NationStates Jolt Archive

OC:Well, here it is. If you aren't a participant and would like to join in, please apply in the OOC thread here: OOC Thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=521984)
IC:

Evening fell upon the deserts of Mosel .

A small child, no older than 6, ran past a large wagon toward an open campfire where several of his friends were as well. An old hunched figure with puffy white hair and a long flowing beard was following him, ableit at a slower pace.

"Grandpwa! Hurry up!" he shouted, his greeting slurred due to his enthusiasm.

Laughing heartily, the old man replied, "Alright, alright."

Finally catching up to his grandson, the old man groaned softly as he sat down with his grandson following suit.

"Story time!" screamed the little child gleefully,"Tell me the one with those big ma-ma- things and stuff!"

Chuckling, the man answered, "You mean the you want me to tell you about the War of Seasons?"

"Yesh!" shouted the children in unison.

"Alright then," he said, "Let's begin. Long ag-"

"Grandpwa," shouted the grandson, "You didn't say the can-can- cacticle!"

"Oh right," exclaimed the grandfather, "I forgot to say the Canticle. Well, I'll say it now."

With that, the old man took a deep breath and began unravelling the tale of Aztiluth's past.

------------------------------------------------------------------
Hear me, oh people of Aztiluth.
Oh children of these noble lands, the time of turmoil has come!

Oh brave heros of the past, where art thee now?
Oh mighty champions of ages gone, where hath thee gone?

Can you not hear the cries of the dying,
Their cries echoing across the open plains of Durna and Palmira,
Resounding among the mighty mountains of Airyglyph,
As winged birds feast upon their fallen bodies?

Can you not see the burned, charred husks of towns and villages,
Of the ravaged bodies strewn across their ruins?

Can you not smell the stench of Death, the nauseating scent of burning corpses and blood stained earth?

Can you not fell the burning air and cooling bodies of the dead, the excitement of the aether, or the surging of your crimson lifewater?

Can you not taste the blood of innocents that lie spilt across the plains of Irsa all the way to the borders of Kaddan's blessed lands?

For whether or not you hear them,
whether or not you see them,
whether or not you smell it,
whether or not you feel it,
whether or not you taste it,
The sounds, the sights, the smell, the feeling, the taste of Death is now here.

The roar of the mighty air dragons echoes in the high fortress of Airyglyph.

The crackling of runological might fills the air of Aquios.

The sound of steel and power rises into the infinite sky of Greeton.

Oh people of the lands of Greeton and Gaitt, the heros and champions of the past are no longer here.

So draw your blades and stand forth.

For the Season of Change has come.

-----------------

Fort Dutantes, Palmira Republic (http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j225/Seidou/MapII.jpg?t=1175583657)

As the sun set beneath the horizon, the guards of Fort Dutantes began switching off with their replacements. Giving the usual greetings and farewells, the soldiers casually walked over to the mess hall for some dinner.

"There's never any excitement around here," yawned one red haired archer to another archer walking beside him.

"Bah, quiet youngin. You be glad that there's nothing exciting," joke his aged companion, "Back in my day, soldiers would give anything for times like these."

"Yeah, yeah old man," said the younger archer, "Whatever you say. Let's go grab some gru-"

Before he could finish, a loud, earthshaking roar interrupted him. From atop the fort's watchtower, a guard rang the call to arms, shouting at the same time.

"Dragons! Dragons! Airyglyph is attacking!"

The two archers stood stiff as stone, frozen momentarily in shock at the news. Another roar echoed in the air, shaking them out of their stupor. Looking straight up into the air, the red head saw the dark shapes of Airyglyph's sky dragons as they dived toward the fort, breathing their deadly dragon flame as they closed. The archer only had a second to scream before a stream of fire engulfed. So hot was it that he literally melted into the ground, his flesh and eyes bubbling like some sort of mutated stew.

Several minutes later, the battle was over. The fort was completely razed with no survivors. The very ground of the fort had become molten earth. Landing nearby to survey their handiwork, the knights sat near one another on their dragon mounts.

"Seems that Palmira should be an easy victory," muttered one armored knight.

"Yes," answered another, "Seems that way."

A moment later, the first knight spoke up, "Let's go. We must report back to Lord Vox."

"Right!" shouted the others in unison.

With a flap of their mighty wings, the dragons took flight and began heading back to Airyglyph, leaving behind a scene of death and horror.

Lesonia, The Technological Superpower of Greeton

A person dressed in Greeton's dark green military uniform glanced up as someone entered his office.

"Sir," said the person, "We've just received news from our spies. Airyglyph has made the first move and razed Fort Dutantes."

"I see," replied the officer, "Get me Coravel and Lysander. I have an assignment for them."

"Of course, Commander Assiel."

Arkives, The Sacred Lands Kaddan

A figure bolted up in her bed, completely soaked with sweat. Reaching under her pillow, she pulled out a locket. Opening it, she glanced at the image it held: a picture of the girl and a young elven male, smiling happily.

"Why'd you have to die?" whispered the girl, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

OOC: Participants can start posting. Post something so that I can get a general idea of where you are. By the way, if you want to be in a city other than the capital, feel free to make up a name and location. Have fun!

Beleg sat on a high rolling hill as he watched the sun sink deep into the sea of grass and wheat that was before him. Everything looked as if it were on fire while the sky turned a mixture of orange and deep purple. Sunset always brought an unending wave of relief as it marked the days end. Another day survived. Water flowed freely from a waterskin as he drank deeply, refreshing his parched lips. Today he was on leave and Beleg intended to enjoy the reprieve offered to him. He knew many men would be spending the evening with a woman or with their families. Beleg had neither so he preferred to spend it quietly away from the cities and forts to just enjoy what peace had to offer.

Sighing, Beleg leaned back into the soft grass and stared up at the first stars that were twinkling to life. He pulled out a bit of cheese and bread from his pouch and munched on a few bites while staring up. He threw his arms back behind his head to brace his head when they bumped against something hard. Cocking his head, he noticed the strong longbow his father had given him long ago. Ornate grip, carved markings up the length of the bow, and the silver string were all still in perfect condition after all these years. Beleg slid the bow off to the side near his quiver and rested his head in his palms.

For now he allowed himself to forget the troubles of the world and the clouds of war that always seemed to be brewing. Tonight would be different though. Tonight he would sleep under the stars and let the world pass him by. Beleg closed his eyes and never noticed the two shadows that flew overhead.

Sinan Danew sat in his one roomed hut on the outskirts of the rural Durna town of Gregieseia. He had been thinking hard all day on whether or not he should move to the big city.

'There'll be much more work for me' he thought. he chuckled to himself 'Maybe I'll get rich' But then he though of his friends, he didn't think he could bear leaving all of them behind.

Sighing he stood up, glanced darkly at the rusty shortsword and shield he had inherited from his father, and went about preparring for bed. he had to wake up early the next day, he had to fix the village centers community building roof. Unfortunatly a commotion down the street halted his thoughts of sleep. He looked out of his Door and saw a group of people assembled down the street.
'Whats going on' he thought.

He neared the group and found his best friend Harad.
"Whats going on?" He asked harad
"Just take a look!" Harad said pointing over the rooftops twords the Palmira Republic to the North.
Sinan stared at the black smoke against the orange sky.
"Someone said Dragons from Aryglyph have attacked Fort Dutantes!" Harad said nervously.
"Well whatever it is it shouldn't effect us" Sinan said though he knew then that it was just the begining. He knew he and all the others would soon be very much involved. He knew because of the cloud of dust coming from the south road. He just knew that it would happen soon.

And sure enough not too long later he sat in the back of a cart pulled by horses, off to defend some fort somewhere. he watched sadly as Harad and all his other friends were taken away off other paths. Finally when all his friends had been seperated he looked forward to see where he was headed.

On the road not too far away was a huge fort right on the Northern Border of Durna. He knew where he was headed. Fort Haven the fort where his father had been stationed. He knew then that he wouldn't be part of the Defensive, he was part of the Offensive. Fort Haven only existed as a means to stage Invasions of palmira.

Life as Sinan knew it, was over.

Outskirts of Airyglyph Castle, Airyglyph
As they neared the massive city, the dragons let out a roar to alert the squires of their presence. The city grew larger and larger as the group drew nearer. Near the ramparts of the first wall, a knight was watching them, waving a torch to signal for them to land on the runway behind him. The lead rider gave a wave of his hand and led the others to the strip. Several minutes later, the knights had dismounted and were greeted by the knight from the wall.

"How'd it go, commander?" asked the knight.

"The assault was a success," replied the rider as he stroked his mounts head.

"Seems that there was problem though," said the knight.

"Really? What is it?"

"Word seems to have leaked out," responded the knight, "The king has ordered a meeting of all Dragon, Storm, and Black brigade officers. Their meeting in the castle's Hall of Wings.

"Right," said the rider.

Quickly dismissing his squad, he made his way to a nearby stable and rode toward the main castle on a lum, a large bird used by the Storm Brigade as their mounts.

Palmira Republic
"A pox on Beleg and all his descendents," cursed an archer as he ran around in search of the elf.

He had been minding his own business, fletching some arrows, when a messenger from the superiors came with news for Beleg. As usual, he, Duras, had been the one chosen to find that accursed elf. Duras had already been searching for half an hour and still hadn't found the ranger. Glancing around, he spotted another archer lounging around.

Hurrying over to him, he asked, "Hey, Ki. Have you seen Beleg around?"

"Hm..." mused Ki, "Yeah, I think he's at his usual spot."

"Again?" said Duras in disbelief, "I tell you. We got to him a woman or something. Thanks anyways."

With that, he hurried out toward the hilly landscape, cursing all the way. Several minutes later, he stood atop a hill and looked about him, searching. Spotting the distant form of Beleg, he broke into a quick jog.

As he neared, he called out, "Beleg, you lazy piece of earth, get up already! I've got orders from our superiors."

Fort Haven, Durna

Captain Bastien D'Aramitz frowned as he paced the length of his quarters. Staring at the setting sun, he suddenly picked up a small slip of paper that had been lay on his desk. Hazel eyes darted over the carefully scribed words.

"Damn it all!" he growled, slamming his hand into his desk, "Damn you Airyglyph. All these years of planning and for what?! To ally with Palmira of things."

A soft rap on the door caught Bastien's attention.

"What is it?" he snarled.

"The conscripts are coming in, sir. We've sent out the second wave of messengers," answered a voice outside the office.

"Excellent."

Outside the fort, the cart carrying Sinan came to a slow halt as a pair of mounted soldiers rode forth.

"Everyone on your feet," ordered one of the riders, "File in to the fort. An officer will be waiting for you there. He'll take you to the main hall as soon as the rest arrive."

With that the riders urged their mounts forward, off to give the same message to the other arrivals.

Temple of the Sacred Order, Arkives, Kaddan

Glory. Glory. Glory.
Praise be unto the Lord.
May His Word take root in all who hear Them.

The chants of priests echoed in a thin figure's ears as he made his way through the structure.

"Those novices just don't get it," he muttered as he hurried down one of the building's corridors. Stopping in front of an oak door, he rapped it gently with one of his gloved hands. There was a loud crash followed by a muffled yelp before the door swung open, revealing a white haired, disheveled looking teen.

"Uh...Hi, sir! You're....early," she nervously mumbled as she tried to regain her bearings.

"Oh really," said the figure, quirking an eyebrow," According to that clock on your wall, I'm just on time. Oversleep again, Amy?"

"Um....SORRY!" shouted Amy, slamming the door closed.

Several minutes later the door reopened. This time a fully dressed and neater looking Amy greeted the figure.

"Ha ha ha..." she chuckled nervously, "Sorry about...that?"

She would have said more, but the death glare kept her quiet.

"Let's go," said the figure gruffly.

"You know Aaron..." muttered Amy, "For a Weaver, you sure are grumpy."

"Ah cram it," replied Aaron, moving once more at a hurried pace, "We'll be late if you keep on walking like a snail."

"Hmmph," pouted the teen.

Several minutes later, they stood outside a set of double doors, guarded by to heavily armored lancers.

"You're late," said one of the lancers, giving the pair a small smirk almost hidden by his armor and uniform.

"It's her fault," muttered Aaron, "I hope Master isn't too upset."

"Hehe. Just go in," said the other lancer, unlocking the door.

Thanking the two guards, the pair pushed one of the doors open and slid inside. Closing the door behind them, they turned to meet the amber eyes of their superior and mentor.

"You're late,"

Sinan stood with the rest of the group in the main hall while Captain Bastien D'Aramitz looked them over.

"What a lazy group of Farmers we have to work with! Any of you ever held a sword?" The captain barked.

The group mumbled and looked around. Nobody had ever touched a sword, except of course Sinan. But Sinan decided he'd rather keep that to himself, maybe he could get by with defending the Fort.

[Oh God! None of them even have the slightest knowledge of war. We are gonna be torn to pieces] The captain thought frowning. [Well might as wel make an example of one of em]

"You, Klausian" he said pointing at Sinan, "Take this sword and get out on the open Floor. NOW!"

Sinan reluctantly took the sword and walked to the center of the Hall. The captain followed.

"Ok here's what were gonna do, you try to disarm me while I attack you. Don't be frightend, I will only aim to injure you, you will not die. Ready? Begin!" The captain Lunged at Sinan, sure that this would be over in a few seconds.

Sinan Counterd with perfect precision. For Half an Hour the two traded blow after blow. The two blocking every move made against them. They were equally matched, but finally, with a flick of his wrist Sinan knocked the Sword out of the Captain's hand.

The captain stood, stunned, he had just been beaten by a Klausian Farmer, he haden'tever seen swordsmanship like that. He truly was impressed. Of course the conscripts couldn't know that.

"You said you never held a sword before, boy! For this Klausian's lie you lot will be training hard all night, and no meals tommarrow. Thank your friend here. Oh and welcome to Fort Haven!" with that he stormed off twords his quarters.

A blade of long grass bobbed up and down in his mouth to the rythm of his slow breathing. Sleeping, Beleg barely heard Duras climbing up the hill though it was enough to rouse him from his slumber. Beleg remained laying on the ground chewing on his lone piece of grass when Duras finally called out to him.

The elf groaned and rolled over on his side. He just wanted the man to go away so he could enjoy his night. The troubles of the world could wait until morning if only he could get a decent nights sleep. Unfortunatly, the little man did not go away. Beleg sat up and spit the blade of grass out. "Duras, why are you always the one that has to ruin my evening? I'm sure the orders could have waited until morning."

Beleg fished around in his pouch for a wedge of bread and a piece of meat. "Hungry?"

Outside of Lesonia, Greeton


Coravel ambled easily down the worn path to the river, his gear for today in hand. Arriving at the riverbank, he set up his position in the early morning fog. His preperations complete, he drank some coffee that was still slightly steaming. Standing on the bank, coffee in one hand, he reared back and catapulted his other arm forward. There was a splash in the water, and he trudged a short distance back from the bank before sitting down with his back to a tree. He sat there with his eyes closed, musing while he focused on feeling every twitch and bob of his pole. He was sure there were a million responsibilities waiting for him when he returned, but he enjoyed these rare moments just after dawn. He could relax and just fish, nothing to weigh him down. He idly wondered if he would be able to enjoy the full morning, or if his sense of responsibility would kick in. A sharp tug on his line, and he jerked the rod. Standing, he proceeded to land the trout and promptly lost himself in his hobby.

The training that nght had been hard and painful, but Sinan had pulled through. After a full night of swordswinging and obstacle courses, the conscripts got a moment of peace to eat their morning meal.

Sinan sat alone. The other conscripts didn't like him much for the night of training he had earned for them all. And to add to it as the night progressed he had earned the favor of many of the Captains.

Sinan was joined at his table by Captain Bastien D'Aramitz.

"I've been watching you train tonight boy. I'm amazed by what I've seen. Where did you learn to fight like that?" The captain asked.

"My father, he taught me a lot when i was younger." Sinan replied.

"Hmm, well it has been decided. You are being transferred to the front lines."

"Bu... but the training, you have to train me!" Sinan said franticly

"No son, you are to good to keep here. We need you. We are sending you to one of our advanced units over in Palmira. first thing in the Morning."

The captain walked off.

6:02pm, Tuesday, The Swan Pub

Ed took a sip of his beer and a puff of his pipe, then glanced at his watch. Two past six. His friend was running late. He looked at the door, hoping that he would come through.

His wish was answered.

"Sorry Ed, I tried to get some spices for the wife"
"Good stuff. Right, so, how's life for you then?"
"Fine. I heard your going on your tour of duty tomorrow"
"That's right."
"I also hear your getting a steam cutter this time"

Ed's ears pricked up. 'It's good to have good friends. It's like having your own spy network' He thought.

"I thought I was getting something new, but a ship that isn't obsolete?! Brillient. Got anything on my orders?"
"I think they're going to risk putting you on the north east sea this time, so no coast guard. With the world like it is now...
"The people of the world has been at each other's throats for ages, Darren, why are things so different now?"

Darren's voice suddenly turned into a whisper;

"I've been informed that the military superpower of Airyglyph has razed Fort Dutantes"

Ed spat out a gob of beer.

"WHAT?! Your joking!"
"I'm not. War could really happen this time. I'm afaid they may put another price on your head"
"I don't care about that, I'll have any assassins shot on sight."
"They don't want you dead, Ed. They want you alive."

The talk raged on until eight o'clock, after which the two friends parted for the next couple of months. At least, that was the plan...

10:13, Wednesday, aboard the cutter Voranto

"LINE UP! Right everyone, we have a new captain, since I'm afaid Captain Gasronua retired. You may of heard of him. I'll leave the introductions to himself"
The sound of boots knocking on wood rung round the ship.
"Good morning everyone. I'm Captain Edweard Lesonia, and I've recieved orders to depart immediately for the North East Sea. Now, I would love to give you a big speech, but we need to be there very soon, so get the engine started. Now, please. You have your orders."

Fort Haven, Durna

Captain Bastien smiled as he walked away from the new recruit. He would do very well indeed. Returning to his office, he looked through the constant data being brought in. The situation seemed quite grim indeed. According to the few spies Durna managed to successfully plant in Airyglyph, that war machine of a nation was almost ready to launch their next offensive, this time using the full might of the dragon brigade.

"Damn," hissed Bastien.

Calling in an adjunct, he had him rally all the recruits in the courtyard. Several minutes later, he stepped out to address them, fully dressed in battle gear. Looking round, he could see the weariness from today's training, but there was no time for rest now. If there was even the remotest possibility of an attack, he had to move his troops now.

Carefully watching the recruits, he cleared his throat and spoke, "Soldiers of Durna. I know you are weary from the day's work, but we have no time for rest. We must prepare ourselves and begin the march to Palmira immediately. We will rendezvous with some of their scouts and proceed then to Expedis. This should take us a few days. Along the way, you will continue to receive training and preparation. So get your things together and meet back here in ten minutes. We march tonight. For the glory and honor of Durna!"

---------------------------

Plains of Palmira outside the Town of Auri (Several miles away from Fort Dutantes)

Smirking, Duras plopped himself beside Beleg, taking the bread from him.

"You're a lazy one, Beleg," muttered the man.

Tossing him a small scroll, he continued, "I know you wanted to rest tonight, but I think you'll want to read that right now. I took the liberties of sneaking a peak and it seems that you're being recalled to Expedis. Seems that you're in for a promotion. Congratulations, you lazy elf."

Taking a bite from a piece of bread, Duras looked into the evening sky. Everything seemed so peaceful. Yet how deceptive that was.

"Help!" came a female shrill scream, "Auri is under attack!"

Quickly looking behind them, Duras saw a girl no older than ten running toward them, her dress torn and dirtied with soot and ash. Hurrying over to her, he grasped her by her shoulders.

"Who's attacking lass? Who?"

"It-it's a the Black Brigade!"

Gasping in surprise, Duras circled round and stared at Beleg with a worried look.

"We must hurry Beleg. The men'll need you to lead them."
-----------------------
Outside of Lesonia, Greeton

Lysander was panting by the time he reached Coravel. He had been given orders from their superiors and he had little time to find and notify the marine.

Catching sight of Coravel, he called out, "H-hey! Get over here Coravel, we've got orders from Commander Assiel."

Hurrying over to him, he held out a thin vanilla folder.

"We've been ordered to do some scouting and espionage. Inside you'll find a small briefing. Basically says that we're going to meet up with a contact inside Aquaria," continued Lysander, "Now get up. We need to head to port Rioak and board that new cutter Voranto. Your equipment has already been loaded. It should take us only one hour or two so let's go!"

Cutter Voranto, Port Rioak, Technological Superpower of Greeton

Rear Admiral Wolfricht shifted nervously as a sailor led him to the ship's captain. Though Greeton was by and large free of spies, it paid to be cautious, particularly with the orders he was bringing.

"The captain is over there," whispered the sailor.

Nodding his thanks, Wolfricht cleared his throat and said loudly, "Captain Lesonia. I'm glad to see you readying your ship for deployment. If you wouldn't mind, I have some details to go over with you."

Walking over to Ed, Wolfricht leaned close.

"Captain. What I tell you now is to be told to no one. Not even your crew, for the time being at least," whispered the officer, "Your orders have been changed. With a few hours, two operatives, a marine and a mechateer, should arrive and board your ship. They are performing a scouting and espionage mission. Your orders are to transport to a small hidden dock along Aquaria's coastline. To mask your movements, we've arranged for your ship to "take part" in the naval war games planned in the East Sea, attaching you to the Fifth fleet. Once the games begin, secretly withdraw your ship and move as quickly as possible. Don't worry about interference from the admirals. They've already been informed. Once you reach the docks, you and your men will stay there and provide the two with any aid that they need."

Reaching into his uniform, he quickly slid a small packet into Ed's hands.

"These are maps and locations of Gaitt. Our small naval base is marked as well. Good luck, captain."

Clearing his throat again, he spoke loudly, "Well captain, I see that you are on top of everything. I hope you enjoy your time as captain of this beauty."

Saluting stiffly, the rear admiral turned and left.

Sinan stood in the courtyard, garbed in his battle gear. He stood slightly away from everyone else.

'I don't want this' he thought 'I'm no murderer. I can't kill anyone'

He though back and rememberd how his father had yelled at him.

"You'll never make it in a war Boy! When the time comes you'll be lying in a pool of your own blood! Why can't you just be more like me? When I was your age i was off looking for fights, looking for the chance to sink my blade into their soft skin. You, why you would rather be off planting flowers, or, or studying. You need to grow up boy!"

That was 5 years ago, just days before his father dissapeard.

'I won't survive this' were his grim thoughts as captain Bastien returned to the court yard.

Beleg smiled. "It's not laziness, I prefer to simply save all of my energy until it is needed. Then I can perform at peak efficiency."

The elven ranger caught the scroll in air and unravelled it. Even in the near darkness, Beleg could make out the words on the parchment. Duras was correct, it seemed that he was in line for a promotion though Fate only knew why. Beleg moaned at the thought. "I'm not walking all that way. We'll pick up some horses and make the trek that way. I'm getting too old to be walking all over Palmiras on foot."

A sudden rustle in the distance sent Beleg reaching for his bow. In one fluid motion he had an arrow knocked and its tip levelled at the young girl coming up the hill. Once he realized that it was just a little girl and not a threat, he eased the tension in the bow string and lowered his weapon.

Beleg grunted his agreement with Duras. Walking over to the two, Beleg scooped up the girl onto his back letting her legs dangle around his waist while her arms wrapped around his neck. "We get the little one to safety and then round up the troops. Do you know how many men are attacking the village?"

Coravel glanced over at Lysander, noting his breathlessness. "You really should get out more, Lysander; you should be in better shape." He scanned through the papers before pulling in his line and shouldering the fishing pole. "Aquaria, huh? Well," he shrugged, "I guess it can't be helped." Coravel stooped to pick up a wicker basket of fish. "Looks like I won't be eating this after all. Do you think your sister would like some fish?" asked Coravel, cracking a grin at Lysander.

Fort Haven, Durna

Captain Bastien watched impassively as the recruits and soldiers lined up once more in the courtyard. Urging his mount forward, he waited until everyone had assembled.

"Men," began the captain, "In a few moments, several Keepers will go amongst you and divide you into two groups. One group will be trained as standard infantry and cavalry. The other...will be trained as Keepers."

