Fantasy The Queens Guard

[yoikes]

Skylar decapitate one of the original undead, a weird fluid came out from it's head and it smell like shit. Skylar have a good guess what is that, but she try not to think about that.


More wyvern in the sky, Skylar count eighteen but she might miscount. Then a loud "MOVE!", followed by a torrent of holy magic. That person is definitely Aurum, no doubt about it now. Skylar is curious about what the Traitor is doing here, but she can ask him later. She need to find a safe place to take cover first.


"Over here!" The mercenary called, and Skylar ran toward him. She raised her shield to protect her head. The holy magic Aurum released give the dead and the shadow a slow and painful death. Looking at the steam coming off from the mercenary's armor, he is lucky to be able to quickly found a place to hide.


Skylar's armor and shield was built to withstand magical attack, especially holy magic. After all, she was their enemy before. Her father ordered the blacksmith to build something that will make her capable of defending against Aurum's magical attack, and this is the result.


Skylar walked into the building, and put down her shield. "It'll stop in one or two more minute."

 

[Enolx]

In the Bath House


Exodus let out a sigh after Reina had made herself angry but soon after he found himself smiling as he floated. " No one said you had to talk about your past," Exodus said " Just talk about whatever you want. The goal is to talk about things you feel like sharing, not to force yourself to reveal your darkest secrets." Exodus heard someone come in the the bath, but he didn't look. He found out the person was Buras when he commented about Hahlua. "She is not trying to kill you," Exodus replied to Buras " Yes she is seeing someone. Also, the reason she goes after you is because you make it fun to do so. Try not to act like prey and she might not treat you like it, maybe, hopefully. She is one of the strangest women I have every had the pleasure of meeting." Buras then started talking in his native language so Exodus took this time to sink his body under the water. When he came back up he heard something about "another one walking through the doors". Luckily Reina was listening and she responded, which filled in Exodus to what was going on. "Cool If it's really that important we will get another report," Exodus said " Until then I am going to enjoy myself." He then listened to Buras talk about his mission and his troubles. Exodus sat up in the bath and laughed. " Yea she is like that," Exodus said " Just don't let it get to you, she does that with everyone. Also, it should go without saying, but don't kill her boyfriend. I would just go after her if you like her. She would most likely leave her current boyfriend for you if you tried." Reina then chimed in with Just as he started to relax again a man burst through the divider.


"Good you were here," the man said as he looked around. He covered his eyes when he saw that Buras was the only one who was covered in any way. "I am sorry," the man whined " I did not mean to." Exodus let out an audible sigh. " What did you expect?," He said " Just tell us what you came to say." The man recovered and then started to talk. " I have an important message from the queen," He declared " The wall is in trouble. She was overwhelmed by undead and she needs help. The queen said to decided who will go help her. That is everything, thank you for your time." The man then quickly took his leave.


Exodus leaned back. " So what are we going to do," Exodus asked the others " I see no tactical point in going. If I remember correctly she went somewhere close to Sunspan. Sunspan is a days ride away, or a half a day if you feel like killing your horse. By the time we get there the battle will be over one way or the other, since Skylar was already being pushed back to the point of sending for help and since Sunspan is just a mining town with a nice wall. So who ever we sent would be there just to scout the scene, a job that does not really require a guard. That being said, from a non-tactical standpoint, she is a friend and I really want to kill some stuff. I say that we all go rather than sending one of us. We can clean up whatever is left if the battle went bad or get a good report and help with damage assessment if it went well. I don't think any of us want to just stand around for the public hearing anyway, they are really boring. We can leave that to the other guys we haven't seen all day. So what do you guys think?"





Sunspan, Alexandria


"Owwwwwww," a warrior said as he came out from behind a gleaming shield " I was not expecting that." He looked around at the destruction that was caused. " Men role call," the warrior yelled. Moments after names resounded from different areas.


Patrick sir. Cameron sir. Jordan sir, Tye sir. Mitch sir. Vince sir. Tanner Sir. Leon sir.


