NationStates Jolt Archive

Captain Aros of the Mirktree Army ran through the city as fast as he could. He hurled himself into the barracks ad ran up to his commanding officer.

"sir," he said, "our intelligence saya we have a problem..."

ooc: I'm probably bringing back my characters from the deceased "Journey into Neo Dracule" thread, because i like them and don't feel like squandring them in a dead thread.

Sayf El-Sayed surveyed his small army carefully from a small ridge overlooking the valley where the aged general had camped his forces. It was really more of an expedition force than anything, with hardly over five thousand men. Still, the ingenuity and mobility of Ravean armies, even small ones, had outsmarted and defeated even huge armies plenty of times in the past. Gazing at the numerous white-and-tan tents spread out over the valley, Sayf felt confident that he could achieve whatever goals were set for him.

Move east, and wipe out all resistance. Take as much territory as you can before you need resupplies and reinforcements. Bring as much glory to the Watchguard as possible. Sayf's orders were quite clear. He had already subdued a trio of smaller, weak kingdoms without much difficulty, but now he was coming to the edges of Mirktree, a nation with real armies that presented a real challenge.

General El-Sayed had organized his force meticulously. Many of his troops were mercenaries, most of whom were infantry, with a scattering of archers. These men came in all shapes and sizes, from the low-life brigand to the honorable soldier-of-fortune; Sayf has learned that as long as you kept a mercenary well-fed and well-paid, they could be just as effective as any other home-grown soldier. Three thousand of his men fit this catagory, making an interesting arrangement of characters, including a few dozen Greywatch assassins. Sayf didn't know much about those particular killers, but was curious to see if they could hold a bead on the dozen Authority assassins he had at his own disposal.

The rest of the army was made of classic Ravean soldiery, which was well known for its outstanding cavalry, heavy archers, and brave, if not reckless lowlander infantry. The cavalry was split into three parts; the classic lance-and-scythe heavy cavalry, of which there was about four hundred, and light crossbow cavalry, who acted both as scouts and an effective "picking" force. These men also numbered about four hundred. The third group was unique, griffin cavalry, men who rode huge winged lions into combat wielding spears and swords. These numbered exactly two hundred.

The archers were armed with the arbalest, a heavy crossbow that fired deadly steel bolts that could pierce nearly any heavy armor. Ravean crossbowmen had the habit of donning full plate and wielding large war hammers, effectively doubling as powerful heavy infantry when their ammunition ran dry. There were around seven hundred in the army.

The Lowlanders were flamboyant, brightly-dressed soldiers, similar to the German Landsknecht fighters of the past. Carrying massive Zweihänder war swords, these men would charge into battle recklessly, swinging their gigantic weapons and usually overwhelming even hardened enemies with their extreme fervor and powerful attacks. The five hundred Lowlanders present put the army at just over five thousand men.

Lastly, however, were the specialists of the army. Fifty of the best mages from the Ravean Academy formed a powerful magical force that few enemies could combat. These men, long schooled in magical thought, could summon elemental beasts, spirits, and golems, blast enemies with fireballs and bolts of lightning, form powerful illusions, and even change their shape, making their service an invaluable boon to any general. Wearing light armor and carrying a variety of scepters, staffs, and swords, the mages rarely fought in direct combat.

Several siege engines had been prepared along with the army in case the enemy forced themselves into fortifications. A half-dozed trebuchet, a dozen smaller catapults, and fifteen bastilla had been cleverly packed upon ox-pulled carts, ready to be unveiled and deal heavy damage to any wall or mass of infinity that opposed them.

A younger man, a Major of the army, rushed up to the general, panting.

"We spotted some scouts in the wilderness. They definitely know we are coming, sir."

Damn. There goes the element of surprise. Perhaps I should have stopped for so long... Sayf El-Sayed nodded, looking the young Major in the eye. "Get the rest of the officers together. We're moving out in an hour; put everyone on high alert." The Major nodded, rushing off. "Glory to the empire," Sayf muttered, taking one last look at his collective army as he headed down the ridge.