Nodding to a small cluster of Keepers, he continued, "Master Sirius, please begin."

The Keeper identified as Sirius (http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i305/shy_chii/Anime%20Boys/Rydda.jpg) nodded and moved toward the waiting crowd, gesturing for his fellow Keepers to do the same. Each held a small amber colored stone as they walked past the recruits, watching the stone intently as they passed. When the stone gave off a pale glow, the warrior would grab the recruit by the arm and draw him from the crowd. Within minutes, they had already sorted through half with twenty of them stood apart in a second group.

Sirius was ready to let the others finish the sorting when suddenly, his stone lit up the the darkness around his hand with a deep amber light. Looking into Sinan's eyes, he saw what appeared like inner turmoil.

Grasping his arm in a firm soldier's grip, he leaned in and whispered, "Come, join the others and learn their names. Both they and you will join our Brotherhood."
---------------------------

Plains of Palmira outside the Town of Auri

The girl hugged Beleg tightly before replying, "I'm not sure really. There were so many. They were....everywhere."

Duras grimaced as he strung his bow.

"Perhaps a battalion or two?" proposed the archer.

Looking toward the direction of the town, he watched as small fires began appearing all over, lighting the area around it with a fiery glow.

"I passed a farm not more than a third of a league west of here. I'll go back to the town and see what I can," suggested Duras, "Drop the girl off with the people there and hurry back."

With that, the archer broke into a mad dash toward the besieged town.
-----------------------
Outside of Lesonia, Greeton

"Bah, you know how we Crafters are, Coravel," grumbled Lysander, "Getting out will only give me a terrible sunburn of something.

Glancing at the wicker basket, Lysander did some mental calculations.

"Well...knowing her, anything you bring her would be like a gift from God. So I suppose so," said the Crafter, "In any case, I suspect she's waiting for us at Port Rioak. She actually ran out on me in the middle of a conversation once she heard you and I were going to be there in a few hours."

"The nerve," sighed Lysander, "Let's get going before I decide to incinerate something."

Turning toward the city, he took a few steps before stopping.

"What an idiot I am," muttered Lysander as he reached into robes and pulled out a light blue glass globe.

Channeling runological force into it, the sphere dissolved and formed into a mechanical horse.

Mounting it, he turned toward Coravel, "Why walk when I am a mechateer? Want a ride there Coravel?"

10:16am, Wednesday, aboard the cutter Voranto

Ed was both puzzled and intrigued by his new orders. Not only had this rear admiral given him orders to insert some spies or whatever into Aquaria - he had also called him by his shortened first name. It was interesting to be called by a superior officer an informal name that usually was only used by people lower down than him. This rear admiral fellow wasn't like some of the important senior officers he had to put up with. He had a feeling him and he would get on fine.

Of course, there was his crew; their last captain had been an over zealous patriot that thought any seemingly disobedient act was worthy of purgatory in it's own right. That view had been implanted somewhat in his crew, especially the officers. He had the ship sorted, now all he wanted was a decent crew...

He decided it was better if he bluffed it with the crew. It's not a good idea having a crew like that thinking their captain has gone renegade. He just needed a series of... unfortunate events. All he needed was a reliable clock, a small pipe, and an empty engine room...
While Edweard pondered about how he would set about doing this, the said operatives boarded the Voranto. Ed moved to greet them immediately, before remembering that he had to retain secrecy in front of the crewmembers. " I'll to talk to them later, I'll just show them to their rooms for now" he thought.

8:24pm, Wednesday, aboard the cutter Voranto

Ed swiftly moved through the corridors. He came to what he was looking for - cabin 12. He knocked on the door. The door opened and he entered...

"Sorry about this morning, I had to retain secrecy in front of the crew, don't want them grassing, you see" he said," I hope you're settling in fine. Tomorrow we will be entering the wargames. Now, I have a plan to fool the more over zealous members of this crew... Ed then told them his plan to fool the crew.

1:30pm , The next day, Greeton wargames

Edweard looked at his watch.

'Any second now' he thought...

'Any second...'

*TICK*TOCK*TICK*TOCK*

The thumping of the engine suddenly stopped. "Brilliant!" he thought. Now for the Drama section.

"What the hell happened?" he said.
"The engine seems to have stalled captain" replied his navigator.
"I want it fixed, sharp."
"Very well captain."

Suddenly, the thumping of the engines started up again.

"Well, looks like there's no need to get it fixed. Continue your... whatever your doing."

The engine worked for a couple more seconds before it stalled again.

Ed Sighed "Not again... Right, have someone look at it, quick. We're already falling behind." said Ed.

'In five minutes we will be out of here...'

A minute passed, and the familiar thumping came back.

"Right, that set us back quite a bit. Full Steam Ahead!!!" he commanded.

This time it lasted 30 seconds. "Bloody hell, that's the third flipping time. Right that's it, send a Morse code message to the Admiral, saying that our engine is stalling constantly, so we will not be able to take part in the wargames. Helmsmen, head two leagues north-north-west. I know some where we can get this damned thing fixed.

10:53, Thusday, aboard the cutter Voranto

"What did I tell you?“ Said Ed to his navigator. “There it is, as real as yourself” The Voranto pulled into the secret port. "Right, I have a mate here, who can sort us out a mechateer to get the engine fixed. Only I will go, with a couple of people to accompany me. You two, with we.” He pointed toward the operatives, who immediately sprung up...

Speaking once the two people and himself were off the Voranto, he whispered, with a grin: “And no, I haven’t forgot. I just don’t think this lot need to know what we’re really doing here. They can suspect what’s going on all they want, but they’ll never know for sure. The said friend is going to stall until you get back, when he'll miraculously fix the engine. I’ll say I lent you to do some handy work. If you need help, you’ve got it, but please don’t ask us to take a castle or something similar. Keep it to evacuation and support, ok? Right, good luck, and good bye”

They nodded, and quickly departed, before Edweard realised they had never said a word back to him. Without giving it much thought, he started to put the next part of the plan into action...

Beleg's legs carried him and the girl over the distance to the nearby farm. There the ranger left the little girl in the care of the family that was in charge of tending the fields in this region.

With the little girl in good hands, Beleg unslung his longbow and dashed off into the night. His course was set for the fires burning in the distance. Luckily, the fires would clearly mark his targets. Now he only needed to find a way to the town without being seen by any scouts. He had to get to whatever troops were still alive or fighting and coordinate a counter-attack.

Sinan stood with the other recruits who were also destined to be Keepers.

"So...so... i'm uh, Sinan Danew. Anyone wanna tell me what it is exactly that a keeper does?"

ooc:sorry but i'm rather stumped with where to go next. if you could give me a bit more to go on, i'll get right back in the roleplaying spirit.

Coravel shook his head in amusement. "Lazybones. Ordinarily I would opt to walk, but I fear the fish would become somewhat fragrant by then. Besides, it's said that the navy has good coffee." Looking around, he said "I am going to miss this river, though. Alright, Lysander, I guess I'll be riding. Now, are we riding double, or," he flashed another grin at Lysander, "shall we find out who can get there first?"

Sinan was joined by four others. None of them looked too thrilled to be there. And not a single one seemed to know much about the Keepers, or why they were chosen.

The main group marched out of the courtyard, leaving the future Keepers alone.

"Well what now?" Sinan asked nervously.

"We wait to see wot happens" said a tall elven Woman.

And so the nervous group waited as the keepers who had pulled them aside re-enterd the courtyard.

Town of Auri, Palmira

"Die, Airyglyph scum!" shouted Duras as he plunged his sword through the eye slits of his foe's helm, thrusting the blade into flesh and bone, cutting and shattering them.

Viciously pulling out the blade, he turned round just in time to see a two handed great sword bearing down on him. Only to see stop as a feathered shaft flew into its wielder's neck.

"Sir," shouted his savior, "We can't hold out much longer. There are just too many of them."

"We must hold out until Beleg returns," shouted Duras in response.

The clattering of armored feet drew their attention to the small squad of Black Brigade swordsman (http://www.bluedragon.it/images/arazzi/arazzinini3/Dark%20Knight.JPG) as they came around the corner.

"Damn," cursed Duras as he thrust his sword into groin of one, causing the swordsman to squeal and fall to the ground.

As the fight wore on, Duras realized that if something didn't happen soon, they would all be dead. Already, he had sent half the battalion to evacuate the civilians to the farm where Beleg dropped off the girl. Hopefully, Beleg would return with them.

Outskirts of Auri, Palmira

The men of Beleg's company that had been ordered to evacuate the civilians watched in terror as more fires flashed into existence. Looking at one another, they were about to charge back into the fray when one spotted Beleg.

"Sir!" shouted the archer, "Duras has already engaged them. I'm not sure who's winning, but I'm pretty sure it's not us."

---------------------
Fort Haven, Durna

Sirius and two other Keepers watched Sinan and the others with silent interest.

"The stone reacted rather strongly with that one," murmured one of Sirius companions.

"Yes," replied Sirius, "A prodigy perhaps? No matter, gather the others. Each of us will take a pair to train personally."

"Understood, sir."

Captain Bastien had been watching the sorting with bored look on his face.

Urging his mount over to Sirius, he said, "Sirius. I'm going to begin the march. Give any explanations they need. Follow once you're ready."

"Yes, captain."

Nodding approvingly, he rode back to the head of the army.

"Men, move out!"

The heavy gates of the fort swung open and the forces of Fort Haven began the march to Palmira. Keeping a steady pace, they would arrive in three to four days.

As the soldiers emptied out of the courtyard, only thirty Keepers and sixty recruits remained. Sirius grinned as he stepped forward, flanked by two of the Keepers.

"Now it's just you and us," he began, "Before we assign you to your mentor, I think some introductions are in order as I haven't yet met you all."

Bowing low, he continued, "My name is Sirius Everheart, captain of Fort Haven's Keepers of the plain. To my left is Amalia Rethkeep. second. To my right is Alexandros Isiland. Both serve as my seconds."

Stepping forward, Alexandros said, "I'm sure that quite a few of you never heard of the Keepers before. The full name of our order is "Keepers of the Plains." We serve as Durna's elite cavalry and as her guardians. What we lack in numbers, we make up in skill. As a Keeper, you will be trained in manipulating both the spirits of earth and the spirits of water. Combined with your martial training, you will become the spearhead of Durna's forces.

Taking her cue, Amalia cleared her throat and began, "What we are doing now is assigning two recruits per Keeper. This way, each will receive training tailored to your own styles. Once you are assigned, feel free to ask your mentor any questions you might have. We'll leave for Palmira a few minutes afterward."

Turning to the other Keepers, she gestured for them to start, "Let's begin then.

As the group of elite soldiers met with their trainees, Sirius walked over to Sinan and and the tall elven woman.

"You two will be trained by me. If you have any questions, ask. If not, go to the stables and grab a horse. Training begins now."

-------------------

Outside of Lesonia, Greeton

"Lazy bones?" inquired Lysander scornfully, "I'll have you know that strenuous exercise is simply terrible for...oh never mind. Blasted human."

Mentally weighing the chances of victory, Lysander smirked.

"Fine, human. Let's see how well you can ride."

Summoning another mechanical mount, he checked it over before giving Coravel the go ahead.

"Let's see how well you can ride, Coravel."

Port Rioak, Greeton

Lysander was panting in exhaustion and in dismay.

"How? How'd you beat me?" shouted the Crafter, "Of all the injust things in the world! Ah forget it!"

The pair had ridden to Rioak as fast as the mechanical steeds could move. For a while, Lysander had the advantage do to his affinity with machines. Yet inexplicably, Coravel had overtaken him near the end of the journey. Lysander attributed it to human stamina and sheer luck. They had reached Rioak ahead of schedule and had ate lunch with his sister, Sarah. As the time to depart approached, Lysander and Coravel boarded the cutter Voranto. There they had met the captain, Edweard Lesonia. Lysander wasn't surprised that they had been expected, though he was uneasy about going to sea. Something about the vastness of the ocean disturbed him. Escorted to their rooms, Lysander had settled in for an early nap and was soon snoring away.

Greeton Naval Wargame, Eastern Sea

"Sir," said an officer, whispering into the ear of Rear Admiral Hale, "The Voranto is reporting damaged engines. They say they'll have it repaired at the Base Aquan."

"Understood," replied Hale, leaning close to his adjunct, "Message all the admirals. Tell them to keep the perimeter safe, use live fire."

"Yes, sir."

Rear Admiral Hale sighed softly as he watched the mock battles played out. Hopefully everything would turn out well.

Hidden Base Aquan, Sacred Kingdom of Aquaria

Lysander and Coravel had quickly checked in with the base's commander after disembarking. There had been little to say to the Voranto's captain. If what Commander Assiel said was true, the Voranto would be conducting a scouting operation of the areas around Airyglyph, returning periodically to check in.

Glancing at the dark waters of the ocean, Lysander said, "So Coravel, shall we disguise ourselves before we meet our contact in Aquios? After all, it will be quite a distance to travel and we can't have anyone knowing we're here."

Beleg waved them over to catch up with him. There was no time for them to stop and talk but to merely keep moving. Every second lost meant that a comrade somewhere defending the village could die. Instead, Beleg gave his orders on the run. "We're going to divide up into teams. I want archers in the town center to support the rest of us while a company will take a section of the town and begin clearing it. We'll reinforce Duras and his men and begin pushing the invaders back out of the town."

The flames of the town burning became ever clearer as they reached the outskirts of the town. Already they could hear the sounds of battle as metal clashed against metal and the sounds of men dying reached up through the air. Beleg looked back at his men. "Does everyone understand their duties?"

Sinan walked over and grabbed a horse. He had no questions he needed answerd he would learn as he went.

The elven woman hwever stayed behind chatting with sirious. After a few minutes the elven woman and Sirius joind him with their own horses. They saddled up and pre-parred to set off. During the process of getting ready Sinan learned the womans name was Eva.

As they set were beggining to set off Sinan burst out with the only question that really matterd to him.

"Where are we Going?"

Outskirts of the Town of Auri, Palmira

As the town blazed with the flames of a thousand torches, a lone figure watched from the perch of her mount...

Mina Aiko, Captain in one of the most feared military arms of the known world: the Dragon Knights. Her mount was impressive; a massive beast of a dragon - intelligent, powerful, and loyal.

The duo watched intently from the outskirts of the town as the Black Brigade stormed through, putting down the residence as they overran Auri. Beyond the Knight, in the distance, waited a division of the Dragon Brigade, giving aid to this initial assault. They would be called in when the resistance truly formed, but until then their style of fighting would do no good in the city... burning down every town and city of Palmira wouldn't be that useful.

Auri, Palmira Republic

"Is there no end to these fools?" hissed Duras as he impaled another swordsman through the visor.

Barely had he wrenched his sword free then did another wave of Airyglyph soldiers pour into the street. Though he and the others had been holding out fairly well, the heavy forces were slowly driving them back, chipping away at their numbers.

Panting, one of the archers beside asked, "Duras, what should we do? I don't know how much longer we can hold out."

Letting out a heavy sigh, Duras replied, "Go. Take the others with you and exit the town."

"Sir?!" shouted the others.

"Go!" yelled Duras, "I'll hold them off. Meet up with the others and regroup. Once I'm done here. I'll join up with the you guys. Don't worry about me."

The archers looked at one another. Did Duras have something planned?

"As you wish, sir," said one.

As soon as they dispatched the remaining enemy soldiers in the area. The archers fled, running as fast as they could toward the direction of safety. Watching them escape, Duras turned to face several new soldiers. Unlike the ones before, these Black Brigade soldiers wore heavy armor and wielded huge two handed blades which equaled them in height and nearly in width. Taking notice of them moving toward him, Duras closed his eyes and crossed his arms, his brows furrowing in deep concentration.

"Oh scion of the wind. Oh child of the ether. Hear my plea," chanted Duras,"Let the fury of thy coming bring ruin unto my foes. Hear me, Scion of the Wind!

No sooner did he finish those words then did the air around him begin swirling violently. Within moments, gale force winds began tearing the area around him apart, throwing those heavily armored soldiers around with childlike ease. Eventually, the wind took on a bird like form (http://fc01.deviantart.com/fs9/i/2006/052/c/c/Skylord_by_bonegoddess.jpg). Opening its wings, the spirit flew high into the air, its form visible for miles around, before turning round and hurtling straight back into the town. Seconds after the last archers met up with Beleg and the others, there was a massive shock wave that literally ripped the town apart and blasted those nearby quite a distance back. Amidst the smoldering ruins, Duras coughed up gobs of blood as he surveyed his handiwork.

"Good enough, " he chuckled before he fell to the ground unconscious.

Outside the town, the men got up and stared at one another in amazement.

"Sir, what should we do?" said one to Beleg.

OOC: I'll get the rest up later.

Beleg looked around and counted up the men. Duras wasn't among them. "That damn fool."

From this distance, Beleg could see that some of the Airyglyph soldiers were having a little trouble regaining their feet. That was the problem with such heavy armor. At the moment they were good and vulnerable. Drawing his sword, Beleg did not intend to let that advantage go to waste. "I just need a small group of volunteers for this. The rest of you stay out of site until we get back."

Beleg dashed off through the high grass up towards the city. His sword absently found weak points in the Airyglyph armor as some of them were trying to get back up. Methodically cutting a path through the town to try and find Duras.

(bump)

OOC: Forgive me for my laziness. ;)

IC:

Outskirts of Auri, Palmira Republic

As the group of volunteers fanned out to find Duras, the remnants of the Black Brigade soldiers struggled to regain their footing. Slowly, they withdrew to the outskirts of ruined town. The summoning spell that Duras had unleashed had been a complete surprise to the units deployed in the town. With one spell, more than 30% of their forces had been crushed into oblivion. Adding to the casualties from earlier fighting, the Airyglyph infantry had already suffered a casualty rate of 50%.

On the back of his air dragon, Liet, dragon knight Alexander watched in dismay at the spell's destructive force. His consternation grew at the sight of a small group of advancing Palmiran forces.

Turning to his commanding officer, Captain Aiko, he said, "Captain, should we withdraw or should we engage the remaining Palmiran forces?"

Ruins of Auri, Palmira Republic

"Duras!" called one of Beleg's soldiers.

Wandering among the skeletal ruins of Auri, the archers had been finishing off any straggling Airyglyph soldiers. Many of the lightly armored soldiers had already withdrawn, but those wearing heavy armor like the heavy blade knights were easy targets for the nimble archers.

"Uhg..." groaned Duras, the call of his name rousing him.

Blinking blearily, the ex Wind Speaker struggled to rise to his feet only to collapse once again, coughing up more blood. Leaning back against the wreckage of wooden building, he probed himself for broken bones and other serious injuries. A few minutes later, he was pleased to find that aside from some internal bleeding, he was in a somewhat decent shape. Taking in a deep breath, Duras tried once more to rise. This time, he was successful. Bracing himself against the building, he took a few hesitating steps before he stopped. The sound of coming footsteps caught his ear. Looking around for a weapon, he spotted a piece of splintered wood. Grabbing it, he waited until the sound was almost right beside him before bursting out from behind the wall, ready to club in the head of the intruder. Only to stop at the sight of Belg.

Grinning cheekily, he said, "What took you so long?"

-----------------------

Fort Haven, Durna

Sirius chuckled softly at Sinan's outburst.

"Well," he began, taking his time in responding, "At this moment, we're heading to one of Palmira's border outposts. Talus I believe it's called. There we'll rest a day or so before moving to join the rest of Palmira's forces in Expedis."

Looking back at the others, he shouted, "Let's see if we can catch up!"

Urging his horse forward, Sirius galloped off to catch up with the main forces.

Several Hours Later

The rim of the sun had just begun rising on the Durna plains, streaking the land with golden light. Sirius yawned a little. Having ridden since the evening, most of the army was tired. Urging his mount forward, he rode up to Captain Bastien.

"Hey Bast, I think its a good time to rest. We can take shelter in the shade of those trees over there," suggested the Keeper, "We rest during the day's heat and begin when night falls."

Grunting his consent, the captain signaled for the Durna forces to make camp.

After an hour of preparation, the camp was set and ready. Soldiers dismounted and collapsed on the soft grass. Many fell asleep instantly, exhausted from the march. Others took the time to get a bite to eat or to write a letter. Sirius on the other hand sought out his two apprentices.

Upon finding them, he asked, "Since we're taking a break, I think now is a good time to start some basic training."

Grasping a handful of soft dirt, he held it up to their faces. Closing his eyes in concentration, he let a surge of mana travel through him. Instantly, the dirt in his hand solidified and became a handful of gravel.

Looking at the two, he said, "Here's the task for today. I want you to transmute a handful of dirt into gravel. This may seem rather silly, but trust me. When you get stuck in quicksand, this little trick will be quite useful."

Grinning a little, he turned towards his tent.

"If you need me, I'll be in my tent."

-----------------------

Holy City of Aquios, Sacred Kingdom of Aquaria

Lysander frowned as he listened to his informant. Bad news it seemed was quite common these days. Thanking his contact for the effort, he bade him farewell. Watching the man exit the tavern that he and Coravel were staying in, he walked over to the marine.

"Coravel, it seems that Airyglyph has already begun pressing into Palmira. I don't know about you, but I think we should try to find out about their plans."

Taking deep drink from a mug, he continued, "My contact says that he knows some people that can disguise us as some of their soldiers. Maybe we can ask Captain Lesonia to bring us up north and find something out that way. What do you think?"

-----------------------

Off the Western Coast of Aquaria

A small nimble steam powered cutter glided through the water, attempting to escape something. That something was a small fleet of ten Airyglyphian warships. Firing burning spheres of fire and rock, the ships were doing everything they could to sink the cutter. As the ship seemed almost about to escape, a shot crashed into the iron hull of the ship. Normally the missile would simply dent the hull or bounce off. Not this time. Instead, the burning weapon ate right through the outer hull and within moments a flaming hail of missiles slammed into the vessel. Just as the vessel was about gone, it managed to send a radio signal to all Greeton vessels, undetectable and undecipherable by anyone but those of the Greeton navy.

This is the Greetic cutter Alias. We're under heavy fire. Any ships that receive this message, contact hq. Traitors are planning to sell technological secrets to Airyglyph. Airyglyph is planning to conquer all of Gaitt with the secrets and afterwards conquer Greeton. Repeat traitors in Base Aquan.

Sinan looked to the Elven Woman, Eva.

"How are we supposed to do that? He can't just tell us to do somthing and not explain how. I mean what? He expects us to pick up some dirt and turn it to gravel with no hints as in what to do?" He said frustrated.

"Well just give it a try, if we can't get it to work we'll ask." She replied.

So Sinan picked up some dirt, and sat. He concentrated real hard. He visualized the dirt hardening to gravel. He willed it with his mind. He got fed up threw the dirt and Stormed off to Sirius's Tent.

Ed woke to frantic knocking on his cabin door. Mumbling under his breath, he got his coat on and opened the door, to see one of the radio boys. Seeing as he had been woken up during the early morning, it looked like it was important. Before he could speak, the man said:
"Cap'n, I have an urgent message from a cutter named the Alias. It's very urgent sir, it also says..."
"Let me read it myself, thank you." Interupted Edweard. He read the small piece of paper...

This is the Greetic cutter Alias. We're under heavy fire. Any ships that receive this message, contact hq. Traitors are planning to sell technological secrets to Airyglyph. Airyglyph is planning to conquer all of Gaitt with the secrets and afterwards conquer Greeton. Repeat traitors in Base Aquan.

Ed read it again. It made for grisly reading. A world owned by the Tyrannical rule of Airyglyth, doused in the crimson colours of the mountain nation, the worst part being that Greetic technology helped it acieve that goal. Not a nice idea, in Edweard head.

"Right, you, go to the radio room and broadcast a message to all Greetic ships nearby, saying that the Voranto will head to HQ, and someone should check for survivors."

Watching the young man head off to do his duties, he got dressed, and headed up to the Bridge;

"Helmsman, set course for Port Rioak. Full Steam Ahead! We need to be quick."

"But sir, what about those crewman you lent."

Ed thought to himself a bit. Of course, them. It couldn't of been them. But the message did say there were trators at The secret base...

Hmmm, the plot thickens...

"They'll be a while. We should be back soon enough."