" We lost Johnathan, Shade, Pierce, and Marina in the blast," the lead warrior said " Form up and watch for another blast, I want no more causalities." More men started to rise from the destruction." I was not prepared for holy magic," one of the men joked " No one said their would be holy magic. Jordan is now going to rage and try to kill himself." One of the men ran up and hit the other on the back of the head. " No I'm not," Jordan responded " Fuck you Leon, go die." Another of the men chimed in. " He's already dead," the man said " Bet you feel retarded now." "Fuck you too Cameron," Jordan said anger visible on his face. Cameron just grinned and ignored him. The men formed up next to each other. Even while they joked they were an imposing sight, their weapons and armor smoking in the night making them look like torches." So how did you guys survive," another man who identified himself as Mitch asked " I just wanted to know if we did the same thing." The man named Vince answered " When the light guy called out to move I summoned my horse to block the brunt of the blast. " The others started to nod in agreement. " Yea I guessed some real shit was going down when he yelled," Patrick said " Most likely it was a warning to his friends that just happened to help us." Tanner gave a nod as he said " I am really glad he did because that could have been worse. The others must have been too close or forgot they could summon their horse in the heat of battle." "They might not have regained themselves in time," Tye added " I barely came to as the light came."


Their conversation was put on hold when the word attention was yelled. The men snapped into place. " We don't have much time," the leader declared " We must complete our mission before the man with the gem comes. He is slow, but not that slow." " Yes captain Fuller," the men yelled in unison. "What are your orders sir?," Jordan asked. The leader looked around at the scene for a quick moment. "Sheath your weapons, this battle is over," Fuller commanded " Patrick, Jordan, Mitch, and Tye, go round up anyone who is still alive and bring them here. I want that done yesterday, use force only if needed. The rest of you are with me." The men then broke into their groups. Fuller walked up to the man who called down the light. " My name is Susan Fuller and I am the commander of the Master Knights Evelina. I don't know how long it has been since our time so tell me if you know anything about us. If not I will give you the quick version of the story before we send you on your way. Also please don't try to resist that will only lead to your own death, we are trying to help you."


Outside of Sunspan


" Walking," Maxis said " Love it. Don't love anything more than walking." Maxis then walked over the a tree and unbuckled his pants to use the bathroom. "I lied taking a piss is way better than walking, and so is everything else I can think of at the moment besides my own death or failure. He re-did his pants and looked off to the distance. "That place was a lot farther than I thought it was," Maxis said as he walked " It's fine those hollows should get the job done. That is if they don't mess up again. They have serious issues sometimes. Always completes the mission, but they get real creative about it sometimes. What did I tell them to do anyway? O right destroy Sunspan and kill people. I should be ok. You can't fuck up that order." Maxis then started to whistle as he strolled towards Sunspan. "I'm gonna kill Queen Margret, I'm gonna kill Queen Margret, I'm gonna kill Queen Margret," he sang " Because revenge is fun. Louder." He then sang his chant as he walked enjoying himself as he did.

 

[yoikes]

As soon as the hail of holy light stopped, Skylar ran out. She need to find Aurum, and she found him quite easily. The three of them are probably the only ones left in Sunspar. Skylar sees no difference, he just looked like the last time Skylar saw him in Loren. Skylar cursed and walk down the now destroyed market at him, and noticed that he is now joined up by someone else.


"For the sake of Northern Star, what are you doing here?" Skylar blurted out, before turning at the man. "And you are? His friend?"

 

[shadowz1995]

Lennex pants heavily and pained as the she-knight walks through the door. His armor stays up very well against physical attacks but magic is not the armor's strong suit. He presses he back against the wall and slides down until he is sitting with his right leg limp and his left leg bent upright at the knee. Lennex lays his arm against his knee to create a headrest. He slows his breathing down and let's out a long sigh. This is not what he was expecting today. Skylar said that the spell will end shortly but something screams false about it. Lennex feels like this isn't over. "Stay on your guard Skylar. This isn't over. Something tells me we have things to worry about even after the spell ends."

 

[shadowz1995]

When Skylar suddenly bursts out of the building, Lennex gets up quickly and follows after her while sheathing his claymore onto his back once again. She starts speaking to man as if she knew him somewhat well. Lennex doesn't comment on the people around the man Skylar knew. However, something seemed off about them. Their stances seemed too guarded. Too much to be friendly. But once again, Lennex offered no comment and just watched the scene unfold before him.

 

[Soviet Panda]

"I'm calling you a little girl, little girl. You certainly do pout like one. You should tie ribbons in your hair, catch the eye of some poor boy that wishes to be castrated." Buras replied. To Hrothpanders, girls wore ribbons in their hair. And they continued to do so until the other woman agreed that they were no longer a child. That could mean that they coukd wear those ribbons for well into their adult life, not that that had ever happened.