The Twilarai were good at staying out of sight and, more often than naught, would not mingle with the others but stay in the shadows, quite literally. They were a collection of classes from different clans, each had their own unique abilities. For this mission, they had sent a gifted student into the fray to watch over the others. Ghost was his name, ice and shadow was is game and, by all means, he could control them very well. His white hair blew in the breeze and his knives were ready for combat. He came from the shadows and dropped down from atop the hish branch of a tree right next to Sayf El-Sayed, "My scouts say they've begun preperations..." he said quietly in a very serious tone, "Are they correct? Have we already lost our cover?" He faced the man, other than his typical black armor, Ghost was wearing a blindfold to cover his eyes. But by no means was this a disadvantage for him. The others were waiting for his signal.

Sayf shivered as the Twilarai assassin dropped down behind him. His bodyguards jumped for their weapons before realizing the man was an ally, not an enemy. I'm glad they are on our side...damn, these guys remind me of the Authority too much.

"I'm afraid so. We've seen much movement in the woods, and can only assume they've noticed us. It was inevitable with a force this size. We can't all be invisible like you." He chuckled as he watched his army prepare for the march ahead.

"Come, friend. I'd like for you and your fellows to scout out the areas ahead more thoroughly. If you run into any trouble, you're welcome to engage as you deem it necessary. Just warn us of any big trouble before we get to it."

Ghost raised his hand and two men materialized from his very shadow. They both then moved to stand beside him, he looked at both of them, "Go scout ahead, if you find any enemy, do not engage but follow and survey. If they notice you, dispose of them well." The two men nodded and were gone. Ghost looked at the army preparing to move, "Worry not, we expected as much. A large force cannot move as stealthily as we can. Even our own forces would not maintain the discreet element for long if we had so many." He looked over the soldiers carefully, "We are here for tactical backup, we can move ahead and take out enemy scouts and important targets whilest you concentrate on the main force." The was some russling in the trees as other scouts moved out. He waved his hand and three more Twilarai burst from atop the trees to the soldiers below, "They will mingle with your men for now. Trust me, I have a purpose for them..." He then looked back to Sayf, "If you have no further need for me here I will begin planning with the rest of my group."

Sayf nodded. Creepy buggers...useful, though.

"Excellent. I'm going to send a few of my own light cavalry ahead of the main army to forage, raid, and otherwise scout as well. The Griffin fliers will also participate in some more long-range scouting...i want to see if we can catch any large enemy force long before it hits us."

The grey-haired general nodded to one of his officers, who quickly left to dispense the orders. Lifting himself onto his own huge black warhorse and belting a long, elegant saber to his side, he joined ranks with the heavy cavalry as they began to march across the Mirktree boarder and into the unknown...

"Understood." With that, Ghost was gone. His group had been waiting for him to tell them the plan, many of them only had to look at him to know what he had in mind. After some conversing he looked to the others who were still with him, "Do you all have your rings?" They all nodded and he nodded back. "Go." With that they disappeared and Ghost went ahead to catch up to his scouts. Before that though he met up with Sayf, "Be careful about your griffins, we don't want the enemy to know what kind of forces we have this early in the game." Ghost said nothing more, he pushed off the ground and sent himself into the trees.

A dragon rider, one of the seniormost rangers, flew through the air. The rangers had quickly scoured the mountains. Now the valleys were to be checked.

He swooped through the skies, far too high for a realistic bowshot. at that range, anthing that did hit him or his mount would be too weak to do anything. Of course, it was cold, but he could deal.

he could see a camp through a sudden gap. Oh, God. War had come to mirktree. there must be a few thousand men there, flying a banner he would check up on later.

he decided to turn back, but first he would leave a nasty surprise for anone still in the camp.

Dragon rider procedure involve carrying a certain large bag useful for disturbng an enemy camp while on scouting missions. he opened his now and emptied it.

Large glass objects and several caltrops went flying down. At this height, when the objects hit, shards would go flyin everywhere. As it was, he didn't stay to see the hoped-for carnage.