"But sir, what if they did it?"

"How do you know what was on the message?"

"Ah well, sir, I have, contacts in the Radio room."

"You mean you heard it as gossip."

"Well, er, yeah, sir."

Damn. That means everyone knows.

Well, what are you waiting for? Let's get going!"

OCC: I'll finish this off later.

Beleg's sword found the crease in knight's heavy armor as he slid the blade tip through the man's armpit and deep into his lungs. The cold steel nearly pierced the heary but Beleg was already pulling it free and moving on through the small village.

Around the corner, Beleg could hear a groan drift up over the now silent village. Even the sounds of battle had died away. The only noise was now the dying screams of the heavily armored knights that were being dispatched by a few of his men. Sword tip at the ready, there was no knowing if one of the knights had finally managed to right himself.

Beleg's legs bent than sprang forward sending him around the corner at his possible opponent. He stopped short with sword high and a slight smile on his face. Beleg's sword tip sunk into the ground and the elven ranger took a seat next to Duras.

"Nice job, but I've been a little busy cleaning up your handiwork here. You still left alot of the enemy alive. Next time try to kill them all. I'm getting tired of saving your sorry butt all the time."

The day went on, as did the Voranto, heading closer and closer to port. Edweard was getting nervous. What if it was too late? What if they had already landed? What if he had to swap green for red or die...

"No. Not on my watch." He said.

He daydreamed for a little longer, before being brought back to the real world with the cry;

"Airyglyph Vessels closing in!"

Ed immeadiatly took this as an invitation to battle. "Man the guns! Get read..."

"Sir. That doesn't mean they're here to fight us."

"Of course it does. They sunk the Alias!"

"Do you have proof of that, sir?"

This brought Ed back down to Earth. What if this whole thing... was a wild goose chase? What if...What if...What if...

"Sir, what are your orders?"

Ed paused for a moment. "We wait and see what they want, my good friend. But man the guns in case."

OOC: I'll wait for Aztiluth to to state their motives.

Somewhere on the Durna Plains

Sirius had just settled into a comfortable position and began his meditation when the flap to his tent swung open.

Without opening an eye, he said, "I take you're having trouble with the training. Take a seat here, and I'll show you."

Waiting until his student had done so, he reached and grabbed a handful of dirt from the earthen floor. Holding it in front of him, he did as he had earlier, channeling his mana into the dirt, reforming it into gravel.

Opening his eyes, he said, "The secret to all earth manipulation is this. All things of the earth have physical form. To change dirt to gravel, one must carefully manipulate the structure of the dirt with one's mana. Too much and you'll have solid rock, but little and you'll just have very soft dirt."

Pouring out the gravel in his hand, he looked at Sinan expectantly, "Now give it another try. Draw forth the spiritual force within and reform the dirt.

-----------

Ruins of Auri, Palmira Republic

"Saving my butt? I try to wait for you to move your dainty behind back here and what do I end up doing? Obliterating the town!" grumbled Duras, smiling all the time.

As he attempted to take a few more steps, another set of coughs wracked the archer's body. A few moments later, it died off. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Duras surveyed the destruction around him.

Sighing loudly, he said, "Let's head back to Expedis. I'm sure headquarters will want to here about this."

Glancing around once more, he added, "This is going to come out of my pay isn't it?"

--------------

Several minutes earlier, Ocean of Apris

"Captain," said an Airyglyphian naval officer, "Jamis says a Greetic naval cutter has been spotted."

A barrel chested man seemed to think deeply for a moment before replying, "I see. Have the Galien, the Oros, and the Aio intercept it directly. Order the Athel to head toward Greeton's secret naval base to link up with our saboteurs, they should have taken out most of the personnel there. They are to take everything they can and bring it back to headquarters. The rest of the ships will circle round and assault the cutter. Tell the three that they are not to fire until we circle round and begin. Understood?"

"Aye, sir."

As the officer hurried away to signal the other ships, the captain gazed off into the distance.

"Can't risk the chance they might know of our king's plans after all," he muttered.

---

Ocean of Apris, Presently

The three Airyglyphian warships sailed directly toward the Voranto. For a moment, it looked to the Voranto's crew that they were about to open fire until the ships signaled that they were merely lost and were in the process of regaining their bearings.

Sighing in relief, one of Edweard's officers said, "Sir, seems like it wasn't anything after all. We should hurry back immediately."

Just then, a sailor from the radio room burst onto the deck.

"Sir! We've received an emergency transmission from Base Aquan. A large number of Airyglyphian spies have taken over 90% of the base. Our men say that they can't hold out much longer!"

As the sailor informed them of the situation. Six Airyglyphian warships had begun circling around the Voranto, their weapons readied and waiting. They had to do this perfectly. If the Voranto acted now, it could easily escape past the three ships in the front while launching it's own counteroffensive.

Base Aquan, Aquaria

Small fires littered the hidden naval base. Walls and buildings showed signs of conflict, sprays of blood dripping from them. Off in the distance, a single warship could be seen drawing nearer to the port.

OOC: I'll get more up later.

Sinan Grabbed a clump of dirt. He focused, he imagined the mana transferring into the dirt. He could actually feel it happening. He was so excited he didn't want to stop, he focused more energy, and more energy.

After what seemed like ages he opend his eyes, in his hand was a handfull of perfect diamonds, the dirt was nowhere to be seen.

"Well i didn't make gravel" Sinan said excitedly.

Sirius looked on in silent amazement at the diamonds in Sinan's hands. Normally, it took a Keeper several long years before he could perform such a feat due to the sheer amount of mana it took, yet here this young man had achieved it by simple accident.

Staying silent for a few moments, Sirius answered, "True it might not be gravel, but you've shown me something far more interesting."

Grasping Sinan's hands, he sent a small portion of his mana into him, probing the magical pathways in Sinan's body.

"Yes. Yes, I see now," muttered Sirius, "In time, you will may become one of the deadliest Keepers Durna has ever seen, but your greatest asset is your main weakness here and now."

Clearing his throat, he continued, "Inside your body lies a vast reservoir of mana. More than I have seen in most Keepers and possibly rivaling my own. The problem is that you still lack control of it, not the amount."

Picking up a small diamond from Sinan's hand, he said, "To solve this, here's what you can do. In every stone, there is almost always a flaw. The goal here is to find that flaw. Channel a minute amount of mana into the stone and find the flaw that runs through the stone. Channel enough mana into it and it should split into two perfect halves."

Closing his eyes for a moment, Sirius searched for the critical flaw in the diamond sitting in his hand. A moment later, there was small surge of mana and the diamond split into two halves.

"Too much mana and it will explode. To little and it will only chip," said the Keeper, "Use the diamonds to practice this until you have succeeded. Don't be frustrated by any failures, just keep on trying. I know that you will master this eventually."

Then he added as an afterthought, "If you succeed in this, I may begin teaching you some of our more moderately difficult combat movements soon, assuming you finish the rest of your basic training."

Sinan left the tent carrying the diamonds, thinking about what Sirius had said. He hadn't even meant to make diamonds. He though when he first saw them that anyone could do it. It surprised him to hear that he may be special.

Sinan enterd his tent and grabbed a single diamond.

"Ok, lets start this task!" He said confidently.

His first five tries resulted in a few minor chips, afterwords he blew up six more. He groped around in the dark, exhausted.

"one more try" he said. He grabbed hold of the last diamond. He exerted his mana, explored the diamond. Then he felt it. It was so suttle, yet it was there. A tiny crack. He exerted what felt like the right amount of mana and waited.

The diamond fell in two perfect halves in his hand. He happily set them aside and went to sleep.

"I don't like this sir"

"Neither do I. Well, if their inviting us to lunch or something, they've done it in a weird way. We're getting out of this mess. Full Steam Ahead, Guns Get Ready to Fire on my Orders! Helmsman, do you see that hole there, between the 'Oros' and that other one?"

"Yes sir."

"Right, that's where we're going. Their circling us, but if we go now, we might get out of this mess"

"But Sir..."

"Look, they're not inviting us to dinner, they're not asking us for directions, and they're not asking if we fancy a cup of tea! For all we know they're here to intercept us, kill three thrids of the crew, and clap the rest in Irons to work as galley slaves! Do you want that! And you keep working, you lot! Well do you?"

"No, sir..."

"Well, good, now lets concentrate on more important matters."

Ed bit his nails. We might just pull this off. If we get in at the right moment, we can have one unable to fire at us, and another with it's keel facing us. Then we can fire some cannons.

(again, Aztiluth's turn to retaliate)

"Saving my butt? I try to wait for you to move your dainty behind back here and what do I end up doing? Obliterating the town!" grumbled Duras, smiling all the time.

As he attempted to take a few more steps, another set of coughs wracked the archer's body. A few moments later, it died off. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Duras surveyed the destruction around him.

Sighing loudly, he said, "Let's head back to Expedis. I'm sure headquarters will want to here about this."

Glancing around once more, he added, "This is going to come out of my pay isn't it?"

Beleg surveyed the destruction of the town, taking all the broken timbers and dismembered bodies littering the ground. With a long nod, "Oh yeah. And guess what. You've been officially appointed as my liason to the former townsfolk of this village in explaining what happened and why their homes were destroyed."

The elven ranger let out a shrill whistle and his men began pulling out of the village. Beleg scooped Duras up and wrapped an arm around his side for support. Together, the two walked out of the village and regrouped with everyone else. Beleg sent two men out looking for spears or bows to use for building a stretcher. Finally getting Duras situated on his makeshift "throne", Beleg pointed out towards the horizon. "Let's head back to Expedis and put this grim sight behind us."

Ocean of Apris

As the Voranto pulled forward, the three warships began opening fire on it, launching flaming chunks of rock at the cutter. As the Greetic navy was the only one in possession of actual cannons, the Airyglyphian warships employed catapults to launch their payloads, making them generally inaccurate. So it was that the first volley sailed past the Voranto and two actually smashed into the hull of two of the warships attempting to circle the cutter, punching a hole into them and setting the ships ablaze. Seeing the accident, the three halted fire immediately, instead they opted to deploy archers.

From the deck of the Voranto, the gunners stood ready to fire, watching the scurrying figures of the Airyglyphian archers. Because the Voranto had successfully pulled into the gap between Oros and Galien, preventing any of the ships from firing their catapults and causing the archers to hold their fire out of fear of hitting their own comrades. Instead, the three warships desperately tried to maneuver themselves away from the cutter so as to give the rest of the fleet a clear shot.

------------

Somewhere on the Durna Plains

Sirius sat in silent meditation inside his tent.

"What an interesting person he is," mused the Keeper to himself.

It had been long time since a person with as much potential as Sinan had been found. Yet here he was. Now the question was what to do with him. Perhaps the Hall might now? With a wide yawn, Sirius rose from his sleeping mat and strode over to a small portable table. Taking a piece of paper, he quickly scribbled something down and folded it up. Taking two large handfuls of dirt, he let his mana flow into it, molding it into the shape of hawk. Tying his note around its leg, he carried it out of his tent and let it loose. Within moments, the bird became a mere speck in the sky as it flew toward the ancient home of the Keepers otherwise known as the Hall.

--------

Ruins of Auri, Palmira Republic

Scowling at Beleg for his liaison comment, Duras satisfied himself with plotting sweet revenge on the elf later as the others readied themselves for the trip. Within a few minutes, the men were ready and set out for the capital. Though most would not admit it, some desperately hoped that there was a way out of war. War with Airyglyph seemed to them as nothing more than a suicide wish.

Palmira Plains

As they traveled, Duras remained silent for most of the time, opting to write down some of his plots a scrap of paper he had with him. Just reaching the top of one large hill, Duras squinted as something caught his eye. Off in the distance, there seemed to be three figures moving the opposite direction, toward Airyglyph. Struggling off his "throne," Duras staggered over to Beleg.

"Beleg," he hissed, "Three unknowns to our nine. I'm sure you saw them by now. What should we do?"

Further away from them, three beige cloaked figures were making their way through the tall grass. Their destination was Airyglyph. Looking closely, one could easily tell that one of them was a female while the other two were male. The girl was in a heated debate with one of the males, arguing about who was at fault for one thing or another. The other male simply sighed and shook his head sadly.

It was difficult to see what the two were wearing beneath their cloaks as it covered up most of their body, though some white robes could be seen under the boy's cloak. Trailing a little behind them was the other male. In contrast to those two, his leather and steel armor (http://www.ffcompendium.com/jobimages/t-lancer-a.jpg) was quite apparent. Occasionally, his cloak would shift in the wind, revealing a lightly etched symbol of Kaddan's lancers on his breastplate.

Sinan Slept peacefully, not knowing what his future may hold. In his hands he clutched the perfectly split diamond, as he dreamt of a Hawk clutching a paper. In his dream he folowed the Hawk, watched as it neared a grand Building. He saw a woman untying the letter. He followed her as she walked through the marvelous building.

She stopped at a door and knocked politely. A voice told her to enter. She did and Sinan looked on as she handed the note to an old Klausian man. The woman quickly left as the man unfolded his letter. The man somehow looked familiar to Sinan, so he got closer.

Suddenly the man looked up straight at Sinan. Their eyes connected and Sinan looked on in surprise. The old man smiled.

Sinan suddenly woke up.

"That was just a dream... but it was so real... but that man... he... he was my dad."


ooc: if you don't wish it to be so Azulith it's fine, but I want Sinan's supposedly dead father to make an appearence somewhere. This can just be a dream if you so wish it.

"I was debating on whether or not we should avoid being seen and continue moving on, or if we should capture the three and interrogate them for information. I would really love to avoid any further conflicts until we reach Expedis but since when were our lives ever what we wanted? If there is going to be a war with Airyglyph, then we should probably obtain all the information possible."

Beleg silently drew his sword. "I need three volunteers with bows. That doesn't include you Duras. The rest of you keep continue on over the next hill and wait for us at the base."

With night as his cover, Beleg darted off into the night. The tall grass of the meadow swallowed him whole, completely concealing his location as three others followed suit. Since there was no real cover in Palmira other than tall grass, Beleg had taught his few fellow rangers how to make the prairie grass their camouflage. Now they stalked their way to their unsuspecting targets.

"We have them where we want them now!" Shouted Edweard.

"Sir, can't we run?"

"No. If we can get a hold of one of these Airies, we can work out what's going on. Plus they'll retreat and return in greater numbers if we leave them. Anyway, if they've already practicaly sunk two of their own ships. As long as we get fire on those ships. Be it musket or cannon fire, I want to have fire on two ships at a time, one small arms, one cannon, while we keep moving. You've got that?"

"Yes sir. Crew, you may collect your small arms! Cannons wait for the order!"

The crew didn't need telling twice. Almost immeadiatly, a small infantry line of muskets, pistols, crossbows, and even a blunderbluss (OOC: presuming they've been invented) had formed. The blunderblusser climbed up to the crows nest, ready to spray a deck with lead pellets. "Right, they're trying to pepper us with arrows. So, we need to divert their concentration. We're going to hit that boat with a cannon barrage, while we keep the other ship's heads down. Got that? You may fire at will"

Ed heard the shots, but he didn't see if they hit or not. He was fixated on the right moment to fire. The bowmen were just raising their bows, ready to fire at the moving ship. He needed just a bit longer...

Not now, or now, nearly...

"ALL CANNONS FIRE"

(and yet again, Aztiluth's turn)

OOC: @Sith: You're free to do whatever you wish regarding your character's.

Somewhere on the Durna Plains

"Hurry up with tents you slackers!"

Sirius rubbed his temples. Was it night already? The shouting had woken him from a rather pleasant dream. Sighing to himself, the Keeper rose his bedroll and packed it along with the other few items he had brought along. As he exited, he made a dismissive gesture. A moment later, the tent dissolved into sand and dirt.

"I wonder if those two are awake yet?" murmured Sirius, walking toward Eva's tent.

Peeking in, he saw the elf already packed and waiting. Telling her to finish and find her mount, he made his way to Sinan's tent. Sirius was about to open the flap when he heard Sinan saying something indistinguishable.

Deciding against entering, he called out, "Sinan. This is Sirius. Pack up your belongings. We're heading out in a few minutes."

With that, Sirius left the younger man to his own devices, heading off to check up with the other Keepers.

------

Ocean of Apris

"Sir!" shouted a sailor to his captain, "We've lost the Oros and the Aere."

The man cursed as he watched the two flaming hulls sink beneath the dark waters.

"All ships open-"

The popping sound of firearms filled the air as hails of deadly spheres rained down upon the hapless sailors. The captain had just risen from his hiding spot when a stray bullet happened to find its way into him. Falling onto the wooden floor with a dull thunk, the captain stared straight into the sky, a shocked look remaining on his face.

"The captain's dead!" shouted a frantic sailor, "The cap-"

His words were drowned out by the roar of the Voranto's cannons. The heavy metal munitions slammed into the Airyglyphian ship, tearing a hole from starboard to port. Within moments, the entire ship was sunk.

Aboard the other vessels, the captains were frantic, ordering their men to turn their ships around. With the flagship gone, any semblance of order had vanished. The remaining ships desperately began to attempt a withdraw.

OOC: I'll get the rest up later.

Somewhere on the Durna Plains (ooc: I figure it'd be good to start doing this too, it keeps the RP more organised)

Sinan heared Sirius calling him from outside his tent. Sinan was not ready, after seeing his father he had been unable to get back to sleep. However he had to get up and get ready to march. He packed his bags and dissmantled his tent.

He stood up to go find his mount and then to meet with Sirius, but before he could go he stooped down and snatched somthing in his hand.

He found his mount and as he climed on. He looked around and caught site of Eva and Sirius near the head of the forming column. He steered his mount twords them.

Just before he reached them he looked into his hand. He couldn't wait to show Sirius the perfectly halved diamond.

Palmira Plains

Duras grunted an affirmative. Returning to his stretcher, he watched as Beleg and three bowmen left the group, their camouflaged figures vanishing into the sea of grass and cloaked by the darkness of night. The others continued their march towards Expedis at a slow steady pace.

---

Arthur rubbed his aching temples as his two charges continued bickering with one another.

"If it wasn't for you, we'd already be in Airyglyph," shouted his male companion.

"Well, it wasn't my fault that you forgot to pay the innkeeper," retorted the female.

Blushing in embarrassment, the former was at a loss for words.

"I-I really meant to remember," he said at last, "Anyways, I still blame you, Amy."

"Oh yeah?" shouted Amy, "Well, I blame you."

"Hear my cry, oh spirits of destruction. It is by my thoughts, by my desire, by my will, that I call thee forth."

Two pairs of eyes widened in shock at the words. Spinning round, Amy and Aaron saw their guardian holding a sphere of dark flame in his hands, the conflagration growing ever darker and burning ever fiercer.

"If you two don't shut up now, I'll blow you both up to the High Heavens and back down into the Abyss," hissed the lancer, meaning every word he said.

"We-he-she, please don't kill us!" cried the two in unison, hugging each other in fear.

The lancer raised an eyebrow in amusement. It wasn't everyday you saw a Weaver of the Shrine and a Swordsman of the Sacred Order sputtering like pimple faced teens.

"Oh wait," muttered Arthur in an offhand manner, "Those two are teens, minus the pimples."

With a light chuckle, he dismissed his spell. Seeing that the threat of imminent death disappear, the two took a few seconds to regain their composure.

"Geez, Arthur," grumbled Amy as she smoothed out her cloak, "You didn't need to threaten us with a death spell."

"Yeah," agreed Aaron, "Who made you boss anyways? You're no older than we are. How old are you? Twenty-one? Twenty-three?"

Arthur's left eye twitched.

"Who made me boss, Aaron?" he asked rhetorically, holding his hand up, "I might not be older than you, butthis makes me boss."

Aaron yelped, scrambling behind his female counterpart, using her as a human shield. Watching the priest run like a little girl, Arthur let out a loud laugh. It had been a long time since he had such a good laugh.

Patting Aaron on the back, he said, "Alright, guys. Let's get moving. I'm sure Master Raziel wants us to find out as much as possible."

Nodding in agreement, the two began walking toward Airyglyph once more. Looking into the sky wistfully, Arthur followed them.

"The sky is rather pretty at night," thought the lancer as he walked behind them.

The three continued on their way unaware of Beleg or the three archers that were stalking them.

----

It was clear that their subjects had yet to realize that they were being followed. The dark shapes of the archers slipped silently through the evening.

"Sir," whispered one of Beleg's archers, "We're within bow shot now. Orders?"

-------------------

Durna Plains

"Master," said Eva, "Sinan is approaching."

"Hmm," hummed the Keeper, turning toward the direction that his student had indicated, "Oh hello, Sinan. I hope you had a pleasant rest. I hope you did because we'll be making double time today. I've spoken with Captain Bastien and he wants us in Palmira by the evening."

As he was about to face forward, something caught his eye.

"What's that there, Sinan?" asked the Keeper, eying the hand that held Sinan's split diamond.

"There we go, we've taken out half of the fleet!"

"Sir, they're withdrawing! We won!"

"Not yet. We still have three ships that could still easily call in the battleships. We have a steam engine, they have sails. We'll catch them up easily. Don't forget, I need at least one officer! Full steam ahead!"

The engine became louder and louder, as the Voranto gained on the retreating ships. Ed could see that the Airies were getting nervious. The crews ran about, on the edge of panic.

He got closer and closer, until the Voranto was a couple of yards away from the rear ship.

The Voranto drew up almost parallel to the ship.

"Remember! I want an officer, preferbly the captain! Get ready to fire your guns! Cannons wait on my orders! Get our prize, leave the ship, and we'll sink it!"

The ships drew parallel.

"SMALL ARMS, FIRE AND BOARD!"

Durna Plains

Sinan opend his hand and dropped the Diamond halves into Sirius's hand.

"That," he said "would be another complete training exercise." He looked at Sirius who stared at the halves in amazement.

"Oh and sir, can you tell me a bit more about the Keepers?" he asked, thinking of his dream.

Beleg stopped dead in his steps when he saw the conjured energy in what appeared to be the leader of the group. The rest were busy arguing with one another and appeared of no consequence. Beleg's fingers flashed in quick signals to inform one of his archers to target the magician. If he even attempted to assault them with magic, Beleg wanted him dead before he could mutter the first arcane words.

The elven ranger looked at the archer next to him. "Stay hidden but everyone picks a single different target. Hold your fire unless there appears to be a threat. I'll take the front and cut them off."

As silently as possible, Beleg drew his blade and crept through the grass to the three loud figures. Ordinarily, Airyglyph soldiers would have been cut down without hesitation if they were caught in Palmira, but; these did not look like Airyglyph soldiers. Beleg needed to find out who they were and what they were doing. Any intelligence would be vital to the early stages of this war. He was hoping they would prove valuable prisoners.

His soft padded shoe eased the blades of grass down near their expected path. Once the three were in range, Beleg rose from the grass like a phantom in the night. His blade reflected the evening moon as he stood tall and resolute while expecting his archers to remain hidden in the night. "Stand and be counted! You trespass in Palmira and the border to Airyglyph is closed. State your purpose."

Outskirts of Auri, Palmira Republic

On the back of his air dragon, Liet, dragon knight Alexander watched in dismay at the spell's destructive force. His consternation grew at the sight of a small group of advancing Palmiran forces.

Turning to his commanding officer, Captain Aiko, he said, "Captain, should we withdraw or should we engage the remaining Palmiran forces?"

Aiko was furious, ire pouring from her eyes as she watched the devastation to the infantry caused by a single man. Her answer came after a moment, strong, firm, and filled with venom for the Palmiran bastards.

"Raze this city to the ground! Burn it and scatter the ashes across the ocean! Burn every field in sight! Then track down those Palmiran pricks and attack them when they least expect it..." Aiko's voice was commanding, and her orders were to be followed to the word. By morning she wanted no sign of the Palmirans to be left - just a wasteland of ashes.

----

As the last of her icy commands echoed in the empty night, the dragon knights took off from their vantage points to carry out her revenge. A unit rose quickly into the air and tracked the retreating foes with deadly vision, staying hidden in the darkness of the night.

When the band of woeful warriors stopped and ducked beneath the grass, the unit prepared their assault...