But before things could escilate further, right away anyway, the messenger arrived. Giving the two a look of 'I told you so', he listens to what the man has to say. "Even if we cannot get there in time, we should go. We cannot allow an army of the dead standing for to long. And Skylar can hold her own. If anything, she can jam her shield in a door way and wait it out."

 

[SirDerpingtonIV]

Reina Kavot

"For all your bitching and whining, you fat, lumbering piece of shit, you'd think you'd be the one with the fucking ribbons in your hair!" She growled at him, fists tightening. However, before she could spit out anymore furious words, the messenger barged in, giving them the bullshit story which seemed to be true at this point. She ignored Exodus' words, as they seemed to be unimportant at this point, considering her confrontation with Buras. However, she let out a sigh, looking over at Exodus. "That means the three of us should head out them. We need to worry about the townsfolk, not Skylar. Like Buras says, she could jam her shield in a doorway and be safe. Until the doorway broke, that is," she chuckled, smirking grimly. Her thoughts began to wander, curious as to how powerful these undead were to pose a threat to an entire town and Skylar. Normally, undead would be found in ones or twos, a wraith or wight that had been terrifying a village from the little tomb or cave they usually occupied. But never in her life time, had she heard of something like this. She felt a little excited for the upcoming challenge, but none the less, she still felt a little boiling anger, and her fists remained clenched.

 

[Star]

Sunspan, Alexandria





Star frowned as she got back into town before walking her horse back to the inn she was staying in. The town was on fire and their was walking dead people thrashing around. She saw one of the queens guards kill one of the apparent leaders. She also saw more people fighting and then felt the power in the air get sucked to one person. Before she had time to dismount a wave of magic hit her horse and she was thrown to the ground. "Koda" she whispered, her breathe knocked from her body. "Hide" she murmured. She was lucky to be wearing commoner clothing so no one would know who she was but at this moment she was hurt. After falling a piece of wood Impaled her side. Her horse whinnied loudly before standing and rushing over to her. It nudged her side to try and get her up but there was no moving Star.


Star groaned and looked around her but all she saw was ashes that had lifted up from her fall and she laid her head back again. She hoped that the ash covered her and hid her body enough for her to get out unscathed others that her bleeding side.


(Fixed the post)

 

[Soviet Panda]

"Hmm.. What did the queen's mad bitch do today? Get mad at some trivial thing? Tell me, what was it this time. Did someone give you lamb instead of beef for lunch. Or, perhaps, the candle to your room wasn't lit just right last night. No, the most likely thing is that no man in his right mind would go after you. That's probably it. You are a sad, lonely girl. Covering it up by getting mad at every little thing." Buras concluded this argument by getting into a fighting stance, one that would allow him to easily protect vitals with his hands. Why some fighters are raised to believe in the honor of battle, and to follow certain rules at that, are beyond him. And he was fairly certain that she was not one of those that followed any rules of combat but her own.

 

[SirDerpingtonIV]

Reina Kavot

She snarled, clenching her fists. "No, actually. It was stupid pieces of shit like you with big mouths. How about I break your jaw then, Buras? Get you to quit your fucking whining?" she threatened, glaring at him, shifting into a fighting stance as well, fists raised in front of her. "And you think I'd give a fuck what anyone thought of me? You think winning the affections of someone is what I actually give a fuck about? I knew you were a thick-skulled fucking idiot, but I didn't expect you to be this fucking stupid," she said, sneering at him. She had fought plenty of people bigger and stronger than her before.

 

[Soviet Panda]

"Then why join the Guard, if not for attention?" Buras said, hands clenched, rage starting to build in him. Before, he was simply frustrated, and she was simply providing an outlet. But now, now she was starting to get him mad. "And if you wish to shut me up so much, go ahead and try. Without your mace, I bet you can't even break my little finger." He may not be the brightest, but he sure as hell won't take insults while laying down. "I fought a Bull Wrath with my bare hands today, I doubt some little girl will be much trouble." He continued, stoking her fury ever so slightly, no doubt, with his persistence in calling her a little girl.

 

[SirDerpingtonIV]

Reina Kavot

"I joined the fucking Queen's guard because I owed Margret a great debt! Because I wanted to fight!" she shouted, fingers tightening in the fists she had formed. This stupid sack of shit was really pissing her off now. "Are you challenging me to a fight, you stupid sack of shit?" she taunted, sneering, stepping back, beginning to move through the water, beginning to walk around him, eyeing his stance. "Come on then. Come and get me. If you could take down a Bull Wraith with your bare hands, surely you can handle me?" she growled, barely keeping herself under control. Rushing in at him in rage wouldn't work. It was what he was expecting. No, she had to do something unexpected. "I don't need my mace to break you, Buras," she spat.

