two uldean hanging around the old city, but the majority of them were lying in wait just outside the Ice city. They came to the top of a ridge, and there Caloria was, laid out before them in the fast fading light. The dark stone blended in with the steep peaks behind it, but it was set apart by the red-tiled roofs. Catalina stopped and stood still for a moment, and then she started up the hill toward the city. As she did, she took her bow off her back and placed an arrow on the string.

Zuko gave Yato a nod. "We will do all we can. My men will be most useful in a place where they can work to blind the uldean, where would you like us?"

 

[Tharivle]

They all paused as the city came into sight. Idren took in a sharp deep breath as he realized what was before him. The city was laid into the mountain side. It was constructed of the same black stone as most of the mountain side was composed of, and because of the stone and the darkness and the fact that it was almost apart of the mountain made it almost unnoticeable. "Wow, that is really cool. Dark forbidding and dangerous. But cool." Idren mumbled under his breath.
"It is indeed. Like the city you come from this use to be a shining jewel. Set into the mountain, it commanded power and respect." Ice man replied to him as if he had heard Idren clearly. He then left Idren standing there looking dumbstruck and followed Catalina up the hill.
"How did you..." Idren stammered. But Ice Man turned and followed before he could get the question out so he just shrugged and followed up the hill. Taking note of Catalina drawing her weapon and Ice Mans sharp concentration and wariness, Idren drew his knives in preparation to throw them.

"You can have your men rest for now. It'll still be some time before the battle begins and I want you to sit in on the final meeting of the council before the battle. Then after you hear our plans you can tell us how best you could help." Yato replied. "If you would follow me, the rest of the council is waiting for us to start."

 

[Flutterby]

There was a wall surrounding the city, with a single central gate. The gate lay on the ground juts outside of where it used to hang, torn off its hinges some time ago. Catalina skirted this, walking along the mountain side of the city. Suddenly, she stopped. She ran her hand along the wall slowly, and then stopped and wiggled her fingers slightly.
"Ice Man, double back and enter through the old gate. Idren and I will climb over here." She said softly. Without waiting for a response, she slung her bow back onto her back and placed her hands on the wall. The tips of her fingers disappeared into small crevices, chinks made in the stone by a weapon. They were invisible to the naked eye; Eron had showed them to her when he brought her here. "Be careful to watch where I put my hands and feet," She whispered to Idren. Slowly, she climbed the 8 foot wall, feeling out each hold as she went, and then disappeared over the top. There was a soft thud as she landed on the ground on the other side, holding her breath.

Zuko gave a nod, signalling to his men to stay where they were and rest. He followed Yato readily, only glancing behind at his men once.

 

[Tharivle]

Ice Man looked up the wall and smirked a little. I could jump over this wall, but ill go around anyway. He then slipped quietly around the side back the way they came.
Idren watched her climb, making note of where the handholds were and how she was finding them. After she was almost to the top he started his climb. Idren reached the top and then dropped down to where both Catalina and Ice Man were waiting.

Yato lead Zuko and Kehar into the council chambers. The chambers were underground just below the city square. and the base of the fountain in the square could be seen on the ceiling in the middle of the room. The council room had 12 chairs in it all exactly the same and all evenly spaced around a circle table. Three chairs were empty. Kehar brushed past Zuko and took his seat.
"You may sit here." Yato said to Zuko, gesturing to the last open seat. For he was taking his place at the table as well. "Everyone, this is Zuko, He leads the fire keepers that have come to our aid." Once Zuko was seated he began.
"Report on the wall and homes?" Yato said looking out across the table. A woman sitting a few chairs to his right spoke, "The wall has been fully rebuilt and all gates except for the forest side have been sealed. Everyone's homes have been boarded up and evacuated. The population now resides in the cathedral."
"Good" Yato said with a smile, "What about the towers?" A man across the table from him started a report, "Five of the eight towers are operational. Tower 2, 4, 6, 7, 8 are the ones operational. (The cities outer wall is shaped like a octagon and there is a tower at every point. Tower 1 is the point of the city that is farthest north then you count clockwise around.)
"Well done, we started this with holes in the wall and only three towers online." Yato said with a pleased tone. "Traps funnel walls?" Kehar spoke, A series of funnel walls have been set up around the entire city as well as an assortment of booby-traps at the end of and beside the walls. There is a second layer deep on the forest side. (Funnel walls are traps that when activated a wall of ice will spring up and block enemy forces. They are typically set up in a V with a horizontal wall at the tip, as to funnel an attacking army into a bottleneck then force them lateral. Minor traps would be place on the sides of the walls as to encourage an enemy to go into the funnel. Then more deadly traps are laid at the tip of the V and at the ends of the lateral wall.) If the uldean try to jump over the walls they will be easy targets for the towers, and if they go through them the traps will thin the heard before they get to the city. The detection grid is up to within a mile in all directions from the city center."
"What about the garrison, how many people will be fighting?" Yato asked. An old man next to Zuko spoke up, Everybody has volunteered to fight, even the young ones that have had their armor less than a year. Those that have not graduated or younger plus those that cannot fight will hold up in the cathedral. You have about 700 soldiers total. Plus another 100 that are either to young or to old to be on the wall or in the towers, but are capable of defending should the cathedral be breached. And everybody is fully armed."
"Good" Yatos face then grew worried with his next question, "How much city power do we have?" The council members looked around at each other and some of them looked down at the table. Seeing how everybody seemed to know the answer but nobody wanted to share Yato singled someone out. "Reginal!" A mans head snapped up at the sound of his name, "Yes sir."
"How many towers can we power at a time?" Reginal sighed a little then started explaining, "We can power two things at once. Any combination of a tower and a gate." Yato sighed a little himself. "I knew we wouldn't get more but it sure would have been nice." He then looked over at Zuko.
"Zuko, have all your people been given charms and has Kehar explained them?" Yato asked, "And do you have any impute on where you want your people? There are wall spots and tower spots as well as those of us that will be in the square to meet the uldean when the they inevitably break threw.