As soon as the rider made his move the Twilarai were aware of him. It didn't mean they could do anything but they knew now that the enemy had air support. Ghost especially was focusing in on the life force of the creature above him. This... this is rare.... very rare. It has been awhile since I last detected life force like this.... The other Twilarai knew now what one of their first targets would be. It was for this reason that a few of them brought explosives. Ghost adjusted the black scarf he was wearing, he chuckled to himself. If he managed to capture, or even kill, one of those creatures, his reputation in his clan would increase quite a bit.

OOC: Explosives meaning small, old-school, gunpowder bombs.

the levy had been called. thousands of available troops were now rallying all over to fight off the invading menace.
---
the rider flew off. he had his bow ready to shoot any attackers- though it was doubtful he could be hit from that range.

Ghost had his eyes focused on the dragon rider, he was high up. Perfect for Ghost, the rider may be out of range a bow, but Ghost abilities were a little different. He decided to save his power, no need wasting it now. Meanwhile, other scouts moved silently through the trees on the lookout for anything unusual.

10 cavalry archers trotted through the trees. their bows were strung, and they were ready to kill anything they came across.

Calvary units... nothing a few assassins couldn't handle. The scouts wanted up above in the trees, not making a sound. They were silently deciding whether to watch and wait or call for some backup. For now, watch and wait seemed best, two assassins were with them. If need be, things could get messy.

OOC: Deata, did you see the message I put on your profile?

the archers slowly moved forward. Suddenly, one of the horses whinneied. the archers aimed towards the tree the horse was nearest.

ooc: yeah... wait up a second

The assassins and scouts were not only high above but scattered. The horse had only noticed one of the scouts quickly omving from one tree to the other. So the animals can sense us a little, was the collective thought. The assassins had their weapons ready for a first encounter if the situation called for it. Hopefully it didn't need to come to that so soon.

'Surrender!" one of the archers shputed, pulling his string back to his ear.

They said nothing, they simply stayed out of sight, like any stealth unit would do. An assassin already had prepared for the worst. The other three scouts were prepared to withdraw. The other assassin however had move to a different location in the tree, she was sure to not draw attention.

the archer who had spoken gave a quick nod and all of them quickly peppered the tree with an arrow each in different places higher up.

For each arrow of the enemy, both assassins had three kunai and three shuriken. The scouts had their own bows and could easily shoot and move at the same time, each one had three arrows aiming at the necks of the calvary men. One scout, however, had a different plan, he was holding a smoke bomb, something that could very easily turn the tide of a battle.

the archers waited to see if they had hit anything. meanwhile, all the horses started to whinny frantically. something was definitely wrong.

The arrows missed, most of them by a long shot but a few came closer than the assassin's wanted. The one scout threw their smoke bomb and very quickly the area began to go misty. The other scouts fired their bows at the men and their horses, mainly the horses, the arrows were designed in such a way that they would spin when fired to decrease drag. The arrows also had barbs that would make them hard to remove from flesh without tearing a large chunk out with it. They quickly fled with the assassins not too far behind. The assassins didn't bother using their weapons, not yet at least. Trees would make it hard for the horse to follow and the Twilarai had quite a few other advantages.

most of the arrows were blocked by armor, houh some hit and the horses fel. All avaible archers shot back as fast as they could towards the cource of the arrows.

By this point the Twilarai were already on their way to a better position. The assassins stay behind the scouts and put their weapons away. They had to deal with the enemy and they knew how to do it.

OOC: Don't forget they threw the smoke bomb and then fired.

ooc: they were just guessing the positions.

The dragon rider could see a plume of smoke in the distance. He signalled for his mount to shoot a nice big fireball at the spot.

OOC: Nice
IC:

There was something bright in the sky, something that told the assassins the area they were in was not a safe one. The immediately went after their companions and headed back to the camp. The scouts looked back and saw it too, a large fireball, headed right towards the area the smoke bomb was dropped in.

The vast majority of the cavalry were immediately crisped by the unwitting dragon rider. The woods were starting to burn.