 

[Enolx]

In the Bathhouse


Exodus listened to Reina and Buras as they added their inputs and a few insults. "Well it seems like we are going to have a pleasant trip," Exodus said to himself as he let his hair dip into the water. Rather than breaking them up, Exodus just sat back and listened. He was learning more about these two from their fight than he learned from their previous attempt at conversation. The first thing he learned is that they both have anger issues. He was happy that the two of them were still at that level, because past that is a dark place that ends the strongest of men. He also learned a little bit about their pasts and histories. He found the bit about the Hrothpander's women quite amusing. Unlike Buras who was an open book he had to watch Renia closely to try to figure out her feelings. He did not listen to her words as much as watch how her body reacted with what she said.


Exodus stayed content to watch and listen, until Buras and Reina fell into their fighting stances. Exodus' once happy appearance vanished and was replaced with a cold glare. Exodus slowly stood up. " Get out," He said as he walked through the middle of them and out of the bath " Your both being childish, and you will not ruin the baths for everyone else." He then dried himself off and put his pants and armor back on. " I can't believe this is what they chose to do with their freedom," Exodus said under his breath, disgust showing on his face. He didn't even turn back to look at them as he said " If you really want to fight that bad, I will take you both on outside," Exodus said " The way you are now it wouldn't be much of a fight anyway. If you change your mind and decide that maybe the people of Sunspan and Skylar are more important than your stupid squabble we can leave whenever. If not and you decide you still want to fight, I will break your bones so you can't fight anymore and leave by myself. I will see you outside.


Exodus left the bath, his disgust turning to a cold anger. He realized he wasn't mad because they fought or because peoples lives may be on the line. He was made because that was what they chose to spend their time doing. They could do anything they wanted to, but instead they chose to get angry with each other for no reason. Why would people chose do things that make them unhappy. Exodus then found himself smiling as he realized that he was doing exactly what he was just complaining about. Hahlua ran up from behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. " Are you ok Exodus," She asked " You looked like you were angry, and I have never seen you angry.Sad ya, but never angry." Exodus turned and gave her a grin. " I'm fine," He said " I just was really dumb for a second." He gave Hahlua a hug before saying " Thanks for worrying about me. It's nice to know you care." Hahlua leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. " You know we all care about you," Hahlua said " If you ever forget that just take a walk around town and see the people that love you." Exodus pulled away and gave her a wide smile. " I really wonder how women always know exactly what to say," Exodus said " I will take you out as thanks when I return. Look over the place for me in the mean time." Hahlua returned his wide smile with one of her own. " I'll handle everything, just be safe," Hahlua stated " Also what are you going to do?" Exodus made his way out of the bathhouse as he said " I'm going off to break some bones and save some people or save some people and break some bones. I'm not too sure of the order yet."


Exodus made his way out of the bath to a home that was right across the way. The door was unlocked, it always was, and he made his way inside. He walked through the living room to a back bedroom. Leaning in the corner of the room were two green long swords and a small pack. He strapped them on to his legs and made his way out. Before leaving he was stopped by a woman in the door. "Leaving so soon?," the woman asked. Exodus gave her a warm smile. " You know duty calls," He responded, wrapping her in his arms. The woman stood on her toes and kissed Exodus. " I will be waiting," the woman said as she let Exodus go " I love you." Exodus stopped in the door way as he turned and said " I love you too Selina." After Exodus left he returned to the area outside of the bathhouse and waited for Buras and Reina.

 

[Nexmaroc]

The skies above Alexandria


Lieutenant Haren whipped the reigns with one hand, urging his blue wyvern to greater speeds. The other arm clutched a young woman to his chest. He dared not look for his comrades, not with those things still out there. Besides, it was far too dark to see clearly.


Fear gripped his heart as he flew. Fear for the villagers, for his friends, for General Aurum. The General will be fine. he told himself, but doubt clung to him. The shadows had been unlike anything he'd ever seen. Certainly nothing like the soldier's they trained for. They were the embodiment of pure evil and terror. He, along with the rest of the men, had frozen in fear at the sight of them, but the General...


Haren didn't remember moving after the General dove. He didn't remember swooping into the village like he'd ridden wyverns his whole life. He didn't remember shouting commands and formations, or grabbing the girl, but he must have done all that. It was all a blur of crashing sounds and light. By Celaise the light! Who knew the General could do that? What's more, who knew the general could fight like that? Haren had thought his teachers were good, but General Aurum put them all to shame from the moment he landed.


