Lord of Azure Flame Chapter 6: Standing against the Bolivian Army

[Snowy_One]

Deep within the bowls of the earth

It had been a boring day for Helenos. Trapped within the deepest recesses of the earth and tucked away behind a earthen veil, there was little she could do except calmly reflect upon her lot in life. Though she had scouts out in the world above, nothing they could observe was of any worth or value to her. A rider within a platoon of soldiers under the command of a pegasus knight, a guard hidden away within a border town, two mages each with their own special location which she felt certain would be useful later, and yet none of them held any interest to her. Not after what she had felt with her third mage. Not after what she had been seared by.

That woman, the one whom felt so out of place, like a farmer in a courtroom. She had done something to her when her scout had touched her. Something so horrible, so malicious, so... delicious! She had felt the joyful sting of anarchy, the sweet taste of bloodied might, the caress of hellfire itself from that woman! How could she focus on anything else but the demonic revelation that that nectarous flame brought unto her body, the labored and joyful beat unto her heart, and the shockwaves of pleasure it sent through her very soul?

The very thought of it caused her to twist and churn about within the rocky womb which surrounded her. She had to do something about this, this present darkness... She had to become it! She had to swallow it up! She had to devour it so that its ecstatic power could course through her! And... she had to stop it. Stop it from reaching he whom was imprisoned, she whom was drained, she who was the last of her kind, and he whom create them again. If she could handle that, perform such a simple task, then she could claim his power for her own! She could become akin to a god! A being whom could corrode the whole world away until nothing more was left! A being whom would make their bones dance a sick and demented dance of delight and joy for her!

She could not stay here any longer. No. She could not. She had to do something. She closed her eyes once again, focusing her magic and sending her power outwards. Sending it upwards into fortress and into mountain, plains and forest. Wherever her power flowed, the world about her mana rotted and corroded away, before being drawn together into fine meshworks. Meshworks of snakes, spiders, rats, and bats. Small and capable beings meant for spying. Beings which could find that sweet nectar again and undo it's careful binds, letting her taste it's power once again!

---

TISME Headquarters

Throughout the enchanted halls and thousand classrooms of the might mage school, something was stirring. The headmaster could feel it. The hallways held no secrets to a being of such great power, and the faint traces of foul magic could easily be felt. Not just dark magic, but truly foul magic, rotting and corroding away. Though it could do little harm in such a powerful place, there had to be a source, a cause, for such power, and that was what caused the headmaster to shudder in... not fear... but... something different. Like a student with a test coming that he had studied for, but wasn't quite sure he could handle.

Never the less, something had to be done. Picking up a small stone enchanted to carry voices across great distances, vaguely similar to a rewarp staff, the headmaster inscribed the required enchantment onto the stone to activate it. Such a thing was a rare object, and too use it was a huge deal indeed. Throughout the institute, within the desks of all the teachers, similar stones activated as well.

"Notice to all teachers: The headmaster will be be taking leave of the school today and may not return for up to three days. Upon the third day, this coming Saturday, there will be a important meeting. I'm sure some of you know why and have felt why already. Headmaster out."

The headmaster then placed the stone down upon a mahogany table, watching as the light of enchantment faded from the rock before it corroded away into dust. Sweeping it off the table, the headmaster stepped out into the office of the secretary. "Jenny, as I know you heard, I will be gone for a few days. If anyone has any tests for me to grade or to review, place a small acceptance bin outside the door; preferably guarded with some form of magical creature that no one will ever want to mess with. Like, say, a pegasus stallion. If any students are sent to my office, give those who did good things a hug and kiss and ummm... Hmmm.... Maybe the day off from classes if they want. Meanwhile, anyone who did a bad deed, like say, stealing from the kitchens, find the most boring teacher we have and have him give a lecture on advanced mana-networking temporal theory and force them to stay awake for the entire thing, and make sure there's a test at the end too. Understand? Good! Toodles!"

Before the secretary could even reply, the headmaster had already swept out the door, eager to set out to find whatever was causing this foul, rotten magic to flow.

Characters in action

Group 1

Esphyr

Isotov

Irina

Mark

Chase

Tessa

Morgan

Damian

Helios

Katie

Kelas

Arrin

Kamilla

Aiya

[Phoenix]

The two groups had safely arrived at Fort Selizara. There seemed to be no one else there but them, but many of them had no wish to actually venture inside. Though they had spent nearly the entire day running from two separate platoons, they were within ten miles of the capital. They only needed to arrive, preferably not in chains.