Aboard Airyglyph warship Logi, Ocean of Apris

Sailors ran wildly on the top deck, scrambling to find somewhere to hide, as the hail of small arms' fire flew over the deck. Bodies fell onto the wooden floor with dull thunks, the men writhing in pain from their wounds.

Seeing the sailors down, the Greetic soldiers let out a loud roar before vaulting onto the enemy ship. Once aboard, they sliced through what little opposition they faced, charging toward the Airyglyphian captain who was trying to escape on a life boat.

"Wha-What?" shouted the man in confusion as he was grasped by the shirt and knocked unconcious.

"We've got him," shouted one soldier.

"Right," answered another, "Let's clear out."

As quickly as they came, the Greetic soldiers left.

Hurrying up to Ed, one soldier shouted, "Sir, we've got the captain!"

----------------

Durna Plains

Sirius let out a small gasp. He had known that Sinan had potential, but to have succeeded so soon.... It was unexpected to say the least. Quickly regaining his composure, Sirius took a moment to recall what he knew about the order.

"Well," began the Keeper, "The order is lead by a council of seven Keepers. I can't say when the Order was founded, but it is sufficient to say that came to exist long before Durna existed as a unified country. From what I can remember, we only have three real places to call our own: our headquarters known as the Hall and two other training camps hidden in Durna."

Shifting the reins of his mount as they rode on, he continued, "Through the ages, our purpose has remained the same. We are the guardians of the land and protectors of the people. I guess you can say we're the classic knights in shining armor."

The twin moons of Aztiluth rose higher and higher into the darkened skies as the night wore on. Through it all, the Durnan forces rode swiftly across the plains. Making excellent time, they soon found themselves on the border between Palmira and Durna. Waiting patiently for them was a squad of cloaked figures, each with a bow slung onto their backs.

Catching sight of them, one of them calmly stepped forward and challenged them, "Halt, in the name of the Palmiran Republic, state your name and purpose."

Reining in his mount, Captain Bastien called out, "Greetings, we come from Durna. We're reinforcements. I am to assume you're our guides then?"

Nodding solemnly, the man replied, "Yes, you may indeed assume that. Come now, let us make our way to my camp. You can rest there until day breaks."

Grinning slightly, he shouted back to his own men, "Alright men, we're heading to their camp. We'll take a rest there until day. Let's move!"

OOC: I'll get the rest up later in the morning.

Sinan thought about what had been said about the Keepers then asked, "Are there many Klausians that are Keepers?"

He was happy to get to rest, but his curiosity got the better of him so he continued his investigation of the Keepers.

Aboard Airyglyph warship Logi, Ocean of Apris

Ed smiled. "Very good. Bring him on our ship. As for this wreak..." he took a quick look around "...scuttle it. I want it burnt. We can't afford to keep it."

The crewman smiled "With pleasure, cap'n"

As he and the other crewmen hopped back onto the Voranto, a barrel was rolled onto the Logi, containing undrinkable rum. As the beverage was spread around the deck, the crewmen returned. Attempting to hand a match the captain a match, he met the response "The honour is yours". The small stick then made it's way to the Logi, and set the deck on fire.

"Right, full steam ahead, I want those ships alight by the end of the day. First mate, your in charge up here. I'm going to see our guest.

Ed then headed to the brig, where the bewildered captain sat. Ed crouched down, and talked to him in a low tone of voice.

"Look, we're both captains. I recognise that you feel embarassed at being captured. Now, all I need is your name, your rank, your mission, and everything you know on this big Greetic technology heist, and I can sort you out a quiet life after we get you off this ship."

OOC: Sorry for taking so long to post. I was a little busy with some tests.

IC:

Palmira Plains

Beleg's archers waited silently, hidden in the tall grass, as their leader cut ahead of the three. Quietly, they drew arrows from their quivers and readied their bows, waiting for Beleg's orders.

"Stand and be counted! You trespass in Palmira and the border to Airyglyph is closed. State your purpose."

The three cloaked figures halted in midstep when Beleg rose up from the tall grass.

"Damn," Arthur hissed, "I should have anticipated this."

Aaron fidgeted slightly as he turned his head side to side, expecting other hidden soldiers to pop up. As he did so, he covertly slid his hand toward the steel chains that he had hanging near his hip, but stopped when he caught Amy's wary glance at the speaker. Taking a moment to analyze what he could, the Weaver noticed the pointy ears of an elf.

"No," Aaron thought to himself, "I best not try that. He's probably watching our every move."

Looking back toward their lancer guardian, Amy and Aaron exchanged nervous glances with him.

Sighing softly in resignation, Arthur stepped forward, slowly walking toward Beleg.

"Trespass we have done," began the lancer, "For that, I do apologize. But as for our purpose here-"

He stopped in mid sentence as he gingerly knelt into the soft dirt, burying his hand into the soil.

"That you cannot know!" he shouted, suddenly rising to his feet and pulling his hand out of the ground and with it, a deadly looking glaive.

With a quick glance behind him, he shouted, "Run!"

With a great leap, he vaulted himself high into the air before hurtling back down intent on skewering the elf with his weapon.

As Arthur moved to engage Beleg, Aaron and Amy were about to make a run for it when the sound of projectiles whistled through the air. Ducking out of instinct, Amy barely dodged the arrow as it flew past her, tearing a good portion of the cloak with its passing. Making a disgusted sound, Amy threw the rest of the cloak away, revealing her baggy white traveling clothing beneath (http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j225/Seidou/MagnaCarta.jpg).

"Well a lot of good that did," she muttered as she summoned a long blade inscribed with runes out of thin air, "Let's go find those archers, Aaron."

The Weaver nodded as he quickly unwound his chains and cast his own cloak aside, allowing his white robes to flutter in the breeze. With that, the two took a step in the direction from where the shots had last come, but moments later were forced to duck when arrows whistled in from different directions this time.

"They must be moving," observed Aaron, "Protect while I cast. Maybe I can light the field up a bit."

"Right," answered the swordswoman as she stepped in front of him, holding her blade protectively before them.

A second later, a whistling sound caught her attention. With a quick slash to her left, she cut an arrow in mid flight before cutting two more out of the air.

Closing his eyes, Aaron focused his mind and spirit and began chanting.

-------------

Remnants of Auri, Palmira Republic

Alexander shivered at his captain's voice. So cold it was that it felt to him like
icy water running down his spine.

"As you wish milady," said the knight, inclining his head respectfully.

"Knights!" shouted Alexander as he urged Liet into the air, "Move out!"

The voice of the others were soon drowned out by the roars of their sky dragons. Within moments, they were in flight and raining fiery death onto the ruins of the city, utterly incinerating the city and eventually liquifying the very earth that the place once stood on. The light of the molten earth lit the sky with an eerie glow.

---

Beleg's company, Palmira Plains

Duras had closed his eyes and had just begun to fall asleep after adjusting to the bumpy ride he was getting when something caught his attention. A sound. Not any sound though, it was one that could drill deep into the core of any mortal and cause fear. It was the echoing roar of a dragon.

Alarmed, Duras leapt off his stretcher and shouted to the others, "Quick, get your bows ready!"

"What? What are you talking about Dur-" the man never got the chance to finish his question as his head was taken clean off by the claws of a dragon as it swooped low.

With a panicked cry, the soldiers scattered in an attempt to make targeting them harder. A moment later, the air was filled with more roars as even more dragons appeared in the sky above, breathing their fiery breath. Their roar was soon answered by the sound of steel tipped missiles hurtling up to meet them. While a few managed to hit, most of the arrows bounced harmlessly off the dragon's steel armor and thick hide. Another breath followed by another volley. This exchange of fire continued for several minutes with neither side really gaining, though the Airyglyphian force's attack had begun wearing out the rangers out.

Cursing profusely, Duras whispered a silent summoning spell, calling forth two thin blades, one white as alabaster and the other black as ebony. With trained patience, he waited until a rider was foolish enough to have his mount fly low and attempt to cut him down. Pushing his weary body to the limit, Duras evaded the attack and managed to slip onto the dragon saddle, pulling himself up behind the rider. With a quick thrust, Duras skewered the knight before kicking the corpse of the dragon. Not unexpectedly, the sky dragon began flying erratically, attempting to hurl the man off his back. Quickly reaching into a pouch hanging from his hip, he pulled out a slim vial with a needle at one end.

"I hope this works," muttered Duras before plunging it into the dragon's head.

The dragon continued to try and dismount for several more minutes before it suddenly stopped. Mentally thanking the gods that the drug had worked, Duras gathered the reins in his hands. With a light pressure from his legs, he turned the dragon back toward the other attackers. Letting out a loud roar, his mount breathed a stream of dragon flame that caught one rider and his mount by surprise, utterly incinerating the rider and his dragon's wings.

Watching the injured dragon plummet into the earth below, Duras smiled, "This is going to be very interesting."

------

Durna-Palmira Border

Dismounting, Sirius hesitated slightly as he considered how to word his answer.

"Well," began the Keeper slowly, "While I must admit that most Klausians aren't suitable to becoming Keepers, there are a few who do and those who do tend to excel at it."

Leading his horse to a makeshift post, Sirius carefully tied his horse to it before reaching into a pack and pulled out some feed. As his mount began eating, Sirius turned toward Sinan, intent on changing the topic.

"Anyways Sinan. Since you don't seem to be too tired yet, why don't we have a light sparring match. It'll give me a way to see what style might suit you."

Touching the ground lightly, he casually formed two steel swords out of the dirt. Tossing one to Sinan, he settled himself into a loose stance.

"Ready or not, here I come," he warned before leaping at him with a burst of speed, making a quick horizontal slash at Sinan's neck.

-----------

Greetic Cutter Voranto, Ocean of Apris

With a wry grin, the captain replied, "Aye lad, that would be simple enough."

Taking a deep breath, he took several minutes to consider his options.

"Fine," he said at last, "Save my men who are in the waters and I'll tell you everything."

Durna-Palmira Border

Sinan Easily blocked the slash, his father had trained him well in swordplay. He knew his stuff.

He immeadiately counterd with a slash twords Sirius's legs, But reversed directions to slash at his arms.

Beleg's eyes widened when he saw the enormous weapon appear right out of the ground. "Fight! Fight! Kill them now!"

The elven ranger could only hope that his men wouldn't hesitate and bring the fleeing duo down low. But first, there was an adversary to deal with.

Such a high leap. Beleg was stunned that a man could leap so high, or would for that matter. The elf waited patiently as the attack came low. He watched as the moon light glinted off the steel tip, just inches from his face. Then in one fluid motion, Beleg side stepped the attack. He closed the distance to cut the effectiveness of the attack down. His sword tip came whistling down as the elf looked to decapitate his foe out in the field in the night.

Greetic Cutter Voranto, Ocean of Apris

With a wry grin, the captain replied, "Aye lad, that would be simple enough."

Taking a deep breath, he took several minutes to consider his options.

"Fine," he said at last, "Save my men who are in the waters and I'll tell you everything."

"Oh really? Well, there is a problem. Your ship is a burning wreak. Any men on there are either dead or dieing. Sorry, but you'll have to try harder than that. So, back to those questions. Be reminded I'm not usally very nice toward your kind. So speak up. It's for your own good."

Palmira Plains

It was Mina, finest woman among men, who noticed what had happened first. As she stood upon her mount, not gripping it tightly as you would a horse and as most riders were doing, her eyes caught the sight of one of her Dragon Brigade bearing down on the other riders, unloosing flaming breath wit devastation.

Actually, it was her mount, a grand dragon, who noticed it first and who attacked upon it first. Drawing upon his powers, he summoned a maelstrom of meteorites and gale force winds to pound the stolen dragon while he slowly began to move in so that his fearless rider could cut the enemy down...

"Push the attack!" Mina cried over the roar of battle, standing strongly in the midst of the chaos. "Torch them!" She said, encouraging them to use their dragon's breath to slaughter the ground forces...

Durna-Palmira Border

Sirius smirked as he watched Sinan's blade cut through the air. With a flick of his wrist, he caught the blade with his own before throwing it back with a strong push.

"Not bad," murmured the Keeper, "Not bad at all, let's show you something new."

Sirius briefly a surge of mana into his sword. Moments later, one blade became two. Casually twirling the twin blades, he grinned.

"Let's make this a little harder shall we?"

Without any notice, Sirius lunged forward, his body and blades blurring as they accelerated.

------

Beleg's Company, Palmira Plains

Duras grimaced as he took a quick glance at the situation on the ground. Already half the company had been totally annihilated and they had only managed to take down four dragons and their riders, an achievement in and of itself, but with a flight of 30 sky dragons, excluding their captain's mount, it wasn't enough.

"This is ridiculous," he muttered, "We're being slaughtered."

Because his attention was split, Duras barely hung on to his mount when gale force winds slammed into them.

"D-damn," he cursed.

Forcing himself back onto the saddle, he quickly had his mount dive lower to escape the winds. Yet no sooner had he escaped the winds then did the night sky suddenly burst into fiery light as burning chunks of earth and stone were called forth from the aether. To his surprise, the attacks seemed to trail him and were about to catch up with him. In a desperate attempt to escape, Duras flew his mount under a cluster of dragon knights. Dangerous as that was, he was fairly certain. A moment later, the meteor rain halted. Duras was had just let out a sigh of relief when he noticed a large dragon flying toward him, its rider with sword in hand, ready to take his life. Upon careful scrutiny, he noticed something strange.

"Odd...that dragon is far too large to be a sky dragon. Wait...it couldn't be!?" he gasped, "A grand dragon?!"

Knowing full well that he would stand a chance against a grand dragon alone and most certainly not one with a rider, Duras used his mounts superior speed to dart away in Beleg's direction, hoping to draw her attention away from the rest of the men. With any luck, the survivors would be able to retreat to Fort Murus. Even a flight of the Dragon Brigade wouldn't be capable of breaking past those defenses. With one fluid motion, he swiftly drew his bow and crafted an arrow out of the air, firing it straight at Mina.

Astride his sky dragon, Liet, Alexander had watched as his captain moved to eliminate their attacker. With a quick survey of the battle field, he rightly determined that their forces could easily finish of the rest of the company. Deciding to assist his captain, he urged Liet after her, quickly catching up to her. Realizing that the man was attempting to escape, Alexander swiftly switched from sword to his specially customized crossbow. Flicking a sighting mechanism up, he was took careful aim at the fleeing figure. He was about to pull the trigger when he saw the Palmiran fire some sort of wind arrow at his captain.

"Milady!" he shouted.

Without thinking, he quickly interposed him and his mount in front of his captain and took the attack in the torso. Though the attack was successfully halted, it hit with such force and ferocity that it literally tore part of Alexander's side apart, rending both steel and flesh into nothing.

"C-careful there, milady," Alexander said dutifully, a sheepish grin hidden beneath his helm, "I wouldn't know what to say to Lord Vox if something happened."

Quickly reaching into his saddle bag, he grabbed a bunch of cloth and pressed it to his side to staunch the bleeding. With his other hand, he struggled to take aim again. A moment later, a steel tipped bolt darted through the air. Aimed at the dead center of the fleeing man's head, the arrow was moments from making contact when he suddenly turned his head away. Though it had missed, it done so barely, giving Duras a thin cut on the side of his face.

--
Palmira Plains

Beleg's men heard the orders to slay their attackers and redoubled their efforts, filling the air with even more arrows. Their targets, a Weaver and a swordswoman, could easily hear the air shriek with the many missiles darting toward them.

"Damn these cowards," hissed Amy as she cut several more shafts out of the air.

Taking a moment to cast cast a worried glance behind her, she briefly saw Aaron murmuring the incantation for his spell. Unfortunately, in that moment, a single arrow slipped past her and slammed into the priest's abdomen with such force that a small fountain of blood began spraying his life force into night air.

"Aaron!" she shouted worriedly, unable to turn and help lest more of the steel tips fly true.

Staggering slightly, Aaron forced himself to maintain the level of focus needed to finish the spell.

"I have to finish this," he thought to himself, "Yes, I can rest later. After I finish..."

Extending a hand skyward, he called out in a raised voice, "Casting down sinners from the sky. One who burns with eternal light. Come forth, mighty angel Arel. Let your divine sword strike true! "

Both the archers and Amy braced themselves for a massive explosion or something of that sort. A second passed. Then two. Then five. Then ten, but nothing happened.

Laughing loudly, one archer shouted to the others, "Seems that his spell failed. Let's finish them off."

With a knowing grin, Aaron grasped the shaft of the arrow and pulled it out before pressing his hands against his robes in an attempt to staunch it, becoming more and more dizzy and weary with each passing moment. A second later, he collapsed to the ground unconscious, the red stain growing beneath his hands.

"Aaron," cried Amy, rushing over to his side, "Hang in there."

With smug grins, the three archers drew their arrows and carefully aimed. Just as they were about to let loose their missiles, the sound of crackling flames filled the air. Looking up, the three stood frozen in amazement. Flashing into existence, an angelic figure made completely of flames lit up the dark night, making it seem as if it were day. In its hand, the figure held a large two handed sword that gave off a pure gold light. With deliberate caution, it drew it back before hurling it at the three. The sword speed through the air like a meteor, covering the distance between the four in moments. Once the sword hit the ground, it sunk deep into the hard dirt. Seconds later, cracks began forming around it and spread outward. Eyes wide, the men ran toward the fallen priest and the swordswoman. About five seconds after, the ground erupted into a massive column of flame, consuming everything within and giving off such a shock wave that it hurled the three archers off their feet and tossed them quite a distance away, knocking them unconscious.

Further away from the scene, Arthur grimaced as his glaive missed. Most humans didn't have the reaction time needed to dodge such a quick attack. With a quick glance, he spotted the pointed ears of the elf.

"Damn," he mentally cursed, "An elf...this might take longer than I'd hoped."

No longer able to continue his attack once the elf closed the distance between them, Arthur was about to retreat several feet when he sensed a blade bearing down on him. Unable to bring his glaive up in time to parry it, he shifted his stance, allowing Palmiran blade to meet Kaddanese plate armor. With a loud clang, Beleg's blade bounced off Arthur's shoulder pauldron. Though his armor had easily deflected the attack, the force of the blow momentarily disoriented the lancer. Even so, he quickly took this moment to retreat in a flash. Satisfied that he was enough away, Arthur readied his glaive once more, a worried look momentarily crossing his face as he noticed a wounded Aaron. Muscles tense, the lancer was about to lash out with his glaive again when a loud roar shook the ground. With a fleeting glance into the night sky, Arthur saw something unexpected.

"Dragons?" he muttered, puzzled, "Could it.....Dragon Brigade!"

Turning away from Beleg, Arthur hurried to his two companions side.

"Quick," he hissed, "Take Aaron and try to hide. I'll do my best to take them down."

With that, he rose to his feet and let his glaive hang limply in his hand. Breathing deeply, he let the familiar warmth of divine energy fill his being. Eyes flashed with steel determination as he began running toward them, ready to make another jump attack.

Near Beleg, one of his men blinked groggily as he stared up into the sky.

Spotting one sky dragon being pursued by two dragon knights, he squinted in attempt to see who the first rider was.

"Sir," he began, "Isn't that Duras?"

----------

Greetic Cutter Voranto, Ocean of Apris

The man let out a sardonic laugh.

"Laddy," he said, "You still have much to learn about interrogating."

With a swift motion, he pulled out a hidden razor and slit his own throat. Blood surged through the wound and soon he fell over into a pool of blood.

"Laddy," he gurgled, "I'll tell you this much. Greeton may have the seas, but not the skies, though they might not have the seas for much longer."

Taking one more labored breath, his eyes glazed over. For a moment, the room was utterly devoid of sound with the exception of the ship's engine rumbling in the background.

Suddenly, there was curt rap on the door and voice from outside called, "Captain, we've just received a transmission from Base Aquan. They report that the attackers have left and that they are beginning to check to see what's missing. Also sir, Captain Coravel and Major Sauveterre have given orders for us to return immediately to Base Aquan. Orders, sir?"

-----------
Base Aquan, Aquaria

A thin Crafter sighed as he poured through another list of missing items.

"Eighty-seven units of copper wiring, twenty units of food, sixty units of...wait...what's this," muttered Lysander, gray eyes widening in surprise, "Sacred Mother of..... Coravel! Come see this, you won't believe what's missing."

The marine captain trotted into the room.

"Something wrong, Lysander?" he asked.

Handing the report over to the human, he said, "Look here, under entry number seventy-six."

"Hmm...."mused Coravel, "The 'Himmelstein' and plans for Project:Libra were removed from sector B. What's this 'Himmelstein' and this Project: Libra?"

A worried look crossed Lysander's face, "Coravel...Project:Libra was the work on the creation of Greeton's newest carrier and battleship."

"So what if they have the plans for a battleship," snorted Coravel, "It's not like they'll out do us in sea power."

"No, not sea battleship," said Lysander, "Project: Libra was in the final stages of developing an air battleship. One to replace our zeppelins. Also, the Himmelstein is the heart and soul of the project and there's only one of it. It's supposed to be able to completely power and support the ship. There's some other details, but I can't remember right now. It had something to do with the stone being able to project a defensive barrier that can negate any known weapon in our arsenal."

Looking the marine in the eye, he continued, "Coravel...if Airyglyph completes the rest of the work and installs the Himmelstein, Greeton won't exist for much longer."

Startled by the appearence of a second blade, Sinan held off for a shortwhile, untill finally being being beat down and disarmed.

panting heavily Sinan said "Thats no fair! You cheated!"

Beleg cursed when his blade met armor and not flesh but it did some to give his opponent pause. Apparently his blow rang down with enough force to push him back. Unfortunatly that left Beleg at the disadvantage now. From this distance, his sword's effectiveness was now greatly reduce. A weapon such as that could parry most anything now unless Beleg could close that distance. The elf made a mental note to collect a shield once he got back to the fort. Too bad they were always so bulky.

Elven ears picked up the sound of thick wings beating the air above. Not wanting to lose track of his opponent, he took a quick glance up to see dragons in the air. Another curse came from his mouth. No need to worry about a shield now. Not many could turn dragon's breath away.

The sudden disengagement of his opponent confused the elven ranger for a moment. If he was heading for Airyglyph, why would the dragon brigade worry him?

Beleg turned to one of his comrades when they pointed out Duras. The elf was shaking his head that it couldn't be, Duras was supposed to be resting. When his eyes spotted the lead flyer, Beleg threw his sword tip into the dirt. The hilt waved back and forth as it struck deep into the ground.

"That damn fool. What has he gotten himself into now? Watch the rest of this fellow's comrades."

Beleg slung his bow around and quickly strung it. He knew that his arrows wouldn't peirce a dragon's armor, at least not at this range and angle. That didn't mean it couldn't pierce the flesh of the humans riding it.

The elven ranger took steady aim and let loose his arrow for the head of the lead rider chasing Duras. Hopefully his aim would prove true.

Palmira Plains

With blade drawn, standing upon her dragon's back, Mina (http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b360/DMG2005/MinaAiko.jpg) looked strong and powerful albeit exposed. Unlike many others, she had almost no armor; her bare skin was exposed to the wind as she wore only greaves, bracers, and a certain protective chest covering. Instead, she relied on her great speed and skill to overcome enemy attacks.

However, arrows in the dark are not so easy for the naked eye to pick up even for someone with the abilities of The Lotus. As the bolt came whizzing forth, Alexander alerted her to the danger before bravely inserting himself in the way. Luckily his armor was able to stop the major damage.

"You have my sincerest gratitude Alexander," the Captain called from the short distance, letting her guard down momentarily, a rare occasion if there ever was one. "Now let us be off after the rogue!"

As a grand dragon, Mina's mount would not be as fast as Alexander's in pursuit, but it had its own tricks...

Greetic Cutter Voranto, Ocean of Apris

The man let out a sardonic laugh.

"Laddy," he said, "You still have much to learn about interrogating."

With a swift motion, he pulled out a hidden razor and slit his own throat. Blood surged through the wound and soon he fell over into a pool of blood.

"Laddy," he gurgled, "I'll tell you this much. Greeton may have the seas, but not the skies, though they might not have the seas for much longer."

Taking one more labored breath, his eyes glazed over. For a moment, the room was utterly devoid of sound with the exception of the ship's engine rumbling in the background.