 

[Flutterby]

The city was deathly silent. It seemed like the sound of them dropping over the wall echoed over the city. Catalina held her breath, waiting for a response from the uldean. But there wasn't one. Her eyes rested on the buildings near them; they had started to crumble at their edges, and the ground was littered with broken roof tiles.
"If Eron was right, the uldean will be at the center of the city.. inside and underneath the House of the Eternal Flame." She raised a hand and pointed at the tower that rose from the center of the city, topped with a red tiled dome. "I think... I think that ice crystal is there too." She spoke only as loud as she dared, which was barely above a whisper.
"I don't want to waltz up main street, so we'll hug the wall and approach from the side." She readied her bow again, and began jogging along the curved wall, here eyes swiveling between the road ahead and the streets that lead into the city that appeared on her right.

Zuko gave a nod and sat down quickly, keeping his expression guarded. He had never sat in on another peoples' council before. He listened silently, trying to piece together what he knew about the ice city (not that much) with the information on its defenses (also not that much). It seemed that they had once had much, much better defenses, but now they were low on power. Power? What could power the city? Vaguely, he remembered a conversation between his daughter and Eron that he had heard, something about an eternal flame, but couldn't figure out why it had popped into his head.
He gave a nod when spoken to, and gave his answer. "We were told about the charms, and we appreciate the protection they afford. My men will be of most use to your people where they can blind and confuse the uldean. Our weapons do very little to wound them, if anything at all. Unless this council has objection, I would place my men as the first line when the uldean breach the city, with your men in the square."

 

[Tharivle]

Idren and Ice Man let Catalina lead each acknowledging her with nods. They followed silently behind her as she led them through the city. Idren was nervous. For as much education that he had and for as many stories he was told, he new very little about this place and could do nothing but follow and hope nothing bad happened. Ice Man on the other hand brought up the rear of their three person raiding team, and seemed to move with confidence, almost as if he had been there before. He would be looking at doorways and allies before they came into view as if he knew they were there. And wile he looked back at where they had come it didn't seem like he was trying to remember a way out, but just making sure they were not being followed. But even though he seemed to know the way he said nothing, for it seemed Catalina knew her way around and there was no reason to step in.

"Vere well. I would ask that you spare some forces for the wall defense. We are going to steal a tactic that Idren and Catalina used and have our spellcaseters cast amplifiers wile your people create a beam and direct them; hold them out a little longer before we have to hold them off. The rest of your men can be in the courtyard with the majority of our standing force." Yato replied after Zuko explained how the fire keepers would be used in the battle.
"Any other words before nightfall?" Yato asked. The room was silent. "Then lets save the city."
And with those words he stood and left the chambers and all the other members stood and followed him out.

 

[Flutterby]

"The city is laid out in a circle, with roads running concentrically to the wall, and straight out from the center. We'll take one of the smaller avenues toward the tower.." She said softly to Idren. Catalina glanced at the sentinel following them, and realized that he knew exactly where he was going. He probably knew the city just as well as she did, even though his might be more for experience. She only knew the layout from one visit, and many hours studying the old blueprints.
She froze in her tracks as a sound rumbled through the city. It began low, and grew louder for several seconds before ending. It was, unmistakably, the cry of an uldean, and it sounded a lot bigger than any they had faced before.

Zuko gave a nod, and left the Chambers as the others did. He went back to his men, and relayed the orders. He sent the men that he knew had some of the brighter flames to the wall, and went with the rest to the courtyard to await the breach. Suddenly, a sound reached the ears of every person and uldean near the city. It came out of the distance like the sound of rolling waves, rising quickly and then dying away. A terrifying war cry from somewhere far off. The uldean waiting outside the city responded with a chorus of cries, causing many of the fire keepers to wince in what looked like physical pain. And as the sound finally died, the hellish creatures charged, and the battle began.