The entire army suddenly jumped and shouted in pain as shards of glass and what seemed to be caltrops landed all around the camp. Anyone wearing anything above medium armor was pretty much fine, save for perhaps a few cuts and scrapes, but most of the mercenaries were not so lucky; several went down in screaming pain as glass penetrated their insides. The scattered mages began hurriedly healing any major wounds as the army slowed down to a crawl.

Sayf gazed at the figure high in the sky; it was far too large to be a griffin. Must be a dragon...dragons had been extinct in Ravea for generations. Of course, the beast and its rider were only participating in a small delaying action, but they had done more damage than Sayf had expected. He suddenly saw a large explosion in the woods far ahead. Yup...that'll a dragon, all right. He motioned to the heavy archers to load their crossbows in case of an attack, as well as the mages to prepare defensive spells. Another fireball like that to the main army and this campaign might be over before it began.

The Twilarai units burst from the forest quickly, headed towards the army. They knew the army would recognize them, not many people could jump from tree to tree with such ease. They were immediately greeted by Ghost, they told him of what had happened and he simply nodded. The assassins and scouts scattered again and he turned to face Sayf, He already knows... interesting... something that small...

The palace of the king was, as usual, silent. the only sound came from a scout filling in the ruler on what was going on.

The king sat in his throne and pondered for a bit.

"Inform Lord Magus," he said at last. "And get ready for an engagement."

OOC: you may have to throw something else at us, unless Ravea going to order an advance in the next post
IC:

Ghost looked around at the damage the army had taken. It didn't seem to be too serious, his own units were fine. Now he had to come up with some new orders, his enermies were definately aware of the army's presence by now. His assassins would need to go on ahead and take out anything that might be serious.

The center square of every large village became a sight like a grim festival. It was certainly crowded, but there was no merriment here. The levy had been called, and all males old enough marched off to war.
-----
The dragon rider shot a few more fireballs at the area. the woods would burn better that way and flush ou the attacker, and the druids could always heal it- over some time.

Ghost frowned as he looked at the sky, it would soon be time for him to use his own abilities if the dragon rider didn't leave. There was an intense chill around him, snow and ice began to form around his body. If he had to, he would reach the dragon rider using his special abilities. The one thing he was sure of was that the rider was going to be a major annoyance.

the rider flew above the encampment, still out of bowshot, to survey the encampment. the tracking skills of a ranger gave him the ability to easily see an anamloy developing around one figure. he nocked an arrow.

Ghost was now annoyed, he lift a arm into the sky and pointed the open palm of his hand at the rider. He slowly began to close his hand and in so doing began forcing the very air around the rider to become colder. With a little more time the moisture in the air would become ice and he'd bring the rider down. Time for you to freeze....

Sayf groaned in frustration as the forest began to burn rapidly as more fireballs smashed into it. The army would never get anywhere with all this trouble going on. He motioned toward the mages, who were still busy healing cuts and scrapes.

"We need those fires out now, boys. There's no time to lose!" The mages nodded, focusing the arcane powers hidden deep within them; most simply started blasting the forest with jets of controlled water. Some got a little more creative, summoning the powers of wind and earth to smother out the flames. One feisty magi even created a giant snowball, rolling it around with ease.

"Prepare the Griffins for combat," Sayf muttered to an attendant. "The mages can take care of themselves if that dragon rider tries anything, but the rest of us can't. If our little friend up there makes any sudden moves, I want you to launch a full assault."

The Twilarai watched as Sayf's forces took ccare of the forest, they could have done so but burning forests didn't concern them right then. Their only concern was getting in, killing, and getting out. Meanwhile, Ghost was focused on making the rider's life a little more difficult.

the dragon moved through the air swiftly, it's internal heat preventing the ice from taking too quickly. the ranger pulled his arrow all the way back to his ear and fired at Ghost. from that range, it was doubtfl he would hit, but he might kill someone else in the camp. meanwhile, his mount shot yet another fireball at Ghost, and then a second one after.