Suddenly, there was curt rap on the door and voice from outside called, "Captain, we've just received a transmission from Base Aquan. They report that the attackers have left and that they are beginning to check to see what's missing. Also sir, Captain Coravel and Major Sauveterre have given orders for us to return immediately to Base Aquan. Orders, sir?"

Edweard sighed. There were two warships out there, and they were going to call in reneforcements. He would prefer to be able to catch them. But he couldn't, they would require too much time to catch up.

"Very well, set a course for base Aquan. As for this..." he gave the dead body a dirty look "...let it be snark food. Dump it overboard."

===Later that day===

Edweard saw the base to the right. From a distance, he could see some of the signs of battle. Bloodstains, smoke, the odd remains of a fire. The base had been fought over all right.

"Base Aquan to starboard!" shouted the crow's nest watchman. As the Voranto came closer and closer, more and more scenes of battle became evident. When the Voranto began to pull into port, the two agents emerged from a building, and Ed leaned over the side and shouted "Well?", then waited for their reply.

Durna-Palmira Border

Sirius let out a satisfied as he took a seat on the ground. Patting the ground beside him, he indicated for Sinan to take a seat.

"Fair? Cheated?" he laughed good-naturedly, "Most things in life aren't fair."

"Think of it this way," he continued, "While we are indeed strong, our numbers aren't that great if you really think about it. In addition, we're often spread thinly along the borders. So it's to our benefit to try and get any advantage we can. To a Keeper, there is a fine line between fair play and honor and not taking advantage of a situation."

Stretching out his muscles, Sirius let out a wide yawn.

"Well," he said, "Seems that fight took more out of me than I had expected."

Rising from the ground, he took a step toward his tent and stopped.

Looking back, he said, "Sinan, there's one thing we need to decide on before I teach you anything else. While you're a great swordsman, I think it best that we figure out what you should specialize at. Think about it and tell me when you're ready. I'll be in my tent."

Letting out another wide yawn, he waved goodbye to Sinan and entered into a nearby tent.

--------

Several Days Before Current Events, Traum, Nation of Barr

Tattered flags littered the ramparts of the city's outer walls. All along its length, bodies lay abandoned, long dead from when the siege first began. At first, the Barr forces had been able to fend off Airyglyph's assault on the capital with ease thanks to the rugged and mountainous terrain as well as their elite units of dragon knights.

Yet that all changed when Airyglyph brought out their secret weapon.

The sky had massive blasts and explosions raining from above utterly incinerating the defenders of the outer wall. The Midnight Wardens had attempted to deal with the threat but were swept from the sky in a fashion reminiscent of how one swats down flies. The capital was lost. Women and children desperately attempted to flee the invading forces, but were cut down or ravaged as they ran.

Even so, a sizable number of civilians and soldiers had managed to escape thanks to one last ditch effort by the Midnight Wardens. Using the dragon knights to cover them, they fled deep into the mountains and escaped to a hidden port.

---

Stepping through the ruins of one building, Lieutenant Colonel Kuzma removed the heavy dragon helm, letting it hang loose in his left hand by his side. Behind him were his second in command, Major Ivan, and two guards. As they gazed lethargically at the ruined city, the high pitched screams of girls and women could be heard.

“Damn it,” cursed Kuzma, his long fair blowing in the wind, “Ivan go stop the soldiers. We must not rape or pillage at all. His Majesty ordered that we cause as little ill will as possible.”

“Yes, milord,” answered the knight with a polite bow.

Sighing to himself, Kuzma continued his tour of Barr’s destroyed capital.


Several Days Later After Traum’s Fall, Greeton’s Sixth Fleet, Ocean of Apris

A small fleet made up of random ships of all shapes and sizes appeared within visual range of the Greetic warships. From his vantage point in the bridge, the first mate spotted them. Seeing a white flag being flown from all the ships, he hurriedly ordered for them to move nearer. Several minutes later, a sailor hurried through the ships corridor, a thin piece of paper in his hands.

Spotting another sailor outside the door, he gave a curt nod and rapped the door loudly.

"Admiral!" he shouted, "We've just met up with some Barr refugees. It seems that Barr has fallen."

Glancing at the paper in his hand, he shifted nervously and continued, "S-sir, one of the officers among them brought us a detailed sketch of something that you need to see."

Shifting his gaze back down to the picture (http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j225/Seidou/untitled-3.jpg)on the paper, he shuddered.

-----

Base Aquan, Sacred Kingdom of Aquaria

“Commander Lesonia,” greeted Lysander, “Please follow us. We have much to discuss. As it is already night, your men may disembark and rest. There will be much to do tomorrow.”

Beside him, Coravel had grim look. Appearing as if in thought for a moment, he shook his head sadly.

“Come, captain,” he said, “Lysander is right. There is much to discuss.”

Entering the base, they traveled without speaking for a moment until they arrived in front of Lysander’s requisitioned office.

Turning to Ed, Lysander fixed a firm glare at the captain, “Captain, what we discuss now will never be discussed with anyone else except our superiors. Is this understood?”

As if by magic, Lysander pulled out a thin vanilla folder with the words “Top Secret: Rank S” and “Project: Libra” stamped onto it in dark green ink.
-----

Palmira Plains

“Of course, milady,” answered the knight, blushing underneath his helm.

“I wish she’d wear something…less exposing,” thought Alexander to himself as the turned his attention back to the scene below.

The sound of Beleg’s arrow whistling through the night caught both Alexander and Liet’s attention. Though neither could tell where the shaft was exactly, Liet took a rough guess and let loose his dragon breath, unleashing an inferno from his mouth. Alexander let out a soft sigh when he saw the shaft burn up from his mount’s assault.

“Cowards,” muttered the knight, “Fly us higher, Liet. I’ll snipe them from up there.”

Acknowledging his rider’s command with a low growl, the sky dragon flapped its massive wings and rose higher into the night sky. As his flight’s sole sniper, he prided himself on his aim and skill. Out of range of most conventional missile weapons, Alexander felt he could quite ably pick up the mongrels beneath him.

“Best if I can keep milady’s hands clean of this mess,” he murmured to himself as he readied another bolt.

TWANG

A steel tipped shaft darted from his crossbow down toward one of Beleg’s men. Casually taking another bolt from a nearby quiver, he reloaded his weapon and took aim at Beleg. A second later, another steel tipped shaft slipped through the air.

A moment earlier, one of the archers was rising slowly from the ground, the next he was slammed back into the ground from the impact of the bolt as it hit, entering through his head and piercing through the very core of his body before exiting through his leg. His two companions let out a mournful cry as they hurried over to him, weeping over the loss of their friend. Further from the two, the Weaver groaned softly as he regained conscious.

“Aaron,” gasped Amy, hugging the wounded priest, “You’re alright!”

“Ow ow ow,” hissed Aaron, “Gently please.”

Grinning despite himself at his friend’s sheepish apology, he cast a healing spell on his arrow wound. The flesh knitted itself back together, leaving only pink skin.

Hearing the mournful cries of the Palmirans, he asked, “Amy, what happened while I was out?”

“Two words,” said the swordswoman, “Dragon Brigade.”

“W-what?” stammered Aaron, his blood running cold.

Scrambling to his feet, the Weaver rushed over to the fallen archer.

“Out of my way,” he commanded, shoving the two aside, “I’m a healer. Let me see….. Oh, he’s dead.”

His brows drew near as his mind ran through all the possible courses of action.

“It’s worth a try,” he murmured as he rolled up his sleeves and laid his hands on the cooling body.

Closing his eyes, the Weaver began to pray, his lips muttering ancient words in a silent chant. A soft green light engulfed his hands as he began his work.

“What’s he doing?” asked a soldier, “And why are you helping us?”
Frowning, Amy retorted, “He’s trying to use a resurrection spell, idiot. As for your second question, we never wanted to fight anyone. Aaron’s a priest in the end and as one he’ll do anything and everything to save someone. Now shut up, you might disturb him.”

------


Beleg’s Company, Palmira Plains

“Look out!” shouted a Palmiran archer as the dragons swept back for another go at them.

All around, dismembered and melted bodies lay scattered. The ground was charred black and parts had become molten earth. With their numbers dwindling rapidly, the remaining squad leaders gave orders to scatter and to regroup at Fort Murus. Slipping into the tall grass, the survivors fled from the devastation that was behind them.

High above the ground, Mina’s flight regrouped and took a few minutes to retrieve their fallen and burning the corpses of the dead dragons.

“We should go and assist Lady Mina,” said one of the knights.

“Agreed,” said another.

Quickly remounting, the riders took flight once more in search of their captain.

------

Palmira Plains

Breathing out slowly, Arthur crouched low before pushing off the ground with incredible force. Hurtling toward the grand dragon, he tightened his grip on the glaive.

“Arch Angel Michael!” he shouted, “Enemy of the Dragon. Strike down my foe!”

Pouring his energy into the spear, Arthur prepared to hurl it as it became engulfed in a bright yellow light, resembling more of a shaft of light than a glaive. As he drew nearer to Mina, Arthur drew it back and threw it with all his might at the captain.

The glaive flew with such unimaginable speed that it slipped through the air as a ray of sunlight might. Closer and closer it drew until it was only a meters away.

“Gotcha,” smirked the Lancer confidently as he began his descent back to the ground, “There’s no way you can dodge that.”

Yet even as his smug grin grew, Alexander and Liet had already seen his attack and were hurtling down to intercept the attack. A second later, to Arthur’s amazement, the glaive made contact with flesh, though with a different target. The glaive had easily pierced Liet’s thick scales and shot through his heart, killing him instantly, before skewering Alexander through the torso. It would have gone further, but Alexander had managed to wrap his hands around the shaft and hold it still until the energy coursing through it faded, resulting in badly burned hands despite his thick gauntlets.

Eyes wide in disbelief, he stared down at the shaft then at his captain.

“F-flee, milady,” he managed to say even as blood poured out of the wound and darkness began to cover his vision.

After he had said this, his body became limp; the reins fell gently onto the saddle of his now dead mount. Together, they plummeted toward the earth below, their bodies lit by Aztiluth’s three moons.

“It’s not so bad,” he thought to himself, his senses becoming dull.

As they fell, Alexander’s body drifted away from his mount, battered by the winds as he drew closer to the ground.

Fire rain down in towards Beleg's direction. The nimble elf dove and rolled to the side to avoid the infernal breath. Looking back over his shoulder, Beleg could see smoke smoldering from his back. Close call.

Beleg heard the twang of a steel dart of running through the air down to the fields around him. A moment later he heard the grunt of one of his men take a hit from the dart, killing him instantly. The elven ranger winced when he saw the man crumple to the ground. He knew the lad, just like he knew all of his men and the loss would be hard to tell to his family.

As he ran towards his fallen soldier, he saw that one of the trio that they had been falling was casting over the dead soldier. "Damn wizards. You could pick a better time and place to cast your spells."

While the casters conjured their magic, Beleg left the group in the hands of his remaining men. There were still dragons in the air reaking havoc on his company that was trying to flee. More and more circled overhead breathing fire onto the refugees. Knocking two arrows, the elven ranger picked out what looked to be the leader of the brigade. Steady aim and then Beleg loosed both arrows one aiming for the rider's head while the other off for one of the dragon's eyes. Unsure of whether or not the arrows would strike home, Beleg knew better than to stand still in an open field with dragons in the air. By the time his arrows were loose he was already sprinting off towards his next position.

Durna-Palmira BorderBase Aquan, Sacred Kingdom of Aquaria

“Commander Lesonia,” greeted Lysander, “Please follow us. We have much to discuss. As it is already night, your men may disembark and rest. There will be much to do tomorrow.”

Beside him, Coravel had grim look. Appearing as if in thought for a moment, he shook his head sadly.

“Come, captain,” he said, “Lysander is right. There is much to discuss.”

Entering the base, they traveled without speaking for a moment until they arrived in front of Lysander’s requisitioned office.

Turning to Ed, Lysander fixed a firm glare at the captain, “Captain, what we discuss now will never be discussed with anyone else except our superiors. Is this understood?”

As if by magic, Lysander pulled out a thin vanilla folder with the words “Top Secret: Rank S” and “Project: Libra” stamped onto it in dark green ink.

"Of course. I've kept my fair share of secrets in my life."

Edweard glanced at the folder. He knew the Rank S ment something quite important, but the Libra ment nothing to him. He listened intently to what the two agents had to say.

Palmira Plains

"ALEXANDER!" She found herself reaching... reaching for her fallen comrade, and the closest person she could come close to even calling a friend. As he plunged towards earth all she could do was find herself staring straight down into his waning eyes.

Exposed as her mount hovered in midair, Mina didn't even recognize the danger of her open position. However, luckily, her dragon mount did, and as she looked longingly down, he turned his breath upon the foes. Two shafts that had been aimed into the sky were quickly incinerated by a torrent of fire.

Soon, a trio of dragon riders appeared around her and awoke her from her trance as Alexander and Liet crashed to the ground. "Milady...!" The word echoed as time seemed to crawl along.

When she spoke, her voice was dull, no longer filled with passion or ire, and came in a monotone. "Fall back..."

Base Aquan, Sacred Kingdom of Aquaria

"Excellent," said Lysander as he took a seat behind a large oak desk, "Now to the business at hand."

Reaching into the desk, he withdrew a vanilla folder similar to Ed's. Opening it, he leafed through several pages before stopping on one. Taking the piece of paper, he placed it onto the desk, pushing it toward the captain.

"This, captain, is Project: Libra," he said gravely, "To build Greeton's newest air battle-carrier. That was the purpose of Project Libra. This (http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j225/Seidou/ff12-airship-ifrit2.jpg?t=1183522585)here is what it would look like after completion. Over 500 meters long, this airship exceeds the length and size of any vessel, air or naval, in our arsenal. While we still have a backup copy of the blueprints, the spies stole the original and the Himmelstein."

As he opened his mouth to say more, a sudden coughing fit took hold of the frail Crafter. Glancing at Coravel, he gestured for him to speak in his place.

Nodding, the marine captain continued, "As you may well be wondering why we don't we just continue building the airship as we have the backup plans. The answer is quite simple. The stolen Himmelstein is the heart of the ship. It powers the ship and keeps it in the air, and we only had one of it. Without it...we could only create a grounded version of it."

"Indeed," added Lysander after he recovered from his coughs, "The true danger lies in the fact that the stolen plans hold more than just blueprints. They included detailed instructions on how to fashion each part of the ship, meaning that Airyglyph has just acquired the knowledge of how to replicate our most advanced technology. Combine this with their already massive army and dragons and it becomes apparent that if we do not do something to stop them, it will only be a matter of time before Airyglyph conquers all of Gaitt and soon thereafter all of Greeton."

Reaching into the desk once more, Lysander withdrew a small black box. Opening it, he revealed a simple silver star. Pushing across the wood surface so it sat in front of Ed, Lysander rose from his seat as Coravel joined him in standing.

Saluting the naval officer stiffly, Lysander continued, "To that end, Captain Edweard Lesonia, after reviewing your past records and in accordance with wishes and orders of the Supreme Fleet Command, you have been promoted to the rank of rear admiral. Congratulations."

"In accordance with hq's orders, you and your ship are to return immediately to Port Rioak. There you will receive further training before meeting up with Vice-Admiral Smith of the Second Fleet. He will guide you from there," said Coravel.

"Good luck, sir," said Lysander, "If Coravel and I are correct, we'll be needing all the luck we can get."

Dry Dock #58, Port Rioak, Greeton

The shrill sounds of steel being cut filled the air. Smoke and steam hung over the dry dock as hundreds men set about building a new ship. This scene was not an unusual sight these days. With the news of Airyglyph's capture of the plans, Fleet Command had decided to make preparations for the coming war.

And so it was that the era of wooden ships was truly beginning to end. Within a few years, none would remain. In their place, there would be only ships of steel and steam.

OOC: I'll finish the rest later.

Ed was dumbstruck. Promotion to rear admiral was an ambition of his, but he didn't expect it so...soon. Needing to get something out of his mouth, he said: "Well, t-thank you, sir." He then saluted stiffly, picked up the star, and walked out. He walked stiffly to the ship and said; "Set course for Port Rioak, we depart immeadiatly."

He sat down, and assessed his position. He was still dumbstruck, not believing that he was now a admiral proper.

The voyage didn't seem long. It was uneventful, no enemies being seen at all. When the port came into view, Edweard thought he was only half way. Then pulled into port, getting all permission beforehand, pulled in, tied up the ship, and went to see this Vice-Admiral Smith.

Sinan sat and thought.

{What do I want to specialize in?} He thought to himself.
{Going home. Living a peaceful Life. But I guess thats not possible, at least not till this wars over. What can I specialize in? Controlling the planet? I guess.}

He then left and set up his tent. He lay down to rest.

In his dream he was standing in a room. A large chair was off to the side, in the shadows. He moved closer to the chair, it looked like someone was sitting in it. As he neared the chair a light began to glow. Suddenly it's occupant was bathed in a pale blue light.

"Sinan. Listen to Sirius, Sinan. Stay by his side. Learn, and become one of the greatest Keepers we have ever seen. I'm depending on you Sinan." The man said quietly

"Father? But.. you're dead... how are you..." But even as Sinan said this he was waking up, and a few seconds later he opend his eyes to see daylight.


Walking over to Siriuses tent he enterd.

"Sirius, I want to specialize in everything."

Palmira Plains

"O-of course, milady," replied one of the riders, shocked to see the dead body of their former comrade slam into the ground.

Urging their mounts higher into the air, the remaining Dragon Brigade members left the field to the survivors of the ambush. Seeing the the coast was clear, the few of Beleg's company that had not fled toward Fort Murus, scurried to rally around their captain.

"Sir," said one, "The company was ambushed while we were traveling. About half are dead no and the others have retreated to Murus."

Suddenly, the ground shook as something heavy slammed into the earth, causing a large plume of dirt to fly into the air. As the dirt and dust settled, the haggard figure of Duras was revealed, grinning sheepishly. Behind him was the cooling corpse of his commandeered mount; it's head riddled with arrows.

"So you are alive after all you lazy elf," greeted the archer.

-----

Further away, Arthur checked himself for injuries once he landed again. Watching the remaining dragon knights withdraw, he scowled slightly.

"Cowards," he muttered to himself as he walked over to Aaron and Amy.

As he neared the pair, he noticed the fading green light around Aaron's hands.

"What were you doing?" inquired the lancer, raising an eyebrow.

Panting slightly, the Weaver wiped the sweat from his forehead with one of his sleeves before letting out a sigh of relief.

"That just now," replied Aaron, "Was a successful resurrection spell."

Shaking his head, Arthur gestured for them to huddle around him. Moving some distance away, the three put their heads together as Arthur explained the next course of action.

"It's obvious now that the war is almost about to start if it hasn't already. Since this is the case, I want you and Amy to go with these Palmirans. Something tells me they're going to need all the help they can find to hold back Airyglyph," he said.

"As for me," continued Arthur, "I'm going to continued with the prearranged plan. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to embed myself with the Airyglyphian military."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Amy after the lancer had finished, "I mean, you're skilled and all, but do you think you'll be alright alone?"

Snorting softly, Arthur replied, "As one of the five marshals, I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Even with the power limit?" chimed in Aaron.

"I think so..." answered Arthur cautiously, "In any case, we'll keep in touch. So stay safe you two."

With that, the lancer's form vanished into the shadows.

Frowning slightly, the Weaver muttered, "Always a show off isn't he?"

Grinning, Amy nodded and said, "So let's see what these Palmirans intend to do."

As they made their way to Beleg, both wondered if the Palmiran's would try to kill them.

OC: Just a little for now, I'll finish the rest once I get home.

Durna-Palmira Border

Sirius sat still in momentary shock at Sinan's reply.

Chuckling to himself, he thought, "Just like his father. I hope you know what you were doing, sir, when you told me to tutor him."

Rising from his pallet, he said, "I had a feeling you were going to say that, Sinan. If you're sure that you want to do so, then I'll teach you everything I know and more."

Walking over to small chest, he opened it and withdrew small amber stone that hung from a leather cord. Handing it to his student, he grinned.

"Where this at all times," he said, "In the morning we will head toward Expedis. Along the way, I'll teach you the basics that you must master before you can progress further."

-----

Port Rioak

Vice-Admiral Smith grimaced as he read the reports from the spies within Airyglyph.

"Damn," he muttered, "This will be most troublesome indeed."

Just as he flipped another page, he heard a soft knock on his office door.

"Sir, Rear Admiral Lesonia is here to see you," informed a voice.

As Ed entered the office, the naval officer rose from his chair and greeted him warmly before gesturing for him to take a seat.

"As you may well know now," he said, "Airyglyph has acquired the plans for our super weapon, but we may yet prevail. We have decided to build a new all steel fleet and have promoted many excellent officers to help command them. You have been chosen for such a task."

Staring soberly at Ed, he continued, "You and other officers will undergo a rigorous course in new naval tactics and instructions on fleet management as well as other pertinent matters. We expect to see you here tomorrow bright and early. Good luck, Mr. Lesonia."

(Sorry for the long wait. I'll finish the last bit on Airyglyph after I wake up.)

As soon as the dragon brigades turned to retreat, Beleg slumped down to the ground from exhaustion but relieved that they were leaving. He didn't even bother to get up when his men circled around him. "Do what you can for the dead. Collect personal affects for the family and weapons. If we can burry them, then do it but we cannot stay out here much longer than is no telling if Airyglyph will strike again."

Beleg's men moved aside when the ground shook allowing him a clear view. For this he did actually stand up. The elf shook his head once he saw Duras walking up. "It takes little more than a dragon brigade to kill me though one of the beasts managed to cinge my cloak. I suppose I should be upset about that. It looks like you had all the fun though. While we were down here doing all the work, you were flying around on that thing and showing off. Try to help out a little bit in the next battle, alright?"

The two new-comers approaching stole Beleg's attention for a moment. There wasn't much time for kindness or formalities at the moment, especially now that the ranger had lost a good number of men to the ambush. "I suppose you want to travel with us now?"

Beleg craned his neck to either side of them searching for something. "Where is your friend? I counted three of you at the start."

Palmira Plains

Aaron gave Amy a questioning glance, which she returned with a casual shrug.

"He...has gone off to Airyglyph," the Weaver confessed, "As for why he's there, I can tell you that it will not be to Palmira's detriment."

"We do apologize for our actions earlier," said the swordswoman, "We hadn't expected to run into anyone and as you saw, our friend was more than a little on edge."

Sensing some hostility from a few of Beleg's men, Aaron added, "I'm a healer and I would like to offer my apologies by assisting your men."

-----

Southern Airyglyph Border

All along the southern border, masses of men were hastily preparing fortifications. As had been ordered by king and his advisors, the Airyglyph forces would stop their invasion momentarily to consolidate their gains and prepare for the next phase of the assault.

Further inland, large armies could be seen advancing slowly toward the border. From the air, it would seem as if the land was literally covered by swarms of ants, their black armored shells glittering as they crawled toward the border.

Several Days After the Skirmish at Auri, Headquarters of the Dragon Brigade, Airyglyph Castle

"And you're sure he hasn't had prior military training?" asked an officer.

"Yes, sir," came the simple reply.

"I see. This young man might make a valuable recruit after all," he muttered as he looked down the rosters of the Dragon Brigade, "Hmm...I see Mina's flight had lost a few members. Steven, go bring Lady Aiko and the other two captains here. I think we may have some replacements for them."

"Yes, sir."

As his assistant left the room, the officer looked down from his balcony onto the seen below. In training area, new recruits were sparring against one another with varying degrees of success. There was one person though who seemed to be doing exceptionally well, beating down all those who went against him, including a few soldiers from the Dragon Brigade whom he ordered to test the boy. The young man was currently holding off two recruits simultaneously, fending them off with a simple wooden pole.

Beleg looked at his men for a bit before coming to a decision. "Fine but be quick about it."

The elven ranger then nodded his head at the other. "You can help gather up the bodies of the fallen and seeing to their proper needs."

He then turned around to take in his entire company. "Get moving! I want all of this taken care of immediatly. We have to get back to the fort and as quickly as possible less anymore dragon riders catch us out in the open. Now go."

Headquarters of the Dragon Brigade, Airyglyph Castle

Though days from the battle and unharmed at the time, Aiko was still recovering from losing her people to such a poor enemy.