Elsewhere ....

Leutenant Viveka and the troops she oversaw had quickly established another headquarters. Using the gate patrol outposts as primary look out towers, and placing new tents hidden alongside the peddler tents, the trap was set. The cavalry were still searching the miles of territory between Fort Selizara and their new capital headquarters for the persistent criminals. She could only hope that they were strong enough to defeat them if they actually attempted to fight their way through. They would have little choice but to fight with such a broad defense line in place.

OOC: What's the capital's name again, for future reference?

Edited May 26, 2010 by Phoenix

[Ether]

"Good.We're here." Damian said as the Fortress was finally in reach.

It seemed that the other group had arrived before them,but the day was wearing rather thin by this time.

The groups began to co-mingle,and Damian was about to look around the area,when he fell to his knees.

"Damian!Are you okay?" Aiya asked him,worried,trying to support him.

'Nngh...Damn,the wound from earlier is acting up again!'

He was about to stand again when he coughed rather violently,and blood splattered onto the ground in front of him.

'Did I really go that overboard?'

"Damian!Someone help,please!I don't know whats happening to him!" Aiya called out desperately to those close by.

The others had looked at him curiously until he had began coughing up blood,and then heard Aiya's yell,after that,several came over,including Tessa.

[Snowy_One]

Yet, before the troubadour could make it to the scene, Esphyr had already hurried to Daiman's side, vulnerary in hand. "Coughing blood, internal wound. Most likely a cracked rib if he's coughing. Tessa, if I can set the bones, can you mend them? Then we can bind them up easily enough."

[riariadne]

A lone messanger rode towards the campsite set up by Viveka, and after dismounting he entered the lieutenant's tent. "Excuse me! I have an important message to Lieutenant Viveka, from General Jackson. Here you are," he announced, and he handed it to her,

Lieutenant Viveka:

New orders. Check the areas closer to Fort Selizara itself rather than the wilderness nearby it. Also, due to your excellent work, I've decided to promote you to Captain.

General Conrad

[Phoenix]

After reading the note from General Jackson, Viveka put her hand over her heart, closed her eyes and smiled.

Viveka: Even more reason ... to WIN this battle ... and capture these people. I'll earn this promotion before sunrise. I swear it.

She gently set the letter down and left the command center. When she ran up to the captain from before, he turned to see her unusually perky.

Captain: Please tell me you're helping us out, Ma'am.

Viveka: ... hmm ... maybe. For now I have new orders. The abandoned fortress ....

Captain: We have a few units near there. Should the fortress be searched?

Viveka: Careful, Captain! You can't just ride over to the fort and check it out. If by some chance they're held up there, then we've already won this battle.

Captain: Huh?

Viveka: They must be trying to reach the capital, but if we routed them to the fortress, then they have no where to go. Our entire force stands between them and Ilyphina. There's no need to rush in blindly and lose good people.

Captain: Suggestions?

Viveka: No. Orders. Scout the fortress on foot. I don't want any more pegasus riders killed today. Leave the pegasus unit here with me. Send cavalry scouts instead, that way any archers they have won't have a field day with them. If you confirm that no one is in the fortress, get back here as soon as you can and report. If they are held up in the fortress, fall back and assemble your forces. We might not have to fight them. Hopefully they'll find surrender preferable to dying in battle.

Captain: Yes, Lieutenant.

Viveka: Actually, I'm a Captain now. Capturing these people will prove it ^_^

Captain: A ... Captain ... like me ....

Viveka: Yep ^_^

(She's only twenty four and she outranks me? I do my best, dammit! >_<)

Captain: But ... you're ... so young ... it took me ten years to become the Captain of my unit.

Viveka: I guess I'm simply blessed ^_^

She quickly ran over to Susann and began petting the pegasus.

Captain: ... ... ... she's mounting more than just that pegasus ... slut <_<

OOC: That's just his interpretation of the situation

[Inactive Account]

Kelas sat up groggily. She'd passed out in the saddle shortly after the group moved out, and had slept the whole way... Now they were at the fortress, and the sun was low in the sky. The other group had rejoined them, thankfully all in one piece (well, excepting two counts.) Kelas swung down from the saddle. The pains from earlier had reduced to a dull ache, and while she hadn't rested much, she was considerably less exhausted. Arrin was over with the other group; Kelas suspected that the only reason that nobody had pulled her down from the saddle was that Amari had not left them.