OOC: You're telling me you can see a black speck in a forest?
IC:

Ghost watched as the arrow passed by him, now he was pissed. His body dissolved into the shadows and took him to anohter location away from the fireball but where he could still see the rider. This time, though, he was sure to be in hiding, some bushes made this an easy enough task. He began repeating the process, this time he was going not only for the air, but the rider's very blood. He intended to freeze this one from the inside and outside. The other Twilarai were already beginning to take up hidden positions in the forest around the same clearing. The ones who could manipulate ice began helping their commander. There were about five people in total who were all concentrating on freezing the rider alive.

ooc: well, the whole "snow and ice suddenly foming around his body thing" is rather easy for a ranger to pick up. it doesnm't sound that hard for anyone to pick up, actually.

The rider felt sudden incredibe pains. He dive-bombed the fores wherre the anamoly was, firing rapidly and having jis mount fire too.

OOC: Unless you mean detecting the magical energy there is no way to follow it, actually. There's no trail or anything. I doubt ice forming around your body suddenly makes you notice a person, that's like saying when a person sets off a bomb you automatically know where they are.
IC:

The assassins didn't have to do much, hiding behind trees made the arrows useless and the fact there were five of them would make them are to pinpoint. The other assassins moved before using their freeze ability again. Ghost moved to a tree to avoid incoming arrows, in so doing he had to stop using his ability. A few of the arrow scratched him but for an assassin of his caliber it was nothing serious. Hopefully this would neutralize the foe they were facing.

ooc: well, when you're up in the sky looking down and there's a sudden patch of snow...

The rider attempted to pull up last minute but his dragon crashed, killing itself instantly. he went flying into a pond and didn't come up.

OOC: again, there's no snow around him.
IC:

Ghost smiled behind his scarf, an another Twilarai appeared beside him. It wasn't an assassin or scout, it was dressed in a much different way and was holding a staff. Ghost pointed to the crash site, "Go, collect what you can." The figure nodded and headed off.

[QUOTE=Greywatch;13852853]Ghost frowned as he looked at the sky, it would soon be time for him to use his own abilities if the dragon rider didn't leave. There was an intense chill around him, snow and ice began to form around his body.QUOTE]

ooc: skills.

The ranger slwoly draged himself out of the earth.

rangers were not magic users, but the most skilled of them learned two very useful spells, primarily for stealth. The first was invisibility- the second was the ability o move through solid objects. (ooc: established in 'Journey into Neo-Dracule'). he had used the second when he had hit the water, and had qucikly pulled himself back through the earth. He was badly shaken, but still alive. he put away his bow and drew a curved sword and a small round shield. the invisibility was still working, but he was too tired to maintain the other one.

his only available plan was simple. he would stay invisible for a while and kill anyone sent to check out the sight. then he would flee and hope fully report back before either dying ot going into a coma.

[QUOTE=Greywatch;13852853]Ghost frowned as he looked at the sky, it would soon be time for him to use his own abilities if the dragon rider didn't leave. There was an intense chill around him, snow and ice began to form around his body.QUOTE]

ooc: skills.

The ranger slwoly draged himself out of the earth.

rangers were not magic users, but the most skilled of them learned two very useful spells, primarily for stealth. The first was invisibility- the second was the ability o move through solid objects. (ooc: established in 'Journey into Neo-Dracule'). he had used the second when he had hit the water, and had qucikly pulled himself back through the earth. He was badly shaken, but still alive. he put away his bow and drew a curved sword and a small round shield. the invisibility was still working, but he was too tired to maintain the other one.

his only available plan was simple. he would stay invisible for a while and kill anyone sent to check out the sight. then he would flee and hope fully report back before either dying ot going into a coma.

OOC: 'Him' meant the rider. <----
IC:

The other man continued on his way until he got to the pond. "So... he is dead... or is he?" The man placed his hand on the ground and began to freeze the forest floor, all the way to the pond itself.

EDIT: I've re-read it. Yes, there was snow around Ghost, and I'll make this clear next time ---> It's not a patch of snow. Its like atreebranch worth. And I want to know next time how far up your dragon riders are, I still find it hard to believe that someone apparently so high up (as was suggested my your post) is going to notice a patch of white about a foot in diameter, on a tree branch, with leaves included. Unless of course, all these trees are dead.