Her stride was slow and less deliberate than normal as she walked across the stone ramparts to an entrance of the inner offices. Decked in her normal light attire, her sword tapped repeatedly against the side of her leg as she entered.

"Sir... you wanted to see me?"

Port Rioak

Ed woke up, and got himself out of bed. He had to be at this training course in an hour and a half. He had plenty of time.

He filled a cup full of water, put his razor in it, and inspected his stubble.

"Hmm, I haven't had a shave in ages..."

He lifted the blade to his chin, and started shaving.

"Rear Admiral E. Lesonia. Has a ring to it. Though there's probably a number of Lesonias in the admiralty...

"Oww!"

Ed had cut himself on the lip. He rubbed the cut with his finger, and gave it a wash. He ignored it for now, and got dress. He wore his uniform, with his new star included. He knew this new promotion would mean lots of hard work, but it also meant progress. Perhaps he would get one of those metal ships.

Fully dressed, he strided out, to head toward the place where he was to meet the admirals, and start this rigourous training course. He wondered what it would teach him. He already knew nautical tactics well. At least with smaller ships.

He stopped pondering this when he came up to the meeting place, and knocked on the door three times.

Durna-Palmira Border

"Yes sir," Sinan replied. "But what is it?" He asked looking at the Amber Stone.
"What does a stone have to do with my training?"

----Time Skip: Approximately Four Years Since the Events Began-----

It has been a long four years since the outbreak of hostilities between Airyglyph and its neighbors began. About several months after the initial attack, Airyglyph had consolidated its holds, giving time for the other nations to scramble their defenses.

Yet at the beginning of the next year, Airyglyph unleashed a flurry of lightning quick attacks, utterly overrunning the Samnite Republic as well as taking over large portions of the Palmira Republic and cutting deep into its territory. Strangely though, the Airglyphian forces have kept their distance from Kaddan-Palmira borders.

With the very real threat of the complete annihilation of their norther neighbors, the Sacred Kingdom of Aquaria entered the war in the third year. Pouring its massed army of runological might into the conflict, they managed to force a stalemate. In a desperate attempt to maintain the stalemate, Aquaria, Palmira, Durna, Suferio, and the surviving forces of Barr and the Samnite Republic poured everything they had into the conflict.

In the fourth year of the war, the balance began to shift. Airyglyph began deploying new units to the front as well as revealing a new weapon: airships. Though the ships they unleashed were only comparable to modern day fighters, they wreaked havoc on the allied forces. It was in this time that the Allied Nations, as they called themselves, sent diplomats to Greeton, seeking aid.

During the entire span of these years, Greeton had been hurrying along their renovations. In the fourth year, they had finally finished. Upon receiving diplomats from the Allied Nations, Greeton entered into possible alliance talks with them. While Greeton still had plans on one day conquering all of Gaitt, they realized that Airyglyph posed a very serious threat.

In this same time, Kaddan had remained eerily quiet. There were no visible movements along its borders and with the exception of the three agents it deployed earlier, there had been nothing coming in and out of Kaddan. Interestingly though, there have been rumors that Kaddan was discussing possible military aid with Palmira...

----------
Notes for Participants-These will be posted in the OCC thread as well.
----------
(For Members of Airyglyph)

During the four years, Airyglyph has enjoyed success in most of its efforts. Though its forces were currently held in a deadly stalemate, it had almost completed work on its newest and deadliest weapon.

Its military units have been boosted to wartime strength. Applied to the Dragon Brigade, this translates to roughly a total of 30 dragons and riders per dragon flight. During this increase in numbers, Mina Aiko was promoted to the rank of Senior Captain, one of the youngest ever, granting command of two dragon flights at wartime strength. Also, a new recruit, one Arthur Revenant, was assigned to her unit. Rising through the ranks at a surprising rate, he currently holds the ranks of junior captain, one rank beneath the standard captain rank of a dragon flight, serving as one of two junior captains under her. Mina's soldiers are currently stationed several miles away from the current Palmira-Airyglyph front.

-Note to DMG: These are basic outlines at the moment so feel free to adjust anything you need to.

------------
(For Members of Palimira)

During the four years, Palmira has suffered major losses, but has managed to hold the invaders in a stalemate. With the influx of aid from its neighbors, it has been able to even launch raids into the Airyglyph territory. Recently, it has been able to take down several fighter airships with the aid of runological weapons donated by Aquaria as well as retake several key points.

In this time, the two Kaddan agents who joined Beleg's company have proved incredibly useful. With the aid of the Weaver and swordswoman, Beleg now has a large number of Palmira's best healers and swordsmen. In addition, Beleg has been asked to join the Windspeakers. Duras, meanwhile, has been rejoined the group and currently serves as Beleg's second in command.

-note to Mythrandir: If you choose to have Beleg accept the offer to join the Windspeakers, you can now have Beleg using various wind based abilities and spells. Also, you can locate yourself anywhere in friendly territory.

---------------
(For Members of Durna)

As stated above, Durna has deployed all available forces to help hold back the Airyglyphian forces. In addition, it has stepped up recruitment and training.

During the four years, Sirius has trained Sinan rigorously. Sinan has now considered a full fledged Keeper of the Plains, capable of unleashing devastating attacks with both earth and water, and serves as Sirius's second-in-command after the death of his former during a major skirmish. Currently, they are stationed near the Palmira-Airyglyph front around Expedis.

-Note to Sith: You can change and add as needed.

---------------
(For Members of Greeton)

Aware of the growing threat in the east, Greeton has been preparing its defenses. Within the four years, it has completely renovated its land and naval forces as well as upgrading its air forces. It has now reached the technological level of World War I nations. To counter an possible naval incursions, Greeton has deployed nearly ten fleets to its eastern and nothern waters. Currently, it has engaged the Allied Nations in possible aid talks.

In order to ready itself for the coming conflict, Greeton has been working nonstop to train officers and soldiers. To that end, it had promoted a large number of outstanding officers and had begun training programs to familiarize them with the new technologies.

At this moment, Edweard Lesonia serves as rear admiral in the 6th Fleet also known as the Hammer of Greeton Fleet under Admiral Orstell. Ed is command of a battle squadron of new battlecruisers.

-note to Weccanfeld: Feel free to adjust as you see fit.

"This war is beginning to drag on me," Mina said to her two junior captains as they sat in her office - a strange setting for someone so used to living a life of the sword (not that it was over). "We must finish off what we began four years ago and storm across Palmira, absorbing her into our great empire..."

Standing from behind her unfamiliar desk in the usual light garb that she wore, Captain Aiko turned to a large map of the continent as it now existed. "Then soon we will have a land entrance into Aquios, and we can bring the war to their doorstep..."

With Greeton still looming to the west, ominously preparing itself for battle, finishing off the other continental nations seemed more imperative than ever. With a single stroke Greeton could shift the balance of war unfavorably, causing Airyglyph to falter and break.

[ooc: oops... pun in the first sentence.]

Rain poured down on the elven ranger's now shoulder length brown hair. Fitting weather for the state of Palmira in these turbulent times. Beleg was proud of the company that had gathered to his banner. The elf could now boast some of the finest soldiers in the continent leading the battle against Airyglyph.

Now, Beleg marched a small group of his men behind enemy lines for another raid. Always his confident, Duras marched with the elf in the cold rain accompanied by their two newfound companions that had proven invaluable to the war effort. Amy and Weaver crouched low behind Beleg and Duras in the canyon crossings. Beleg already had a number of archers positioned up higher and a few of his veteran swordsmen in the pass behind them. If this raid went bad, they were going to need the cover for a quick retreat.

Fortunatly, darkness was on their side this time as they approached four airships tied together and under guard. Since their last raid had attracted so much attention, Beleg had steered his companions to a post more out of the way and less important. Hopefully it would keep those dragon bastards guessing.

"Are you sure this is going to light in the rain?"

Amy had explained the stuff countless times to Beleg but he was still unfamiliar with new chemical compounds. Sighing, "For the umpteenth hundred time, yes it will blow. Now quit worrying about our concoction and more on the guards."

"Right. You're with me Duras."

Smiling, "Ain't that the way it always is?"

The two companions walked out from their cover and stood their ground. While Beleg had only joined the Windspeakers briefly, he had been able to pick up a few useful things to bring back to the battlefield. Todays demonstration was going to be on "wind arrows" as Beleg liked to call them. It was nothing more than turning wind gusts into sharp blades and directing it at a target.

Wind swirled around their bodies tossing their hair and clothes side-to-side. Thoughts focused on the enemy at hand, their deadly storm of blades whirled towards unsuspecting targets slicing and piercing flesh until the guards fell away. So intune were their strategies that Amy and Weaver did not even bother waiting for Beleg's order to go. They dashed ahead tossing their deadly explosives into cockpits and any nook and cranny that looked pliable.

Task finished, the two bandits came running back for Beleg and Duras who were recovering from the effort. Finally catching his breath, Duras looked at Beleg who was still taking a bit longer to recover. "Why didn't you stay and complete the training? You have a knack for air attacks and you wouldn't have these problems with recovery."

Sucking in the last bit of air, Beleg stood tall again to usher Amy and Weaver in behind them. "Because Airyglyph wasn't going to wait for my training to be complete. For now I've learned enough. Perhaps one day I'll go back and finish the training but for now Palmira needs me and every abled body soldier."

The four crouched down behind some rocks to wait for the explosion. Beleg was beginning to wonder if it would ever come when four great fireballs erupted in the night. The blast was so great that even the rocks shuddered under the pressure.

Wide grins on their faces, the small company headed back for Palmira territory.

(OOC: Just to let everyone know, I'm still interested, it's just that I'm waiting for something to happen so I can post.)

Several days earlier, Arkives, Kaddan

A lone figure stood on the balcony of his office, looking up at the clear blue sky.

"I wonder how those three have been," he muttered as he glanced down at the scroll that sat on his lap."

A soft rap on his door caught his attention.

Turning round, he said, "Who is it?"

"Grand Marshal Silves, this is Andrew. I have just received the reports from Marshal Revenant and the others," answered the voice.

A few minutes later, the messenger exited the room after delivering the reports. Making sure that the door was closed, the Engel turned his attention to the reports.

Finishing them, he rubbed the bridge of his nose murmuring, "Who to support? Airyglyph or the Alliance? This is troublesome indeed."

-------------
Sixth Fleet, Ocean of Apris

Aboard Edweard's flagship, a lone officer was running through the halls of the ship in search of the rear admiral. Upon discovering that he was on the bridge, the officer proceeded to trample his way through.

Bursting onto the bridge, he panted, "S-Sir, we've just received orders from Admiral Orstell."

Handing it to the rear admiral, he bowed before exiting.

The message read:

To: Rear Admiral Lesonia
From: Admiral Orstell

High Command has issued orders for elements of the Sixth Fleet to sail to Base Aquan and wait for the diplomats from the Alliance. I have decided to dispatch you and your squadron for the task. You are to set sail as soon as possible. Best of luck.

-------------

Outpost Delta, Airyglyph-Palmira Front

Arthur wondered briefly if his message to the Grand Marshal Silves had made it through. Sighing softly, he turned his attention back to the map in his room. Glancing at it, he began calculating the possible attacks that the Alliance might be preparing.

"To think I would actually be fighting alongside them," he murmured to himself.

Hearing a soft knock on his door, he told whoever it was to enter. A subordinate had come to deliver a message from headquarters. Opening it, he read it to himself.

"Senior Captain Aiko is to prepare for a covert strike deep into Aquarian territory...."

Rushing out of his room, he quickly made his way to his superiors room.

Knocking loudly, he called out, "Excuse me for entering, Senior Captain, but I've just received orders from headquarters."

Entering, he handed the note over to her.

Letting her read it over, he said worriedly, "Milady, I know that is important to stop these Alliance diplomats and their Greetic escorts from returning to Greeton, but how are we supposed to penetrate that deep?"

----------

Palmira

Duras let the hawk free after untying the parchment from its leg. Surprised that a message this urgent had to reach them so soon despite them being only a day or so from Fort Retalin, he nonetheless opened it. Reading it over briefly, the Windspeaker set off to find his friend. Finding him resting with several men of the company. He called out to him.

"Beleg," he said, "New orders. Seems that we are to return as quickly as possible for another mission. Appears that we're supposed to escort some Alliance diplomats to some place the Greetics call Base Aquan."

Glancing at the map also enclosed, he whistled, "Wow, quite a distance away too."

Outpost Delta, Airyglyph-Palmira Front

Though a war raged throughout the continent, Senior Captain Aiko was merely sitting in her office and spinning around in her chair, over and over and over. It would be a strange sight for most officers, but Captain Aiko was not your usual officer; unorthodox would be a generous term to use.

However, as a knock rapped at the door, she quickly grabbed hold of the desk in front of her and brought the swiveling to a stop. "Come in," she said in a near-gargle as her body was slightly out of whack from the spinning.

Taking the note from one of her subordinates, she read it over quickly and then breathed deeply. A strike of this kind - deep and quick - would take careful planning in a short amount of time and balls of brass. Seeing as there was no man with balls of brass, a woman would be the man for the job.

She turned to the map behind her, leaving the subordinate to listen in on her thoughts as she planned the strike. "A frontal assault would be completely foolish... The rivers are controlled by the Aquarians, so we can't sneak out way up... but what about..."

Pausing in mid sentence as her mind raced, Mina turned towards the subordinate and ordered him to prepare a small flight of dragon riders for the attack. "We'll head out to see, so make sure they are well rested... glide high in the clouds, and then cut across onto land on a direct path for our target..."

Beleg was leaning back, taking it easy while playing on a long blade of grass when Duras came rushing up. His tone was light and merry as he entertained the men and their new companions. "New order, new orders, there's always new orders. What is it this time that's got them pulling us off the line now?"

The elven ranger grabbed the note and read it. "Hmmm, maybe next time we should capture a few of their airships instead of destroying them."

He reached and grabbed the map. Beleg let out a low grunt. "Damn. I suppose that hawk of yours can't carry us all..."

Beleg rose up and dusted himself off. "Listen up lads! We got us a mission and long ways to run. Eat up and be ready to break camp. We're leaving as soon as you've finished."

The elf grabbed Duras and pulled him over to the side out of ear shot. "Something going on here that I need to know about? Why are they pulling us off the lines to escort some ambassadors?"

Outpost Delta, Airyglyph-Palmira Front

Arthur waited silently in the courtyard. Around were assembled a small squad of ten riders and their mounts. Stroking his mount's neck gently, he watched as the sun began to sink lower and lower.

Chuckling as his dragon moved restlessly, he said, "Calm down, Requiem. I'm sure Lady Aiko will be here soon."

Looking over his gear again, Arthur went back into the building. Making his way to his superior's door, he knocked gently.

"Milady, the riders are assembled in the courtyard. They await your orders."

-------------
Palmira

Shifting uneasily, Duras glanced around before replying, "Beleg, you know as well as I do that this war isn't going well. Even with all the help we've been receiving, we only managed to stalemate. It would only be a matter of time before Airyglyph punched through."

Sighing softly, he continued, "I myself am not sure what exactly is going on, but my old contacts back in Expedis sent me a little extra note. Seems that Greeton is ready to ally with us. All that's left is for the diplomats to sign the treaty. I'm not sure why their helping us, but I wouldn't refuse."

-------------
Fort Retalin, Palmira

Ambassador Duggus sighed for what seemed the thousandth time. Looking over the document in his hand once more, he rolled it up and placed it back in his trunk.

"Ambassador," said a voice, "Scouts are reporting that your escorts are only about a day's distance away or so."

"I see," replied the diplomat, "Thank you for the information. You may go."

Glancing at the setting sun, he murmured, "I never thought I'd live to see the day Gaitt would join with Greeton to fight on the same side...."

(OOC: That's strange, I swear I posted earlier. Nevermind...)

Edweard took a look at the message. He knew base Aquan well. A couple of years ago, he had gone there to drop off some agents there. A feeling of nostalgia found its way into Edweard.

"Set course for here" He said to his helmsman, pointing to a spot on the map. He felt the ship he was on begin to make its way.

He had to admit, he was sceptical at first of these metal ships. But the sheer armour of them would make them very hard for a Airyglyphian to penetrate. Then there were the cannons. All he had to do was prevent them from boarding, and he would be fine.

"You seem to have been there before, sir. Why, if I may ask?"

Edweard lifted a pipe to his mouth, and said "I'll tell you the sorry later"

"Very well sir. To Aquan it is"

Edweard reminisced about the old days of wooden ships. And stared out of the window into the open sea. Something told him that he would once again be fighting soon.

Outpost Delta, Airyglyph-Palmira Front

"Milady, the riders are assembled in the courtyard. They await your orders."

"Thank you Arthur," Aiko responded as she followed him out of her office. Unlike the other riders, it would take her no time to prepare for their ride as she had no armor but what she wore and no weapon besides that which was always strapped to her.

Her mount had been prepped and readied by one of her underlings and was waiting as she arrived at the launch grounds. At the sight of their captain, the men quieted their mounts and turned to face her in all their gleaming glory. "Men," she said, something that always sounded strange coming from a lady of her caliber even if she was speaking to only men, "you have been chosen for this mission not because you are disposable but because you are the best.

"We will be heading east, five miles back from the battle-lines of Palmira, and go out to sea. Once there are only blue oceans beneath us, we will turn south and make our way through the protection of the clouds to the borders of Aquaria. Once within range, we will make a deadline for our target... an escorted convoy of ambassadors. We must be quick and unseen in our travel and attack for we shall be in great peril and will have only one chance..."

Leaving anything further about specifics or details to her second-in-command, Aiko whispered lightly and her mount took off into the skies...

Palmira

Shifting uneasily, Duras glanced around before replying, "Beleg, you know as well as I do that this war isn't going well. Even with all the help we've been receiving, we only managed to stalemate. It would only be a matter of time before Airyglyph punched through."

Sighing softly, he continued, "I myself am not sure what exactly is going on, but my old contacts back in Expedis sent me a little extra note. Seems that Greeton is ready to ally with us. All that's left is for the diplomats to sign the treaty. I'm not sure why their helping us, but I wouldn't refuse."

"I know damn well how this war is going! I haven't had a moments rest since this whole blasted ordeal started! Blades have been stained with the blood of friends and foe alike. Hills have ran slick with the endtrails of the slain and all the while Palmira has been falling back until we finally managed to hault their advance. The reason we lead countless raids behind enemy lines is so that someday we may be able to tire Airyglyph to a negotiating table to end this war. Because unless I am wrong, it is going to take more than a miracle to bring Palmira out on top."

Beleg sighed after a rare emotional outburst. "I am sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just tired that's all. It has been a long war, a long war for all of us. Why do they want so many soldiers to escort a few ambassadors anyways?"

Beleg let the question hang for Duras to answer on his own time, if he even knew. In the mean time, the rest of the company broke camp and began their march to Fort Retalin.

Edweard's Squadron, Ocean of Apris

The battle cruiser Independence was bathed in a mist of water as it cut through another wave. Moving ahead of the small fleet, the ship was acting as a scout. On the bridge, Captain Marcus was discussing something with his navigator when suddenly one of the officers shouted something.

"Sir, I'm spotting several ships ahead. One. Two. Five. Ten. Fifteen ships. They're flying Airyglyph's flag!"

"Damn," cursed Marcus, turning to an officer, "Radio the rear admiral. Inform him immediately."

Activating the ship's internal speakers, he said, "All hands, man your battle stations. This is not a drill."

Down in the radio room, a sailor nervously began transmitting the message.

Warning to Rear Admiral Lesonia. Enemy fleet detected. Fifteen ships located. Ships are heavy cruiser class and above.

---------------

Skies above Palmira-Airyglyph Front

Having flown in silence for some time now, the knights began nearing the coast of Gaitt, the dark seas roaring below.

Raising an arm, Arthur signaled for the riders to begin their movement south. Just then, a piercing shriek filled the skies. Out of nothing, a large bird of fire exploded into existence, lighting up the sky. Nearby, a medium-sized airship was illuminated as well, the fading emblem of Greeton on its sides. Visible on was a dark haired ma (http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h50/Mikey_Way_Lover_2006/Anime%20Guys/051104_fire-emblem_art-04.jpg)n, his lips moving quickly. Beside him were two other figures similarly dressed. Moments later, two more flaming birds burst into existence.

"Milady," shouted Arthur, mentally chanting the incantation for a powerful destruction spell, "They must be Summoners on patrol. Shall we engage?"

----------------

Palmira

Aaron and Amy marched in silence as did most of the company. As he took another step, Aaron noticed several shadows following them. Whispering to Amy, he made his way over to Beleg and Duras, his friend following.

"Beleg, we're being followed. I think it's about five to six people. Any ideas?"

While Aaron was notifying Beleg, the shadows that the Weaver was speaking about were wondering just how much longer they had to follow while exposed.

"Sir," whispered one shadow, "I don't like being this visible."

"Quiet," hissed the leader, "We need to contact those two. The grand marshal was firm on this point."

Nodding, the former went quite once more, focusing on following the company.

"Milady," shouted Arthur, mentally chanting the incantation for a powerful destruction spell, "They must be Summoners on patrol. Shall we engage?"

Skies above Palmira-Airyglyph Front

Damn it! Mina Aiko cursed mentally as the large fiery bird appeared followed by a pair of others and their accompanying summoners.

This was the danger of the mission, especially after she made her decision as to how to proceed. Their mission was of crucial importance in the grand scheme of things, and time was of the essence, but then so was secrecy and allowing the patrolling guards from Greeton to alert the rest of their force as to the Dragon Rider's presence and direction.

"Break off!" Mina called to the four riders closest to the airship. "Target the summoners and cover our backs!"

The order was a necessary one, but it could mean that the group was lost in battle as they covered the other riders' disappearance south.

Palmira

Aaron and Amy marched in silence as did most of the company. As he took another step, Aaron noticed several shadows following them. Whispering to Amy, he made his way over to Beleg and Duras, his friend following.

"Beleg, we're being followed. I think it's about five to six people. Any ideas?"

While Aaron was notifying Beleg, the shadows that the Weaver was speaking about were wondering just how much longer they had to follow while exposed.

"Sir," whispered one shadow, "I don't like being this visible."

"Quiet," hissed the leader, "We need to contact those two. The grand marshal was firm on this point."

Nodding, the former went quite once more, focusing on following the company.

Beleg stopped in his tracks. "I'm tired of people shadowing us. Why can't they just come out and state their intentions?"

The elven ranger passed the word down the line for every archer to knock an arrow and be ready to fire on his order. "Duras, muster a long range wind attack for me. Try and hold them still if you can. It will make it easier for the arrows to do the work."

Satisfied that his orders had been carried out, Beleg turned to face the followers. "HO! Who goes there?!"

Skies above Palmira-Airyglyph Front

As the four riders were about to engage their foes, Arthur flew ahead of them.

"Two of you go back and support our commander," he ordered, "The other two and I will take these pests down."

Nodding, two riders broke away and joined back up with the others.

Turning to his two companions, he said, "Aim for the summoners. Forget their beasts. If we can kill them first, then they'll just dissipate."

"Roger."

Letting out a battle cry, the three urged their mounts toward the airship and the three flaming birds. Dodging a barrage of flaming bolts, one rider closed in on the airship, readying his lance. Drawing it back, he was about to hurl it when he and his mount were suddenly riddled with metal slugs.

Watching them fall from the sky, Arthur cursed silently as guided Requiem into a barrel roll to avoid one of the birds. Finishing the mental incantation, he formed a sphere of water around his attacker, extinguishing its flames and life. To his satisfaction, he noticed one of the summoners crumple onto the deck.

Meanwhile, the remaining rider managed to slip underneath the flying vessel and proceeded with a devastating fire breath from his mount, the attack cutting into the vessel as well as setting off a small explosion. As black smoke began billowing out, the rider turned his mount back for another go only to be incinerated in turn by a torrent of flame from one of the two remaining summons.

"Damn," muttered Arthur, murmuring a silent prayer for the fallen, "This be a little for troublesome than I had hoped."

Just then, the ship exploded into a vibrant fireworks display before falling earthward, leaving a trail of metal wreckage. Seemingly unsurprised, Arthur let out a soft chuckle.

"You can show yourself," he said aloud.

There was soft popping sound and suddenly sitting behind him was a figure clothed in loose white uniform and hood.