A quiet sob wrestled Haren from his thoughts. The girl he'd rescued was hugging him tightly, her face pressed against his armor. She was younger than he'd thought she'd been; she couldn't have been older than fifteen or sixteen. Her tunic resembled something closer to a potato sack than proper clothing, and her scarlet hair hadn't been washed in days. Soot covered her pale skin, making her seem a shadow in the moonlight. Her bare feet and hands were calloused and worn. Haren thought that the only people he'd ever seen with hands like that were miners, but what would a girl that young be doing there? Sure Sunspan was famous for its silver mines, but at fifteen?


Haren brought his free hand to her face, not unkindly. She looked up at him, tears streaming from her stark blue eyes. Whatever words Haren was going to say caught in his throat. A dark, black tattoo of a sun was branded over her right eye. A slave. But I thought the Alexandrians didn't have slaves? No. It couldn't be an Alexandrian slave, not with the sun of Celaise over her eye. Celaisan black market then. It was a sad thing, but even though the slave trade had been abolished more than a century ago, if you had the money it might as well not have been. But he'd seen the village. There was no way anyone there had the money for this.


Haren gave the girl a reassuring smile, and whipped the reigns harder. He had to get to Crnaea immediately.


Sunspan


Aurum's vision swam for a moment as the pain began to subside. In the haze he saw several shapes gather and disperse, one of them coming his direction. Aurum breathed in deeply and forced himself to focus. His vision corrected itself, and he saw the warrior much clearer than before. The man looked like something out of a fairy tale, his armor and sword mere bronze. Aurum caught something about Evelina before something else caught his attention. Skylar, and the mercenary who'd fought beside her. He was in the middle of trying to get his legs to work again when the Wall rather pointedly demanded to know his business here.


"My men and I were on our way to your capital when we noticed a scuffle. Assistance seemed like the least we could do."


Finally -- painfully -- standing, Aurum turned to the bronze warrior. He was shorter than Aurum, but held his self in a manner that suggested he was an equal authority. Not a person to take lightly. "I've never heard of Evelina, so I'm afraid I won't be of any use to you ser."

 

[yoikes]

"To Capital? Meeting Queen Margaret, then? For what reason? To declare war—" Skylar stopped. She had gone too far. Even thought she doesn't really fond of the idea of working together with this Traitor again, but Sunspar and the mysterious person behind this tragedy comes first. And plus, her comrades could arrive in Sunspar any moment now. Skylar can't wait to see Reina or Buras to punch thithi s Traitor in the face. Skylar took a deep breathe, and try to set aside the past until this whole problem finished. "—Whatever. You could've annihilate me with the entire town if you want to, anyway."


Skylar turned at the person who she previously thought was one of Aurum's soldier. Come to think of it, the armor did not belong to Celaise. "Evelina?" Skylar cocked her head.

 

[Soviet Panda]

Buras glared between the door and Riena, but mostly on Riena. He didn't want to giver her an opening to take advantage of. With a growl, his mind was made up. "We settle this later." he said before climbing out of the bath. He came out of the room dressed, and an angry look on his face. "I have no time for you woman." he said forcefully towards Hahlua. "If you want me, drop the other ones." And with that, he left the bath house.


Sven was nowhere to be seen, which only irritated Buras a bit more. The horse, for all the times Buras called it stupid, was actually rather smart. It probably had made it's way to the stables in the castle, which meant a walk for him. At least no one would dare try taking from that horse. A trained war horse did not like being touched by anyone except it's rider. That was how a boy got several gold bits, and for trying to steal from Sven. Horse kicked him square in the chest. It's a surprise that kick didn't kill him instantly. And that alone drove him to give that boy some gold. It wouldn't do to have a warrior like that die for a stupid reason.

 

[SirDerpingtonIV]

Reina Kavot

Reina scowled, lowering her fists. "Later," she agreed, glaring in Buras's direction, before she stepped out of the bath, dressing herself, before pulling on her armor, which lie nearby, picking up her mace as well. She brought weapons with her wherever she went, something servants and noble born found something quite strange of her. However, the Queen allowed her that, as she should always be ready to protect the queen, were it ever needed. She headed over to the stables, ignoring Buras and his stupid fucking Biter, as she simply saddled up the horse she had been given by the Queen. The horse simply snorted as she saddled up, and she mimicked it, taking her position in the saddle, before leading the horse out of the stables, mace on her back. She made her way back over infront of the bathhouse, finding Exodus already waiting there for her and Buras. She simply nodded, and began riding towards the gate. "See you at Sunspan," she muttered, before riding out under the gate, urging her horse to a faster pace to begin the journey, determined to distance herself from Buras. Besides, she felt that shattering some undead with her mace might possibly ease her anger a little.