She headed over. "Right, what's going on now?" she began to ask, but was interrupted: Damian was suddenly coughing blood.

"What the..." Kelas hung back. There was nothing she could do.

Arrin looked up in alarm. What was wrong with Damian? Esphyr seemed to have some idea, though, and Tessa had recovered somewhat, so she might be able to help... Arrin looked over to see Kelas walking over. He jogged over. "Are you all right?"

"Well enough. What's wrong with Damian? ...Wait." Kelas replied, and paused, looking around the woods. Her face grew grim. "Something's wrong. The woods have gone quiet. We may have company coming." She strode forward, only slightly unsteady on her feet, to warn the others.

[Balcerzak]

Tessa was called over to the newly arrived group, that had separated from them at the mouth of the caves, and she quickly hurried over. It was a good excuse to put the events of the past few hours out of mind, and to deal with things with a fresh start.

It appeared that the group had experienced some degree of trouble, as Damian was hurt and in need of some assistance. By the time she'd arrived, Esphyr was already by his side, starting to take a look at things. Apparently he'd been holding it back even from them.

Replying to the woman's query, she said, "Yes, with The Lady's strength I should certainly be able to heal bones. But setting bones can tricky business, especially for ribs. Are you sure you know what you're doing?" The mercenary nodded, so Tessa went to fetch her staff and returned promptly.

[[OOC: The two women set to work, and soon enough Damian felt like a new man. Couldn't resist some innuendo. *shot*]]

Edited May 26, 2010 by Balcerzak

[Ether]

OOC:Tessa still gets her innuendo,sort of...he does need to take his shirt off so they can work,innocent as she is,she'll probably have no idea what to do when she feels odd down there,a quick slip is all it takes after that.

Esphyr and Tessa seemed to be ready to heal what they believed to be a fractured rib.

"Alright,if that's what you think it is..." Damian was glad it didn't seem as serious as he had thought,and removed his armour and undershirt so that the setting and healing would be easier,leaving his stomach and chest exposed.

"So,do you just want me to lie down,or do you need me in a specific position?" He asked the two girls as they prepared to do their job heal him.

[Snowy_One]

"No. I have no clue what I'm doing at all. But I do know how bad a cracked rib is, and I do know that we lack a proper hospital, and I do know that there are only two people here with first aid skill of any kind. So it's your call. Either pray to the goddess that she will somehow heal him, or pray to her that I somehow don't make things worse."

[Ether]

Esphyr said something horrid.Damian had been feeling fine just a minute ago...he was going to be fine,nothing would go wrong...except Esphyr has no idea what she is doing...

Damian tried to get up,but the jolt sent him into another coughing fit,and a painful spasm.

"Gah...Damn..." He cursed.

"A-Are you sure this'll be alright?" Aiya asked nervously,her own injuries,though not as severe anymore,forgotten in light of Damian's plight.

[Balcerzak]

At Esphyr's forthright confession, Tessa looked a bit surprised, and Damian also was put ill at ease.

"Oh... Well, if that's the case, then I should definitely be doing this. One wrong move and if I were to let you push a broken rib and damage a lung..." Tessa shook her head and dismissed the thought. "Come back over here," she said, beckoning to Damian with her index finger. "Don't worry about it, this is relatively simple, and there shouldn't be any complications. If Esphyr'd been able to help, it'd have just made it easier on me, but even so, there's no risk to you." While not exactly true, it was better for all involved if he thought it was.

Looking over Damian's firmly muscled chest, she couldn't see any indication of wounds. Well, that was a lie. Scars and traces of old wounds abounded, but she couldn't see anything that was clearly causing this latest issue, so the assessment of something internal was definitely correct. She gently traced a finger up and down his torso, trying to determine just which rib was the offending one without causing any further damage. His skin was warm, and pleasant to the touch. She started to get that warm, fuzzy sensation, that she usually got when she was helping out people, and it almost felt like his warmth was transferring itself to her. A light wince informed her that she'd found the culprit, and pushing aside those thoughts, she set to work at channeling the healing power of the divine.