"Oh, so you're from the Assassin Corps," murmured Arthur mildly amused.

Nodding, the man said, "Marshal Revenant, the grand marshal has asked for you to return as soon as possible to Arkives. He said for you to bring someone from Airyglyph for negotiations."

"Negotiations?" asked the marshal in surprise, "I wasn't sure if he'd actually consider siding with Airyglyph. No matter. I understand completely. You're dismissed."

Nodding once more, the man vanished in swirl of wind.

Turning his mount in the direction that his commander had went, Arthur whispered, "My, this is getting interesting."

Skies above Palmira-Airyglyph Front

Seeing little of the aerial battle after the initial few moments, Mina Aiko was surprised to soon see two of the Dragon Riders she had sent out return. Surely the battle is not finished already, she thought upon seeing them; her suspicions were confirmed a second later by a soft popping noise from the distance behind them.

Without bothering to interrogate her men, she knew what had happened: Arthur had taken up their spots in the attack force, leaving these two for the assault force. She cursed silently, slightly upset with his decision, but knew all that mattered now was the mission ahead of them. Hopefully, Arthur and the two riders with him would live and be able to catch up, but that was no longer something she would think about.

The mission lay ahead... south through the clouds on the high seas...

Palmira

Halting in midstep, the lead shadow paused as if unsure what to do. Whispering to the others behind him, he remained still as they vanished a moment later. Walking toward the group with both hands raised in the air, the figure revealed himself; a person of average height wearing a black hooded cloak.

"I mean no harm," began the figure, eying the number of arrows targeting him, the voice revealing itself to be male, "I apologize for having been so rude as to follow you, but I simply wish to deliver a message for those two."

Duras as well as a several other looked to where he was pointing.

"Us?" said Amy in surprise, turning to her partner in confusion.

"Yes. Just so you two know, the grand marshal expects you two soon."

Slowly bring one hand down, the figure reached into his cloak and withdrew a simple scroll. At a snail's pace, the man gently placed it on the floor. Bowing low, the man vanished. Now by vanished I do not mean vanishing in a puff of smoke or anything of that sort. To put it simply, one moment he was there. The next he was not.

Hurrying forward, Amy picked up the scroll and opened it, quickly scanning it's contents. Holding a hand to her to stifle a gasp, she hurried back to her friend who also gasped upon reading its contents.

Frowning, Duras looked over to Beleg as he dispersed the winds he had gathered, "Just what could be so amazing anyways."

"So what is it?" asked Duras as the pair neared them, "Something good I hope."

Clearing his throat, Aaron replied, "You could say that in a manner of speaking."

Turning to Beleg, he continued, "Sir...this scroll has instructed me to bring someone I consider worthy to Kaddan...for negotiations. Sir, what do you think?"

-----------
Skies above Palmira-Airyglyph Front

As he urged his mount forward, the lancer could not help but wonder what the grand marshal was thinking. Surely he wasn't seriously considering about bringing Kaddan out of its isolation.

"And yet...he couldn't have done this without the consensus of the others," he murmured.

As minutes passed, he strained his eyes in search of his commander. Eventually, he caught sight of the dark shapes in the sky. Guiding his mount toward them, he let mount give off a soft roar, catching the attention of the others.

Catching up, he called out to his commander, "I apologize for the delay, milady. The attackers have been dealt with, but I lost the other two riders. My apologies, milady."

Turning to Beleg, he continued, "Sir...this scroll has instructed me to bring someone I consider worthy to Kaddan...for negotiations. Sir, what do you think?"

Beleg had similar thoughts as Duras. The elven ranger was wondering what was so important to make two of his companions gasp at a scroll, not to mention who the cloaked figure was that all of a sudden disappeared.

"Kaddan...? Possibly one more ally? I suppose this is an acceptable deviance from our mission. Well if you trust a disappearing messenger then by all means select the one you want to take with you. You'll be heading out as soon as you are ready."

Airyglyph Fleet, Ocean of Apris

OC: Just so you know Weccan, this is taking place a little bit after twilight.

The ironclad ships were steaming toward the Greetic homeland and all was well until one of the officers aboard the forward most ship had sighted a single vessel in the failing light. As there were no Airyglyphian ships in the vicinity, it was safe to assume that it was a Greetic vessel. All throughout the fleet, alarms went off and orders were given. As sailors scrambled to combat positions, the forward guns were readied.

Aboard the flagship, Conquest, Admiral Renauld watched his men hurry about in preparation. Unlike the other vessels of the fleet, his ship was quite unique in that had no heavy guns what so ever. Yet in exchange, it was equipped with decks capable of launching the small airships that the military had classified as fighters. Though not as advanced as Greetic vessels, his ship was heavily armored and by far the largest in his fleet, carrying about 14 fighters.

Rising from his seat, he said, "Jack, have the pilots launch after the first salvo."

A moment later, the guns of the fleet lit up.

Palmira

Nodding, Aaron and Amy withdrew to consider their options. Walking side by side, the two began debating who would be the best choice.

"I believe the captain should go," stated Aaron bluntly.

"I'd say that too," agreed Amy hesitantly, "But he already is on a mission. I say we think of someone else."

Pausing for a moment, the Weaver finally said, "Then how about, Duras? He's experienced enough. Perhaps we should take him."

Mulling over the idea, the swordswoman replied, "Y-Yes, I suppose he's the next best choice."

Having come to an agreement, they made their way back to Beleg and Duras, informing them of their choice.

"Best if we leave after resupplying at the fort," added Amy as an afterthought.

Beleg looked at Duras when he heard Amy and Aaron's decision. To say the least, he was not pleased with losing his friend but he was also losing a valuable member of the team that Beleg had been molding since the onset of the war. It also meant that elemental attacks were left up Beleg which did not sit well with the elven ranger either.

He returned his attention to Amy and Aaron. "I see. Well then we should hurry back to the fort so that you can be on your way."

Now in a sour mood, Beleg turned to head back to the front of the column. Cloak billowing up behind him, "We'll talk before you leave, Duras."

Airyglyph Fleet, Ocean of Apris

OC: Just so you know Weccan, this is taking place a little bit after twilight.

The ironclad ships were steaming toward the Greetic homeland and all was well until one of the officers aboard the forward most ship had sighted a single vessel in the failing light. As there were no Airyglyphian ships in the vicinity, it was safe to assume that it was a Greetic vessel. All throughout the fleet, alarms went off and orders were given. As sailors scrambled to combat positions, the forward guns were readied.

Aboard the flagship, Conquest, Admiral Renauld watched his men hurry about in preparation. Unlike the other vessels of the fleet, his ship was quite unique in that had no heavy guns what so ever. Yet in exchange, it was equipped with decks capable of launching the small airships that the military had classified as fighters. Though not as advanced as Greetic vessels, his ship was heavily armored and by far the largest in his fleet, carrying about 14 fighters.

Rising from his seat, he said, "Jack, have the pilots launch after the first salvo."

A moment later, the guns of the fleet lit up.

And those guns served their purpose.

The guns that fired at Edweard's ship landed on the deck, causing a couple of explosions that destroyed the wooden flooring. One shot passed worryingly close to the bridge. However, the shots that hit the side, despite causing the boat to rock heavily, did much less damage than Edweard would expect. And as the guns of the enemy fleet were reloaded, he ordered his own guns to fire back.

Barbette and Turret alike turned to face the enemy. The clinking sounds of the shells being loaded into the breeches were heard briefly, and then the large thundering sound as the guns fired...

They reloaded and fired again, before an object floated off the boat. The crew members wondered what it was. But Edweard knew what they were. He had been warned about these before. But he knew what to do. If he could stop them from rising above the field of fire of his guns, he would be safe. But if they made it, he would have to rely on simple rifle fire.

A new order was issued to the crew - fire any spare guns at the fighters. Get them before they get into the air. Rifle fire began to be heard, and a thought sprung to Edweard's head.

"Pass me a rifle."

"Sorry sir?"

"I did some hunting at the academy. Any rifle, I want to contribute myself!"

"Er, very well sir..."

A rifle soon found itself in Edweard's hands. He lifted it to his shoulder, and gazed down the iron sights at one of the people launching the airships.

He rested the rifle on a railing, pulled the bolt back, and pulled the trigger.

The recoil surprised him. He was thrown back with it, and the rifle left his hands and flew back into the interior of the bridge. It seemed easy looking at the human crew of the boat, but he remembered that he was still a crafter. And Crafters just weren't as strong as humans.

As the guns thundered once more, he hoped to himself that his crew and reacted quickly enough to the rising threat.

Palmira

Moving unopposed, Beleg's company traveled swiftly, managing to reach Fort Retalin just as the moons reached their peak. As they approached, two horsemen rode out to greet them. Ushering them into the relative safety of the stone fortress, the two soldiers took their leave, though reminding Beleg to meet with the diplomats before he turned in for the night.

Meanwhile, Duras, Amy, and Aaron were hastily finishing preparations for their trip to Kaddan. Having finished packing his own supplies, he left the pair to search out his friend. Asking around, he eventually found him.

Walking up beside him, Duras asked, "You wanted to speak with me, Beleg?"

-------------------

Greetic-Airyglyphian Naval Skirmish

After the intial salvo of shells, the Airglyph sailors cheered as they saw several of their shots hit and hurried to reload. All was going well.

Then the Greetic battle cruisers responded.

Shells rained from the sky, slamming into the iron clad vessels. Many which were hit suffered breaches, though fortunately for them above the waterline. Aboard the Conquest, Admiral Renauld growled as he saw two heavy cruisers suddenly explode into massive columns of smoke and flame.

"Damn," he cursed, "Order the Gemini and Casper to move in front of their column and fire a broadside."

Just then, a shell splashed worrying close to the iron clad carrier.

"Sir, fighters are ready to launch."

"Launch!"

The initial wave of fighters consisted of five sleek airships. Apparently, the commander of the Greetic forces had been forewarned about these vessels and had decided to try and pin them down. Ducking and running, pilots attempted to reach their fighters. As the last of the first five was about to leap into the cockpit, a bullet whistled through the air and penetrated his skull before exiting out the otherside, the man's head exploding into a shower of bone, brain, and blood. The headless body tumbled limply off the fighter. Seeing this, another pilot attempted to get on, but too was picked off by a marine sniper. Deciding that they would have to launch with four, the admiral ordered the launch. As the four airships began rocketing skyward, the deafening roars of cannons filled the air. Moments later, two of the four launched exploded as shells managed to catch them during their vulnerable launch phase, the moment when the fighters had no maneuvering ability whatsoever. Even so, two managed to take flight and began strafing the battle cruisers with heavy gun fire. Gleaming on their underbellies were two bombs.

Aboard Edweard's flagship, the scene was one of surprise when one of the battle cruisers nearby suddenly exploded, smoke and fire shooting up into the air.

"Sir," warned one of the officers, "We just lost the Blade and two of their cruisers are attempting to cross our T."

-------------

Skies above Palmira-Airyglyph Front

As they continued toward their destination, Arthur began growing nervous. Though he had been lucky to secure possible talks with Kaddan for Airglyph, it was likely his two friends had been able to do the same. The obvious answer then was to get there before they did. The problem though was how. In all his time as one of the five marshals of the Lancers, he had never really done this sort of work, operating covertly and had been pleasantly surprised that no one had managed to discover his secrets yet. The problem now, though, was whether he needed to reveal who he was.

"After all, how else can I convince them to come," he murmured softly.

For another half hour they flew and for another half hour he debated silently with himself. Finally, he concluded he had to tell them. Their cause was a noble one and he felt Airyglyph deserved their aid. Having finally decided, he suddenly urged Requiem to speed up and fly in front of the squad. Rounding on them, he held out a hand.

"Stop," he called out loudly, hoping that they would.

Surprised by Arthur's action, the other riders barely managed to slow their mount down and prevent a collision with him.

"What's the meaning of this, Arthur?" questioned one rider, fingering his crossbow, "You're not one of those Alliance scum are you?"

Clearing his throat, the marshal replied, "No, I am not."

"And yet," he continued, "My allegiance isn't to Airyglyph. Wait!"

Upon his words, two riders had swiftly drawn their crossbows and fired, forcing Arthur and Requiem to dodge.

"Wait!" he yelled, turning to his captain, "I am Marshal Arthur Revenant of Kaddan. I come bearing a message from Kaddan."

Beleg was walking through the fort scratching his head. Meeting with diplomats was not on the list of desirable things to do and he had to remind himself to not be so blunt lest he find himself in trouble. Why they wanted to talk to a military men, he would never understand but that was the way of politicians.

He let Duras's question hang in the air for a moment before answering. "I'm not too excited about this trip to Kaddan. Something just seems amiss about it all. I don't like surprises when it comes to secret meetings like these. Make sure you're prepared for everything and don't try to be a hero. Just take care of yourself and get back here as soon as possible."

"Wait!" he yelled, turning to his captain, "I am Marshal Arthur Revenant of Kaddan. I come bearing a message from Kaddan."

Skies above Palmira-Airyglyph Front

A most precarious situation this had quickly become with Arthur revealing his true identity after rounding on the group of riders. As the other riders grabbed at their weapons, preparing to deal death to the spy, Mina thought quickly. He has taken a great risk revealing himself... she thought as she weighed her options.

Holding up her hand to cease her men from killing Arthur, she nonetheless bid them to keep their weapons at the ready. "Speak quick and true," she said coldly, for they had neither time for stalling nor falsities.

Fortress Retalin, Palmira Republic

Duras chuckled softly at Beleg's words.

"Since when have I played hero," he laughed before replying in a more serious tone, "Don't worry. I'll be sure to be on the look out for anything suspicious. If we're lucky, I'll be bringing home news that another nation is joining our side."

Sensing his friend's apprehension, he said, "Think about it Beleg. With Kaddan and Greeton's combined might, we will be more than capable of driving Airyglyph back and bring peace again."

As he was speaking, Duras heard Aaron and Amy arrive. Turning around, he greeted them and they did the same.

"So we're set then?" asked Duras.

Receiving a nod of affirmation, Duras began following toward the main gate.

Stopping for a moment, he looked back to Beleg and said, "Practice your wind spells while I'm away. I expect to at least hold your own against me when I get back. If you need help, I left a small manual on your bed. Take a look through it when you have time."

With that, the archer waved farewell and walked off with the Weaver and swordswoman.

Further inside the fortress, Ambassador Duggus had just received news of Beleg's arrival. Moving surprising quick for a man of his girth, the diplomat went out in search of the elf.

-------------------
Skies above Palmira-Airyglyph Front

Swallowing loudly, Arthur replied, "I will not deny that my purpose was one in line with spying."

Catching the glare of one rider, he hurriedly said, "To assess and report back to my superior was my sole mission. This was to help decide Kaddan's path. Simply put, Kaddan is trying to decide whether it should take sides. If so, then which side to take."

Nervously clutching the reins, Arthur looked for any negative reactions. Seeing none, he continued.

"I watched and noted everything that I have seen. In my eyes, Airyglyph is worthy of Kaddan's aid and the grand marshal has seen it fit to allow me to bring you to negotiate. While I realize that our mission is stop the Alliance diplomats from reaching Greeton, I believe that it is in Airyglyph's best interest for you to change course now and come with me to Kaddan."

"Oh really, what makes you say that?" asked one of the riders slowly, "Why should we trust you?"

Having expected this, Arthur answered, "You shouldn't trust me by all means. But think carefully now. Already, two of my fellow countrymen in Palmira have done as I have. It is likely that they have been offered the same chance that you just have been offered. So I say to you. Are you willing to risk losing Kaddan's aid and intercept these diplomats or will you come with me?"

Waiting patiently on his dragon, Arthur began mentally chanting a spell to escape if it proved necessary.

"Are you willing to risk losing Kaddan's aid and intercept these diplomats or will you come with me?"

Skies above Palmira-Airyglyph Front

Mina stood silently for a minute as all that could be heard was the flapping of giant dragon wings. When she spoke, it was quick and sharp, "I see no reason that I must make a decision. I will travel with you to enter into negotiations while my flight continues its mission..."

One of the men began to protest, but Mina silenced him by holding up her hand. "I am only one less rider, no matter what you may think, and we cannot risk giving up the chance of gaining Kaddan if what he says is true. None more senior than I is here, thus I must be the one to go..."

Calling up her second in command, she spoke softly to him as the other riders sat around with different expressions and thoughts. "Lead the men. Complete the mission and then get the hell out of there. If this is indeed a trap I will find my own way out. Report back to headquarters with your report and inform them of my doings... I shall see you again..." And in a loud voice, she issued her final order, "Now go! And be victorious!"

Waving farewell to his friend, Beleg watched them go until they were outside the gates.

Deciding that he had wasted enough time in avoiding the diplomat, Beleg decided to go off in search of the man. He passed many of his men going about their business inside the fort. The elven ranger said hello to them all, reminding them to be on the ready incase they are needed back at the front on a moments notice.

Skies above Palmira-Airyglyph Front

Nodding, the rider saluted his superior before breaking away from them. One by one, the other dragons followed the first until only Arthur and Mina remained.

As they turned toward Kaddan, Arthur said, "While I'm sure that we will arrive first, I expect that it will still take roughly a day or two even by air to reach Kaddan. Still, it's better than going by ground."

Urging his mount onward, the marshal prayed that Aaron and Amy weren't ahead of him yet.

---------------

Palmira Plains

The moons of Aztiluth lit up the tall grass as three figures were riding across the open plains, bent on some far off destination. Traveling in silence, the three did not speak until they had stopped to allow their horses to rest.

Stroking her mount gently, Amy said, "Duras, just so know, if you should encounter anyone from Airyglyph while in Kaddan, you can't start a fight with them."

Raising an eyebrow, the archer replied, "And why not? I'd be doing them a favor, ridding their lands of those Airglyphian bastards."

Sighing, Aaron replied, "While I would agree with you, Kaddan is still neutral. As it is, any act of violence done to a guest in Kaddan is considered an act against the state itself. Simply put, you attack then they'll attack."

Noticing Dura's scowl, Amy continued, "We just want you to promise not to do anything stupid. I'm sure Arthur probably is going to do the same with his representative."

"Fine. Fine," agreed Duras at last, still scowling, "But I won't like it. If that Airgylyphian scum so much as scratches me, I consider myself well within my rights to retaliate in kind."

OOC: I'll get up the rest of Mythrandir's part in the morning.

Fort Retalin, Palmira

Ambassador Duggus strode casually down the roads inside the massive fortress. Looking about him, he could easily see the frazzled nerves of the Palmiran soldiers, pushed to their limits. Yes, they must secure this alliance...otherwise all would be lost. Shuddering slightly, Duggus pushed these thoughts into a corner as he searched for the elusive elven captain. As he neared the main gate, he caught sight of Beleg. Calling out to him, Duggus moved as quickly as his rotund body would allow.

"Captain, I would like to have a word with you."

Upon catching up with him, the diplomat took a moment to catch his breath before continuing, "As you will be escort for my colleagues and me tomorrow, I should tell you this. Some of our spies inside Airyglyph have managed to glean something you might find worrying. According to them, Airyglyph already knows of our intended trip to Greeton's Base Aquan and are planning a surprise attack on us somewhere along the way. I've already alerted the Aquarians and they've promised to send reinforcements to meet us along the way."

-----------
Palmira-Kaddan Border

For two days, they had traveled as quickly as possible, hoping to beat the Palmirans and their allies to the border. Fortunately, they encountered nothing worth noting; the occasional bandit or thief. Now the, border between the two nations stretched before them. One could not actually distinguish the actual border had it not been the river that formed it and the occasional alabaster white spire that stretched toward the sky.

"There it is," said Arthur to Mina, "The Barrier."

Noting the Dragon Knight's confusion, he explained, "Though you cannot see it, a powerful barrier separates Kaddan from Palmira. Those tall spires there mark the location of barrier and serve as foci for it."

As they neared the border, Arthur began chanting a spell softly. A moment later, a small pinprick of light appeared in midair roughly where the barrier should have been. Slowly, the light expanded until it formed a hole large enough for them to enter. After flying through, they continued soaring over the land below until they began nearing a large imposing white fortress with what seemed to be a large town attached to it.

Turning to Mina, he said, "We need to land here for a moment. I need to send a message to Arkives, our capital, to receive permission to enter."

As they neared, the features of the fortress became clearer and clearer. The fortress consisted of five large white towers and one even larger one that seemed to reach toward the heavens. On top one tower, there were two armored figures clothed in black robes. Waving to one, Arthur was signaled to guide his mount to their tower and land.

Upon landing, Arthur turned to Mina and said, "Milady, normally you would be confined here until I return, but I see no reason for you to be as you are here on a diplomatic mission. Please feel free to explore the town nearby. I'll send a messenger to find you when we can go."

Bowing, Arthur took his leave and withdrew into the fortress.

(Just so you know DMG, you can probably explore the town and acquire some stronger gear or something if you want.)

Palmira-Kaddan Border

"Quite impressive..." Mina said in surprise and awe as they entered through the Barrier and saw spires and castle-town. She had never seen anything like it. Even in the greatness of Airyglyph, there was still no great force field that protected the borders, though in all honesty it probably was not necessary being the aggressors.

They landed and Arthur bid his temporary farewell to communicate with his superiors, so Mina took him up on his idea to explore the town. Leaping from her mount, which she asked to remain where he was, her half-skirt (piece of cloth only in the back) brushed the ground as she strode into town.

For a few minutes she wandered aimlessly, ignoring how the people stared at her - probably for her appearance, her unfamiliarity, and her garb. She passed homes, stores, and inns, before she finally stopped in front of an arms shop. Stepping inside, she looked around at the walls and shelves of weapons that graced the store. They were of high quality, she decided, as she looked at a set of small blades that she could have used. Unfortunately, she had naught to pay with...

Aboard Edweard's flagship, the scene was one of surprise and gladness when one of the battle cruisers nearby suddenly exploded, smoke and fire shooting up into the air.

"Sir," warned one of the officers, "We just lost the Blade and two of their cruisers are attempting to cross our T."

The sinking of the enemy ship was a sight to behold. Plumes of fire and smoke rised into the air. But this was quickly overtaken by the fact that two enemy ships were moving to avenge its destruction. The guns of his ships still fired, but as the rumble of two broadsides were heard, the flagship of Edweard shook violently. One of the other ships took a beating, taking hits above and below the waterline, the worst of which hit the bridge...

Then, enemy fighters came to continue the onslaught. Two began to strafe Edweard's ship, the wooden decking receiving puncture after puncture, and some men losing their lives to the red mist that emerged from their bodies. But the worst was yet to come.

On of the airships let loose one of its bombs onto the deck. The bomb tumbled through the main deck, landed without exploding onto a staircase, and began to roll down it as men ran to close the doors that the compartment from the rest of the ship...

In the bridge, the intrusive rumbling forced a cup off its perch, causing it to smash onto the floor leaving a brown puddle of tea. One of the compartments had been lost.

But after the smoke cleared, one of the Greetic cruisers finally moved into position, and fired a broadside back at the enemy as the fighters landed a bomb on another cruiser, causing an explosion twice as big, as a gun and it's ammunition detonated simultaneously, nearly taking the same boat that had lost its bridge to the bottom of the sea.

Edweard bit his tongue. He knew this if one of the main magazines were hit, that would be it for the boat. That cruiser had practically been put out of commission. He had all spare rifles, and even some of those new machines guns trained on the airships. Hopefully those flyboys would score no more hits today...

Fort Retalin, Palmira

Ambassador Duggus strode casually down the roads inside the massive fortress. Looking about him, he could easily see the frazzled nerves of the Palmiran soldiers, pushed to their limits. Yes, they must secure this alliance...otherwise all would be lost. Shuddering slightly, Duggus pushed these thoughts into a corner as he searched for the elusive elven captain. As he neared the main gate, he caught sight of Beleg. Calling out to him, Duggus moved as quickly as his rotund body would allow.

"Captain, I would like to have a word with you."

Upon catching up with him, the diplomat took a moment to catch his breath before continuing, "As you will be escort for my colleagues and me tomorrow, I should tell you this. Some of our spies inside Airyglyph have managed to glean something you might find worrying. According to them, Airyglyph already knows of our intended trip to Greeton's Base Aquan and are planning a surprise attack on us somewhere along the way. I've already alerted the Aquarians and they've promised to send reinforcements to meet us along the way."