 

[Star]

Star coughed loudly and sat up slowly catching her breathe before seeing the mercenary, Skylar and Aurum. She knew Aurum was considered a traitor but Skylar was in the queens guard. She stood up slowly and walked over. Her clothing hiding who she was though her bi colored eyes gave her away. "Which one of you knocked me off my horse." She growled glaring at them. "That wasn't very nice."


Her one hazel eye grew a brighter color while the blue stayed the same. Her bi colored eyes told about her dual nature, and right now her other half was not happy at all. She was short compared to the three in front of her but her personality and anger was that of 3 men. "And who the he'll let the walking dead out of the ground! Who the hell is that insane!" She shouted before tamping down on her screaming. At this point she had forgotten about the wood in her side due to the adrenaline coursing through her body. A moment while flailing her arms yelling she hit it before ripping it out. "And you!" She pointed to Aurum. "Made me fall on a stick.."

 

[shadowz1995]

Lennex still stands behind Skylar, watching what is happening between all these people. No one has addressed him and in turn he has spoken to no one. Part of his life lessons is to not involve himself unless the situation specifically calls for it. He was simply absorbing information. The girl who had walked up to the current group just now accused the man Skylar knew as the one who cast the spell before. Apparently he massive and devastating magic but it cannot differentiate friend from foe. Skylar does not trust this man. Though by her facial expressions, she has mixed feelings about him. They were probably comrades once upon a time. The newcomer has....some kind of magical ability. Her eyes seemed like they glowed under her hood. Another troublesome one. Briefly, Lennex turns his attention to the man who cast the holy magic cleansing. The man who had almost gotten him killed and killed any potential clients he had. That is not something Lennex appreciated but Lennex says nothing. Just continues to watch, albeit more warily now.

 

[yoikes]

A woman approached them and throwing complaints at them, at the whoever started this whole thing, and then at Aurum. Skylar thought that she's a lady who hid in her house, before it destroyed by Aurum, but then Skylar noticed her mismatch eye.


"... Queen Star, of Celaise?" Skylar now recognize who the woman in front of her really is. She bowed her head at her, before turning at Aurum. "Did you drag the Queen into combat?"

 

[Soviet Panda]

Buras bit back curse after curse as he walked closer and closer to the castle. He didn't actually say any of the words that flew through his mind, because he was aware of the children nearby. And their mothers. If they were anything like Hrothlander mothers, he would be lucky to walk away with a couple bruises. But the cause of his cursing was still not in sight. His bloody horse was probably walking through the stable entrance at that very moment, and was not letting the stable boys unsaddle him.


But then he saw him. Sven was standing lazily, as if unaware of the little girl hanging from around his neck. How that girl was even able to reach that high was a mystery, probably had some friends about somewhere. But what surprised him even more was that the horse didn't seem to care that the girl was there at all. Walking up, a perplexed look on his face, he mutters something in his native language. The girl heard him, and turned her head to see where the noise had come from. Though surprised to see the giant staring at her, she did not let go.


"Girl, do you know what you are doing?" he asked, and swiftly moved on before she could answer. "You are hanging from Sven. A Hrothland horse. One trained for combat. One that would bite my fingers if I didn't saddle him right. And he's letting you hang off of him as if you had always been there." By that time, the girl had dropped down, and was starring bashfully at her feet. "Do you live near the castle?" he asked.


"N-no sir." she stammered. "I don't really have anywhere to live, to be honest. Ma and Da are trying their hardest, but no one will take us in. My Da says it's because they didn't have room. But I saw the look on their face. They didn't want us there." she continued, not stammering at all.


"Well, you have a home now. Sven needs someone who'll groom him without having to tie him up." Buras said. "The loft of the stables, royal or not, isn't the most fancy thing in the world, but it's better then nothing." After mounting the horse, he says "Go tell your parents what I have told you. And if anyone asks why you are there, say 'Sven needs a groomer'. That should do it."