[Inactive Account]

Kelas waited a moment, not wanting to distract Tessa; they needed as many people in fighting condition as they could get. When Damian had been healed, she announced, "Everything's gone quiet. Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we may be surrounded."

OOC: I don't know if we're actually surrounded or not. We'll see.

[Ether]

Tessa's light touch and soothing healing magic was breaking down Damian's stress.She had said there was no risk,and while he suspected that the statement wasn't completely true,he trusted her enough to not complain.

She seemed to be flushed slightly,and he recalled their earlier conversation.

'Right...she has no idea about those sort of things...'

"Nngh!" The light movement of her finger suddenly caused a jolt of pain,and she seemed to be back on task now that the wound had been located.

[Snowy_One]

Knowing our luck, we are either surrounded by five hundred wyvern lords, or there is no one at all. wrote Katie down. Then she quickly rolled her eyes and took a step towards the fortress before sitting on the ground. Who am I kidding? We're surrounded. Murphy's law dictates it. I'm going to assume the surrender position until someone can prove otherwise.

With that, she tossed herself back with her hands behind her head, resting. It wasn't the surrender position, but it was close enough. Plus, she could relax and gaze up at the sky while she waited.

[riariadne]

"... Uh, I'll check?" Chase volunteered hesitantly.

Chase slowly peeked outside, only to see a large battalion of Conrad's troops. He moved backwards at the same careful Pace, and whispered, "... Yeah, we're surrounded. Damn."

[Phoenix]

Irina led Kiev around by his reins for a little while. When she met back up with Iso, he was standing near the entrance to the fortress near Katie. Iso had one of Katie's books in his hands and he was reading through it ... studying while he had time.

She stopped in front of them, and Iso closed the book and shot her a curious look.

Iso: Is something up?

Irina: We could totally use this place as a base! There are weapons all over the place. The fort is run down a bit, and there are a lot of holes in our defense, but if the soldiers show up, we might be able to hold out.

Iso: Impossible. They'll starve us out. That's the logical course of action. We need to get out of this fort and find another route to the capital as soon as possible -_-

Irina: You sure?

Iso: Maybe not wyvern lords ... but people with big spears ready to dominate us at the very least -_-

Irina: Why is everyone always so depressed?! I hate negativity! You guys suck! >_<

[Ether]

Aiya walked up to Chase.

"You said you had connections with the General,right?If you could get the commander to call him here,it would be easier to negotiate with him directly." She told him,and he seemed to realize her intention.

"We saw a Pegasus Knight in the forest,you mentioned someone like that close to the General,Viveka,was it?"

[riariadne]

"That's largely unnecessary. If Viveka so much as sees me she'll go over here. Oh, and don't kill her. Besides the fact she used to be my friend, Conrad would be really angry and probably not go with us."

[Ether]

"Really?It would be best if we did that then."

OOC:Phoenix,get Viveka over to the group for any reason,say someone thought they saw Chase,or have her want to get a closer look,whatever.

[Snowy_One]

"So do you want us to just throw down our arms and surrender then? I mean, Katie seems to have already come to that conclusion."

At that, Katie's hand quickly shot up and gave a thumbs up.

[Phoenix]

Iso opened the book again and started reading again.

Irina: Iso! Are you seriously giving up?!

Iso: Katie's out of sanwiches, Damian's hurt, we're surrounded, and they have enough men to kill us a thousand times over. We're done -_-

Irina: Uncle would find a way <_<

Iso: Go get him then

Irina: He's too far away! >_<

Iso: The sooner we surrender, the sooner we can speak to Jackson and get this cleared up -_-

At the front of the platoon of riders, a lone scout rode closer to the fortress to see how many were inside! He confirmed most of the people in the group, and then road back to the main units!

Scout: Hahahahahaaaah! XD

Captain: What's so damn funny, soldier?!

Scout: We've got'em! By the goddess we've got'em!

Captain: Who?

Scout: Chase Veshkal! We finally found that bastard!! Hah!

Captain: The criminals who burned the town, the inn, and the General's mark? :)

Let Captain Viveka know about this as soon as possible. She'll want to hand Veshkal over to Jackson personally.

Scout: Right >:)

The scout rode off behind the cavalry and headed toward the command center.

OOC: I'll handle Viveka's arrival post. Don't worry.

[Inactive Account]

Kelas sighed. "Yes... we've got too many injured. Arrin, get on Amari. If things go wrong, you're to run."