When Beleg saw the ambassador waving and shouting at him, he sighed a resigned himself that he would be playing diplomat and escort for the time being. He listened to Duggus's tale, not liking what he was hearing in the least.

"Well ambassador, it seems you are the bearer of bad tidings. If Airyglyph sends its dragon riders out after us, there isn't much we can do to hold off a full brigade let alone any company larger. I will have to go over the maps again and try to find an alternate route that will hopefully afford us better protection against any of their riders.

Any other type of soldiers and you will be quite safe with us. My men are very well trained and they perform their jobs exceptionally well."

Where was that book Duras left again...

Snapping out of his own private contemplations, "I will need to know where the Aquarians tend to meet us but rest assured, we will get you to our location safely. Was there anything else ambassador?"

Aboard the Battle Cruiser Independence Greetic-Airyglyphian Naval Skirmish

The scene was one of total chaos; the bridge was completely nearly demolished, both the captain and first mate were dead, and the ship itself had suffered many crippling blows. Struggling to reach the helm, the last remaining officer managed to lock the ship's course, aiming it directly at Airgylyph's carrier. Forcing himself to his feet, he calmly turned on the ship's intercom.

"All hands, this is Lieutenant Ashton. The captain and all other officers are dead. I have set the ship's course for the enemy carrier at ramming speed. All hands are to abandon ship. I repeat, abandon ship."

Satisfied at having completed his task, the officer slumped over dead.

Greetic-Airyglyphian Naval Skirmish

As the Greetic battle cruisers and Airyglyphian vessels exchanged fire, one Greetic ship broke formation, steaming forward at surprising speed for a ship so damaged. As it pushed forward, people could be seen lowering themselves into the water aboard life rafts.

While the Independence steamed ahead, the two fighters that had managed to take flight were doing everything they could to take down the flagship, firing round after round. A moment later, one more fighter managed to take flight; its four companions destroyed before gaining their maneuvering capabilities. Joining with the other two in a tight formation, the fighter dove toward the flagship just as the Greetic vessels opened fire with their machine guns. Hundreds of metal armor piercing slugs filled the air, catching two of the fighters by surprise, riddling them with holes and killing the pilots. As the surviving pilot attempted to pull away, the metal wrecks slammed into his own airship before vanishing in an explosion.

Aboard the Conquest, the Airglyphian admiral scowled as he saw his fighters destroyed and two more cruisers succumb to the more heavily armed Greetic battle cruisers.

"Have all ships move in front to form a shield. We need to launch more fighter. I repeat-"

He was interrupted as a shell slammed into his ship. Though the deck armor had managed to hold, the shell had made a lucky strike, severely damaging three of the five airship catapults aboard the ship. Yet even as the crew hurried to assess the damage and ready the remaining catapults, the remaining vessels hurried to move in front, firing as many broad sides as they could, though a number of them had suffered severe damage to the superstructure as well as to several of their heavy guns.

--------------

Fort Retalin, Palmira

Ambassador Duggus gave a sigh of relief upon hearing Beleg's reassurance.

"Of course, captain," he said before continuing, "Ah yes, the Aquarians will be sending a number of their runologists and have promised to dispatch some summoners to help support us."

Rummaging in a bag he was carrying, he hurriedly handed it to Beleg.

"They say they will meet us around the point where Aquaria, Suferio, and Durna's borders meet," said the diplomat, "I think that is all there is for me to say other than that we should be leaving at dawn I think."

Bidding the elf good night, the diplomat scurried away.

------------

Fortress-City of Talin, Kaddan

Arthur had just sent notice to Arkives before heading off to find the armory. As he was walking, he greeted several subordinates, exchanging a few pleasantries before resuming his trek. Turning the corner, the marshal stopped in midstep.

"Oh dear," he murmured, "I forgot to give her some gold to spend."

Pacing for a few minutes, he finally decided on a solution. Moments later, a short Menodix page was seen hurrying out of the fortress as fast as his little legs could carry him, having be told to "find a woman dressed in outlandish clothing and to give her this bag of gold."

After searching much of the town with little luck, the poor little Menodix stopped outside one of better known arms shops in Talin, entranced by one of the window displays. Deciding to take a better look inside, the little humanoid opened the door and took one step in before halting, his bushy tail twitching in surprise. There inside, looking at one display, was a lady wearing close that this little one had never imagined anyone wearing. Deciding this person was probably the one the marshal spoke of, he quickly hurried over to her, tapping her lightly.

Clearing his throat, he said in a childlike voice, "Miss, Marshal Revenant told me to give you this as you most likely don't have any Kaddanese currency. He says that he hopes you might find something useful here."

Beleg took the map and bid the ambassador goodnight. The elven captain made his way through the fort and back to his barracks to get some sleep. Soldiers passing him by said their goodnights and hellos, trying to make small talk but the elf was too tired to stick around. He politily ended the conversations and headed into his own small room.

There on the bed lay the book Duras left for him. Deciding that it would be a good idea to look over a few spells before nodding off, Beleg flipped through the pages. He fell asleep with the book laying across his chest.

The next morning, bright and early, Beleg had all his men out ready for the long march ahead. Each one of them was lined in their travelling gear and most carrying a sword and bow.

"Mornin' men. I hope you all ate breakfast because we have a march ahead of us. Our information points at Airyglyph sending a force to ambush us along the way. Our only concern will be the dragon riders that seem to always accompany their forces. We will be travelling along a path that is off the main road and will hopefully give us more protection against the dragon riders. Stay alert and we'll get through this alive. Scouts up front." Four men travelling lightly stepped out from the group.

"Get going, we won't be far behind you."

The four men headed off scouting out the area before the main company left. Only thing left was to wait for the ambassador to escort him.

Fortress-City of Talin, Kaddan

"Miss, Marshal Revenant told me to give you this as you most likely don't have any Kaddanese currency. He says that he hopes you might find something useful here."

"Oh, has he?" Mina said as she spun around in surprise from both the squat page and his message. "Well that is very kind of him... and a bit unexpected," she added before taking the bag of gold and dismissing the page with her thanks.

"That clears up a lot..." Her eyes returned to the pair of elegantly made thin-daggers, capable of fitting behind her greaves. Now that she had some of the local currency, she attempted to make a purchase. However, not knowing how the currency was issued here, as in its worth and appearance, she placed the daggers on the counter and asked how much before pouring out a portion of the bag.

The man behind the counter smiled pleasantly and took the gold she had poured out. It gave her some pause, making her think that she had probably overpaid if he was so willing to take what she had poured out. But then the people here did not seem mean-spirited, and, more importantly, it wasn't really her money. She was spending the proverbial "bank's money."

With her new daggers in tow, or rather laid upon against her shins, she exited the shop and began wandering the streets. As a career military officer, Mina wasn't one to take in the culture of another place, but she had always appreciated good cooking and hoped she could find some if a messenger did not arrive for her...

Updated Map: http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j225/Seidou/AztiluthMap9-6-07.jpg?t=1189146451

Fort Retalin, Palmira

Ambassador Duggus checked his travel bag once more, making sure that he had secured those crucial documents. Leaving his room, he made his way to the gate. Seeing Beleg and the company waiting for him, he hurried over to them.

"Ah, sorry for my tardiness," he apologized, "Had to make sure I had the proper documents. Well then, shall we go?"

------------

Palmira-Durna-Suferio Border

"Rise and defend- Ahh!" screamed a runologist as a large sword bit into his body and cut him in half.

All around, Aquarian runologists were combating Black Brigade Heavy Blades. Though they had the advantage with their magic, they were slowly but surely crumbling under the relentless assault. If they could hold out a bit longer, the summoners would arrive-

"God of Flames, I call upon thee. Send forth they emissary!" shouted several voices in unison.

"The summoners are here!" shouted joyous mages, relieved that help had arrived.

Within moments, ten large flaming birds burst into existence. Their cries echoed throughout the skies as they plunged toward the Airyglyph soldiers, raking them with their claws and incinerating them with their fiery attacks. Suddenly one bird exploded into a shower of sparks. A distance away, one summoner crumpled to the ground, a crossbow bolt in his chest.

"Dragon Brigade, forward!"

--------------

Fortress-City of Talin, Kaddan

Arthur exited the armory with a satisfied smirk. The smiths had reported that his personal armor was indeed on its way and would be ready for him in a few hours. Returning to the messenger room, he inquired whether authorization had been granted yet, but the few operators there shook their heads apologetically. There still hadn't been an answer yet. Shaking his head in resignation, the marshal took his leave and decided to check up on his Airglyphian guest.

Walking through the streets in a loose white tunic and brown pants, Arthur said hello to several local merchants that knew him. Meanwhile, curious children had congregated around this new oddity standing in their city. One brave little girl stepped forward and prodded the Airgylyph senior captain gently.

"Lady," she began politely, "Why are you wearing such wierd things?"

---------------

Capital Airyglyph City, Airyglyph

King Airyglyph XIII yawned widely as he closed his chamber door. After sitting through yet another meeting, the middle aged king had withdrawn to his own quarters for rest. Walking over to his bed, he was about to slip in when he noticed a window open.

"That wasn't open earlier..." he thought to himself, slowly backing toward the door.

Clearly someone had been in chambers and might still possibly be in here. As he passed a cabinet, the king was forced to hurl himself to the side as a glittering blade smashed through the wooden cabinet. Drawing his sword, Airyglyph XIII turned to confront his attacker...

"Good morning ambassador. Scouts have already been sent out ahead and we are ready to leave now. I've mapped out the rendezvous point so hopefully there are now surprises."

Beleg turned to his company. "Alright men, let's move out."

With the word, the elven captain's company began disembarking from the fort on their march. They had received the information about a possible ambush and Beleg had planned to the best of his abilities to make finding his company a difficult task. All that was really left was to make good time on their travel and to complete their mission as quickly as possible.

"Lady," she began politely, "Why are you wearing such wierd things?"

Mina might've been a warrior, but she was still human and had a kind heart when it came to children, especially ones as polite as these. "Well..." she began as she tried to think of the least combative answer possible. "I find them less constricting than a plate of armor... easier to move around in for me." It was true, the style of armor she where - namely minimal - complimented her impressive agility and abilities, allowing her to be all more the deadly. Though this was not something she wished to express to innocent children.

OOC: Still waiting for wec's response.

Beleg's Company, Durna-Suferio Border

OOC: Hope you don't mind me skipping a few days. Nothing would've happened during it. Oh btw, I made a mistake on the map. I mislabeled the border between Durna and Suferio as the rendezvous point. It was actually supposed to be the Palmira-Durna-Suferio border.

For several days, the company had traveled as quickly as they could move. Surprisingly, they encountered no problems while traveling. Bandits it seemed had chosen to flee from the heavily armed group. Even so, something was terribly wrong. They had arrived at the arranged rendezvous point, but had discovered the site littered with the bodies of dragons and men, both of Airyglyph and Aquaria. Departing with great haste, the group made for the Greetic naval base. But as they neared the border between Durna and Suferio, the forward scouts returned to Beleg, out of breath and nervous.

"S-Sir," gasped one, "We spotted two flights of dragons ahead. They're flying right at us!"

The ambassador made a strangled sound as his eyes bulged like those of a goldfish.

"D-D-Dragons, you say," said the diplomat, clearly flustered, "What do we do then captain? What-"

The rest of his words were drowned out as a loud roar echoed loudly across the open plains. Flying above them were two flights of thirty dragons with their riders. Yet they didn't bear the markings of Airyglyph, instead, they wore the banners and emblems of the fallen nation of Barr.

Circling high above them, one rider called out to Beleg, "Get out of here quickly! Three to five flights of Dragon Brigade at full strength our on their way. 'Hell's Gift' Kuzma is leading them too. Your Aquarian escorts were wiped out by them earlier."

Noticing some surprised looks, he continued, "My men here were supposed to meet up with you as well, but we came upon the scene too late. They managed to take out a flight or two with them, but still..... Hurry, while there's still time. My men and I will try and hold them back."

------------------

Fortress-City of Talin, Kaddan

The little girl seemed to pause for a moment as if processing her words. Then with amazing speed, girl grabbed Mina's hand and tried to pull her in one direction. Encountering some resistance, she turned round and looked at the captain with big, watery, puppy dog eyes.

"Come on, I want you to meet my big brother!" she said, adding a little sniffle, "I think he'll like you lots!"

Several streets away, Arthur let out a small sneeze.

"Geez," he muttered, "I hope Fi isn't talking about me again. Last time..."

His voice trailed off as he shuddered at the traumatic memory.

"Come on, I want you to meet my big brother!" she said, adding a little sniffle, "I think he'll like you lots!"

Fortress-City of Talin, Kaddan

"Oh?" Mina said as she decided to go with the young girl after her initial resistance. "And who might your brother be?" She wondered. Maybe she noticed that she was a warrior and thought her brother, aggressive by nature, would like her.

She wouldn't normally have just followed a kid, but she had little else to do while she waited and knew little of the area.

(I don't mind at all. Speeds things up a little)

Beleg began reaching back for an arrow to knock into his bow string. They had managed to maintain some cover throughout their trek avoiding dragon brigades. Unfortunatly the rendezvous point was out in the open. Even with the advance warning, Beleg knew that he would lose a good portion, if not all of his men, if the dragons decided to attack.

Thankfully they weren't attacking, they were warning. The elven captain shared much of the same confusion as his men did until he noticed the markings on their banners. Revelation flooded over the elf as he lowered his weapon and bade the rest of his men to do likewise.

Beleg waved his thanks. "I wish you had a spare mount. I'd lend you a hand in the battle."

He turned to the rest of his company. "Alright everyone, double time it. We need to get as far away as possible before those Airyglyph bastards get here."

The enemy was relentless. He could see it. It had been many years since battle was done with wood, and this was certainly harder. However, it was not impossible. Just as armour has advanced, so did cannon, and other weapons...

(OOC: I'm going to jump the gun a bit here.)

He ordered for one of the newer weapons to be fired. The machine guns were impressive, yes, but if there was thing that really interested him, it was these.

It was a sort of metal fish, with a very long body, and a explosive personality...

It landed in the water, and began its deadly swim toward the enemy, as two of the enemy burst into flames.

But the independence caught Edweard's eye. It was acting erratically, heading full steam toward the enemy...

A explanation of a message sent of one of the ship's lieutenants enlightened Edweard as to its job. It was to ram the enemy carrier...

Have two ships attempt to flank the enemy, and the rest try and keep a gap open for the Independence. I wan...

His speech was interrupted as an enemy airship, heading on its dive toward the sea, passed inches away from the bridge, its trail of smoke and flame leaving a prevailing feature to complement the already smoky air...

"Excuse me. I want the carrier rammed. If we get that, then we can overrun these Airy's easy."

"Sir, the airship, it's..."

As the remaining bomb glinted, the downed airship crashed into a turret on a nearby ship. Three guns were wiped out, just like that, and a huge plume iof smoke added to the already vile air of the battle...

Fortress-City of Talin, Kaddan

Merrily skipping along with the strange lady she had met, Fiona was more than happy with how her day had been so far. School let out early, her beloved older brother was supposed to be back today, and now she had met an interesting person. As they rounded a corner, the sound of bells echoing filled the entire city. Eyes widening slightly, she quickly knelt down.

Sensing that her companion hadn't done the same, Fi glanced behind her and said simply, "It's time for the day prayer."

Closing her eyes, she began murmuring a prayer.

---

Arthur too had heard the bells and begun his prayers as well. Finishing in a few minutes, he rose to his feet. As he continued walking, he wondered briefly if Airyglyph or any of the other nations outside Kaddan had anything similar.

---

Arkives, Kaddan

Grand Marshal Silves rose from the ground as the last vestiges of the prayer bells died. Returning to his desk, he briefly scanned the contents of a letter delivered to him just moments earlier. Grinning slightly, the grand marshal quickly signed it before handing it to a messenger outside.

"So Airyglyph got here first?" he asked aloud, "I suppose it is best if we at least them in for the moment."

------------

Durna-Suferio Border

Chuckling appreciatively at Beleg's words, the leader of the dragon riders watched as Beleg and his men swiftly hurried southward. With any luck, they would meet up with additional reinforcements or at least make it to the safety of Aquarian territory.

"Sir," warned one of his men, "Dragon's approaching from the northwest. Shall we move to engage?"

Grimacing slightly, he pulled his visor down before turning to his men and shouting, "Forward men! Today we avenge our fallen nation. For Barr!"

"For Barr!"

With one last cheer, the riders urged their mounts forward, hurtling toward their approaching foes. Each knew that they were about to die, but perhaps they might be able to buy enough time for Beleg.

---

A great distance away from where they had met those allied dragon riders, Beleg's men still hurried forward, desperate to gain as much distance as possible. Ambassador Duggus, despite his large girth, was surprising able to keep pace with them.

Hurrying beside Beleg, he asked, "Captain, what are we doing now? What-"

The rest of his words were drowned out as the roars of dragons echoed eerily throughout the flat plains. Glancing back from whence they had fled, many of the men shuddered. At best, they could make it to Aquarian territory in a day or two.

Fortress-City of Talin, Kaddan

"Huh?" Mina responded in surprise. Bells were not uncommon, but kneeling down on the ground - right in the dirt and filth - and praying... that was just unheard of.

Noticing that Fiona had closed her eyes and begun to pray, Mina took a seat next to her, though not on her knees, and waited for the practice, unusual as it was, to be finished. Hopefully, it wasn't taboo if an outsider didn't adhere to their clerical following.

Fortress-City of Talin, Kaddan

As the last bell fell silent once more, Fiona rose from her knees and patted the small amount of dirt and dust that had gathered on her dress. Turning round she smiled brightly at Mina.

"I'm guessing you don't have daily prayers where you come from, right?" asked the little girl as they began walking again.

Nearing a street corner, Fi indicated that they should turn right, heading toward the large fortress connected to the town.

Yet as they rounded the corner, she suddenly stopped before breaking into a mad dash screaming, "BROTHER!!!"

---

Arthur had just said hello to one of the shop keepers when a loud shrill cry drew his attention away from the shop to the end of the street. As he turned to luck, he was suddenly slammed into the ground by what seemed to be a thousand pound bull. Wincing slightly, he glanced at the tiny figure that had tackled him. Smiling cutely was his little sister, Fiona Revenant.

"Of all the accursed-"

He stopped in mid sentence when he caught sight of Mina.

"Damn," he thought to himself.

In a desperate attempt to salvage what little dignity he had left, he smiled at the dragon knight and waved.

"Ah, good to see you, senior captain. I see you've met the little demon here."

-----------

Greetic-Airyglyphian Naval Skirmish

All surviving Airyglyphian vessels were firing everything they had at the Independence as it steamed toward their flagship, somehow unaffected by their firepower. Yet in reality, the ship was still afloat because several Crafters had remained on board and were pushing their bodies to limit as they use their runological skill to repair the damages. Though most should have died already, they were still working on the sole desire to ram the carrier.

As it traveled forward, one Airgylyphian cruiser suddenly seemed to split in half as the prototype torpedo detonated near an ammo storage room. Moments later, two more were sunk under the whithering firepower of the battle cruisers that had managed to flank the enemy fleet. Slowly but surely, a path was cleared for the mortally wounded ship.

Aboard the Conquest, men were desperately trying to launch more airships, but explosions and sniper fire were thwarting them at every turn. Even as they desperately tried again, they watched horrified as the Independence began closing with them. At the last minute, the order to abandon ship was given. But sadly, that order came too late as the battle cruiser slammed into the carrier. At the moment, the surviving members of the Independence detonated all their explosives while the Crafters unleashed their strongest spells. A second later, the area was filled with a blinding light and a deafening roar drowned out all other sounds. As the light faded, only the burning wrecks of the Airyglyphian fleet remained. No ships had managed to escape.

Watching in shock from the deck of Edweard's flagship, an officer caught a scrap of cloth that had fluttered down from the sky. Examining it, he discovered it to be the remnant of Greeton's flag that the Independence had flown as it rammed and self destructed.

"Sir," said the officer, handing the scrap of the flag to his superior, "The Independence has completed its task. Orders?"

Fortress-City of Talin, Kaddan

Despite her usually military influenced demeanor, Mina couldn't help but giggle a little - though she almost felt bad at having uplifted spirits when a war raged and her men were sent off to die. At the moment, however, she seemed a world away.

"Yes, the little angel was just informing me about your daily prayers..." Mina replied to Arthur as he lay on his back. "She seems quite fond of you." The Captain smiled at the sight, her icy heart thawing ever so slightly.

A great distance away from where they had met those allied dragon riders, Beleg's men still hurried forward, desperate to gain as much distance as possible. Ambassador Duggus, despite his large girth, was surprising able to keep pace with them.

Hurrying beside Beleg, he asked, "Captain, what are we doing now? What-"

The rest of his words were drowned out as the roars of dragons echoed eerily throughout the flat plains. Glancing back from whence they had fled, many of the men shuddered. At best, they could make it to Aquarian territory in a day or two.

"Well if that roar didn't answer your question, we are getting the hell out of here. We'll break for any cover we can find and try to stay hidden from the sky. Aquarian territory is a good distance from here. I want to get as far from this battlefield as soon as possible."

Beleg urged on his comrades with shouts and slaps getting them to move faster out of the open plains where they would surely all die.

Fortress-City of Talin, Kaddan

Arthur's smile wavered momentarily.

"Eh...yes," he replied, flushing just a tinge, "She's my younger sister, Fi. Fiona Revenant is her full name."

Puffing her cheeks, Fi grabbed hold of the marshal's cheeks and began stretching it, making rather...unusual expressions with it. Struggling to smite the little girl, Arthur contented himself with simply hoisting her over his shoulder.

Rising to his feet, he glanced briefly at the sun's position before saying, "I apologize for not offering you refreshments yet. I had expected a reply from my superior sooner. Perhaps we can find a place to eat-"

"Marshal Revenant!" shouted a voice.

Turning on the spot, Arthur saw a simple gray robed figure running toward them, a piece of parchment in his hand. Waiting for the man to reach them, he took the parchment and scanned its contents before dismissing the messenger.

"Ah...it seems that we won't be able to eat just yet," he said apologetically, "Grand Marshal Silves has just approved our entry to Arkives."

"A-Ah I promise I'll treat you to one of our finest establishments afterwards!" he added, appearing as if he feared Mina was going to call her dragon to incinerate him on the spot.

-------------

Near Aquarian Border

The company had seemingly escaped the trap laid out for them for a day now, having nearly reached the Aquarian border. Within a hour or two, they would be safely into Aquarian territory.

Huffing slightly, Ambassador Duggus wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief. Glancing around him, he noticed the hard and focused looks that many of the men were wearing as they traveled. It was easy to see how the war had changed these people. Sighing softly to himself, he turned his gaze back forward.

Lionel hurried up to his elven captain. He and the rear scouts had spotted what appeared to be their pursuers, apparently following their tracks. Spotting his superior, he ran up to him.

"Sir," he said breathlessly, "D-Dragon Brigade behind us! They must have broken past or something. The other scouts and I counted at least twenty riders along with possible Storm Brigade cavalry units."

Glancing behind them nervously, he continued, "Should we stay and fight or should we make a last ditch run for the border. The forward scouts say that there's a border fortress about two to three miles ahead of us."

"Damn." Even Beleg was growing tired from the constant running that he and his men were putting up with. Despite the effort, they were running out of options. With only a couple of miles to the Aquarian border, Beleg decided to have his men run on. He could only hope that there would be reinforcements to push the dragons back.

"No I can't take that chance..."

Beleg grabbed Lionel by his shirt and pushed him forward. "Lead them on! Keep running for the border and don't turn back."

Stopping in the middle of his company, Beleg let them all run past him so he alone could hold off the charging dragons. The elven captain took a knee and began to chant summoning a vortex of wind to use against the flying beasts.

Fortress-City of Talin, Kaddan

Mina smiled widely and replied in calm manner, "That would be quite nice. But of course our countries business must come before our own pleasures."

"Please lead the way..."

[ooc: Sorry, obviously a terrible and short post, but I had nothing to say, I'm tired, and I'm going out of town for a couple days.]

will this resume anytime?