 

[Star]

Star glanced at the queens guard and laughed. "Now why would anyone need to bring me into combat. I was merely in Sunspan to get new breeding horses. Until I was thrown off my horse by some imbecile that doesn't know how to use his magic." She huffed dragging her dress up a bit before letting it flutter back to the ground. She coughed a bit as she shook her hair. Dust from the fire falling towards the ground. "Now, do you know who real eased the demons?" She asked again though silent though to herself. That way I may find out who to take to join my side against the queen. They attacked to early.. Idiots.


Star hated incompetence. Much more that than anything else. It led to wars that couldn't be won, and petty fights that no one knew what they were about.

 

[Enolx]

Outside of the Bathhouse


Exodus smiled when he saw Buras and Reina come out of the baths and get ready to leave. " Good," Exodus said to himself " I really did not want to explain why I left them broken in the street to master." Exodus walked over to the stables and waved to Renia as she quickly saddled up and left. He assumed that she was still mad and didn't want to ride with them. That was fine with him, the important thing was that she was going. He saw his own horse was ready, someone must have been told to prepare him, but Buras was having trouble finding his horse. Exodus' horse was tall, lean, and a beautiful jet black. He was told that the horse came from his homeland and was bred to last twice as long as other horses at much faster pace. The downside was that they could not carry much weight, but that was not an issue for Exodus who rode light, other than his armor pieces. The horse became excited and started to buck and stomp when he saw Exodus. This horse was given to him by his 49th master and they have been together ever since. Exodus put a hand on the horses mane and it stopped bouncing although it still stomped it's legs showing that it was ready to go. " I hope you are as ready as you seem Shaheed," Exodus said " We have a long ride ahead of us." Exodus walked Shaheed out of the stable and hopped on his back. The horse reared up on the his hind leg when Exodus landed and slammed back into the ground after a passionate neigh. Exodus stroked Shaheed's head after they landed. As Exodus looked around for Buras he saw that he had found his horse and was already in the saddle. " Hey Buras we are being left behind, lets go," Exodus said as he spun Shaheed around towards the gate " Last person to catch up to Reina has to confess their love for her." Exodus then put his heels to Shaheed and shot off out of the city.


Sunspan, Alxeandria





Commander Fuller gave the light warrior a quick nod of understanding when he said that he did not know of Evelina. Leon elbowed Cameron and said " This must be really far in the future for the name of the continent to change. Hey maybe we have become myths. Think about it Cameron, we could have some crazy stories about us. Other than the crazy stories that are actually true, I mean crazy fake stories. What if in some kids book they have you calling down beams of light with your spear while fighting like gods or something." Leon stopped and looked at Cameron then at the light warriors spear. Leon then gave Cameron a questioning look as he asked " Does that guys have your spear?" Cameron nodded, his eyes focused on the weapon. "Yup," He said staring the spear down like an animal " That's the spear I got from Sol. I might just kill him and take it back." Leon put a hand on Cameron's shoulder and said " You know good and well that in this state the last thing we need is our old weapons. Are you trying to make that crazy guy stronger than he already is?" Cameron let out a sigh. "I guess your right," Cameron said " At least it seems to be in capable hands."


Commander Fuller gave the two of them a look and they quieted down. "Alright," Fuller said " Here is our story. Evelina was the name of this continent in our time. It was comprised of many different separate countries just as I assume that yours is today. We fought just like everyone else, but over all we were stable. Then from no where a country called Alrabek gained a new ruler and became militaristic. The other countries did not see this as an issue until that small nation began to conquer its much larger neighbors. It was then that the countries took action. They sent their armies to deal with the new ruler, but they were all defeated. It was all to late that the rulers realized what they were up against. An army of the dead. For the first time in history someone had control over death. Country after country fell and the kings power grew with every death. Soon their was only a few countries remaining each with their own great warrior who had protected them from slaughter. The countries banded together and decided that these warriors were the lands last hope and joined them together into a hopefully unstoppable group. They called this group The Master Knights of Evelina because were no longer bound to their countries, but now they protected the continent.These knights fought their way through hell itself and made it to the ruler's citadel. After fighting through to the deepest bowels of the keep they found the ruler. The knights were able to kill the ruler, but it cost their lives."


"Now is the important part," Fuller declared " If you haven't figured it out, we are those knights and the tomb is what remains of the rulers citadel. Some idiot has gotten his hands on one of the ruler's master artifacts, the life slaver jewel. In that jewel are the souls of not only me and my comrades, but the ruler Efiálti̱s. The jewel gives the idiot control over us, but if he summons Efiálti̱s he will not be so lucky, and the ruler will freely walk these lands again. You must destroy the jewel before he is released, if not you have to keep the jewel away from Efiálti̱s so he does not gain control over us when he returns."