"I'm not leaving you all to die if that happens!" Arrin protested.

"I didn't come searching for you so I could drag you into something that would get you killed."

It was a strange feeling; Arrin's teacher hadn't treated him as a child for years, yet here was Kelas adamantly trying to protect him, as though he couldn't fight for himself. "I'm not going."

Kelas tried to shove Arrin over towards the horse, but to no avail; she still hadn't regained her strength. She sighed. "Right, then." She listened for a moment: there was a faint sound of twigs snapping, hoofbeats, and creaking leather. "They're getting close. We'd best be ready." She brought Amari closer to the group, leaning on the mare slightly for support. By now, the horses were all anxious, ears twitching to catch the sounds of the approaching soldiers. Kelas steeled herself for the inevitable.

Arrin walked forward, rejoining the main group. Whatever was coming, they couldn't face it separately.

[Phoenix]

Back at the command center, Viveka was mounted on Susann alongside several other knights. They were waiting for the reports. The battalion had confirmation that the outlaws were using the fort for protection, but the specifics were unclear. While she waited, she checked her nails to make sure they hadn't been damaged from all of the activity. Once she was satisfied, she sighed and looked at the horizon. The sun was beginning to set, and they only had a couple of hours of sunlight left. If this was going to end, it had to end soon.

When the scout finally arrived, he relayed the information to her. Hearing about wyvern riders nearly ruined her entire day.

Viveka: ... urgh ... wyverns ... ... I despise those creatures. How did Chase manage to recruit someone with a bull wyvern to his cause? Hmpf! Doesn't matter. Mount up! We're going over there right now! If Chase doesn't give up, we're going to swamp them! It's a good excuse to kill those wyverns too. (Part of me is hoping that they'll give up, and still give me a reason to have them both drakes shot <_< )

She and the other pegasus knights immediately took off and began heading back to the fortress flying merely twenty feet off of the ground. That low altitude made them much less vulnerable to ranged attacks and would allow them to get close. But first she needed to reach the main group and analyze the situation.

When she took off, a man in pitch black robes standing next to a woman clothed mostly in white commented on her from the gates.

Ixion: Horus' eyes have never failed me. Iso and Irina are at the fortress. Iso you worthless idiot. Why would you waste time learning anything from a mute?

Stephanie: Stop talking about him like that! Why didn't you tell me that Iso and Irina were here?! We should have gone to meet them!

Ixion: I didn't tell you, because you were busy. Busy exhausting my ability to concentrate.

Stephanie: We're here to shop for decorations for my new house, not interfere with wars! I'm tired of you men and your enigmatic ways! "Look at me! I'm a big strong mysterious man with dark powers!" That's you! Stop it, and be a person!

Ixion: I have to confront Iso about that tome he carries sooner or later. I may as well do it once they resolve this confrontation.

Stephanie: No confrontations, Ixion! You're here to carry my things, not settle old grudges! Now come on! I don't even think Iso is there! Why would Iso travel with criminals?! He was a good student back in the old days!

Ixion: You are wrong.

Stephanie: Ixion! Come with me this instant! Or I'll ... I'll drag you along by force ... I mean it! By your ears, Mister! Then I'll tell Ivanko how rude you've been to me during this whole trip!

Ixion: ... ... very well ... They obviously are not going anywhere. When they finish, I'll deal with that spineless wretch.

OOC: I didn't just place them here for humor, this was planned since chapter 4 :D

Viveka arrival on my next post, promise.

[Kanami]

Kamilla shook her head

"You people lack the ability to think don't you?" she said with a sigh, "The closer you get to the capitol, the stronger the enemies get, if you thought you could take on an entire army with just this small group then you really are all idiots."

"Surrender isn't exactly an ideal option either, I don't know the criminals connections to General Jackson, but it's indisputable fact that we've attacked and resisted arrest until now, sure, we might be able to get an audience, but that's all. As a general he commands troops, but he needs to retain their respect, I doubt it's possible for him to explain to his men that we're innocent of setting an inn on fire, which we're not. And then explain that it was perfectly acceptable for us to have killed several dozen soldiers."

"Frankly, our actions until now have been doing nothing but increasing suspicion, and to think that surrendering now and getting an audience with Jackson will clear our names is pure idiocy. Nevermind Jackson isn't the highest level of authority in Elyisimma."