"We got everyone here sir," a Patrick's voice proclaimed from a distance. "Good," Fuller said rushing the words that followed " In this state we can not disobey orders, but we can work around them. Our orders were to go and destroy Sunspan, kill anyone strong, and round up the ones who don't resist. As you see Sunspan is destroyed, everyone we see as strong is dead, and the ones who have not resisted have been rounded up. Our mission is complete. Now you all must run before the idiot arrives and gives us new orders that may force our hands. I do not know if we will be forced to fight you again so I must let you know about how we are currently. We are only coherent in the darkness. At any other time we are mindless highly skilled and trained monsters. Fire repels us and should kill us if you can keep us on fire. We are immune to the weapons wielded by man, so you must either be a woman, or have a weapon or magic that comes from the gods. If you don't your weapon will break against us."


" Light warrior," Fuller said " Stop him." Cameron walked up to the light warrior and said " Keep that spear safe and if worse comes to worse find our weapons, they will give you a chance against Efiálti̱s although they do have their price, as I'm guessing you already know." After saying his peace he walked back toward his commander. " You shouldn't have to loose fourteen of your own, light warrior," Leon said " Stop him before that happens." The rest of the Master Knights gave the light warrior a salute and formed up with their friends as they looked to the sky and remembered a time and place long passed.





Outside of Sunspan





Maxis looked at the wall of Sunspan only half a mile away. "I have never been so happy to see a wall up close," Maxis said " And it seems the inside is burning. This day just keeps getting better." A smile touched Maxis' face and he found himself cheerfully skipping the last bit of the way to Sunspan.

 

[Nexmaroc]

Skies above Alexandria


They were absolutely lost. Every last bit of this blasted country looked the same from above. Haren knew that Crnaea was supposed to be somewhere north of Sunspan, but no one had ever told him if it was northeast or northwest. He needed to get this girl to Queen Margaret, find his comrades, and turn around to help Aurum all at once, and he was headed farther south for all he knew.


At least the girl had stopped crying. She still sniffed occasionally, but his armor was no longer in danger of imminent rusting. She stared out in wonder across the rolling hills, mouth agape. Oh gods! Poor girl must be dumb if she finds hills to be exciting. But then he saw it. The moon was had fully risen above the horizon, bathing everything in a pale, milky light. His mouth fell open.


"Wow..."


A movement below caught brought his attention back to reality. Three riders in the night, horses galloping as fast as they could. Could be bandits. Could be soldiers. Can't really tell from here. Either way, they could give him directions, provided he was still in Alexandria. He hugged the slave girl to his chest tightly, the kicked his wyvern -- perhaps he ought give it a name -- bringing it into a steep dive.


Please don't be bandits.





Sunspan


Aurum turned to Skylar, his patience beginning to wear thin. Aurum had to admire her loyalty, and admit that she was a sound tactician, but she -- like many of the Queens Guard -- sometimes had more in common with a pack of small children than a group of elite warriors. He was sad to see that that hadn't changed in his absence. "My business with Lady Margaret is purely diplomatic I assure you, Ser. You've nothing to worry about."


His patience only wore thinner when "Queen Star of Celaise" presented herself. He had to grind his teeth not to say anything. He might serve Empress Meredith, but technically Celaise was still in a three way civil war. Lady Star held the least ground, and he had personally decimated her armies, but she had proven rather elusive. As satisfying as it would have been to take her prisoner then and there, things were different in Celaise. Infuriatingly different. And he was quite alright with knocking her off of her horse, thank you.


The clap of hands on his shoulder drew his attention back to the bronze warriors, who had apparently been talking the whole time. Not that he had heard any of it very well, with the blast still ringing still in his ears. Something about a powerful necromancer? That couldn't be good.


"You there, mercenary. Are you sworn to one of the people, or are you still for hire?"

 

[yoikes]

"I know. I apologize. I've gone too far on that one." Skylar admitted, as she nervously scratch the back of her head. "But really, you shoul worry about the others and not me."


Skylar listened to Fuller and his band of knights about legend, that Skylar pretty sure have read in a book sometime ago. She watched, and memorized the information that they gave them. They trusted Aurum, giving him some sort of heroic responsibility to kill the source of this tragedy. As the warriors seemingly having a nostalgia about their time in the past, Skylar realized something.


"You are the shadows?" She asked. "The... Uh, Hollows?"