The ranger calmly crept up. sneaking was something no group could consistently beat the rangers at- except for the elves of the east, and they had all left mirktree, or so it was thought. and he was also invisible.

he snuck up behind the man and raised his sword. it was cold, but he could deal. then with a whoosh he swung his sword at the other man's neck.

ooc; you made it sound like quite a bit more.

The man brought up his staff to block but was still suprised at the force used to bring the sword down. He then smiled, "Idiot, I'm an assassin. Do you think small tricks like that will work on me?" He pushed his other hand into the ground and ice began to form around him. He had to make thing even if he wanted to win this.

OOC: You made it sound like your dragon rider was up in the clouds.

the ranger calmly drew a utility knife. Still invisible, he swung his sword upwards at the assasin's head while attempting to plunge the knife up under the man's ribs. the blade wasn't actually made for fighting, but it was strong with a good point and it would do.

As soon as the man felt the sword pull back he jumped forwards onto the ice and glided across it until he was about ten feet away from his original position. He placed his hand on the ground again and the ice began to form into small bundles of spikes. He looked around, This one is good. The weapons are invisble as well, very few of our own possess such an ability. I may need to summon some help... but not yet. He gave a small chuckle and looked down, he had a small cut on his chest. "You're skilled, but we assassins work with similar skills all the time. We know their limits." I'm only using ice... it may be time to use a little fire... what little fire I can use, that is...

The ranger crept away, planning omething the other wouldn't expect. He grabbed his battered bow and one of three whole arows. he pulled back to his ear and shot a fast and powerful shot. then he hopped into a tree and started clambering among the treetops.

OOC: He has to be moving pretty slow to not slip on that amount of ice.
IC:

"Fine then." The man muttered before placing both hands on the ground only to be struck by an arrow. He was able to move slightly to avoid any major damage but it still hurt to have an arrow in his shoulder. He concentrated and created a wall of ice around him. "Now then." He placed his hands on the walls and all the ice on the ground temporarily vanished. He then formed a ceiling on ice structure surrounding him. Then, with his hands raised he began preparing his next skill.

The ranger stayed in the treetops, pleased that he had hit. he watched as the other man walled himself in. if he were a mage, he would have a perfect kill move now. as it was, he waited.

In the air, small shards of sharpened ice began to form. The man inside the walls closed his eyes, Now then, what is giving off the most heat? Ah, there you are... He opened his eyes and the shards all began flying at the ranger's position.

The ranger winced in pain as the shards penetrated him and he started to bleed. he had to end this now. he ran up to the structure, slipping and sliding on the way, and rammed his sword home through the ice. he began to hack away with both blades.

The man inside smiled. "Gotcha." The ice fortress, as it was being hacked at, began to attach itself to the blades and melted into water. The water promptly began to wrap around the unseen ranger and then began to re-freeze. The Twilarai stepped back as the restraints began to take their hold.

the ranger knew that whether or not he won, it was is time to speak to God. luckily, now the assiassin's defenses were down, having started to cover him instead. he pushed forward at the assassin's unprotected body and began to fight fanatically.

The assassin took steps back to avoid any incoming blows, though he still got a few scatches. The ice around the rangers feet would keep him from moving forward. And the water and ice was already beginning to restrain the arms, hands, and soon the mouth of the victim. Death by suffocation.

The ranger threw hissword and dagger at the assassin before falling to the ground. he was biting away at the ice, attempting to rid himslef of it.

The sword and knife didn't go to far, being as the man wasn't able to move at full capacity and the ice made both him and his weapn visible and easy to predict. The Twilarai moved forward afte rthe two weapons hit the ground. "Don't bother trying to free youself, this ice could easily turn into water and force itself into your lungs... However, I'm not exactly sure if I want to kill you... You could be very valuable..."

The ranger would have reponded but he was far too exhausted to do so. His glare, however, said it all.

A slow clap echoed through the wood as a dark, menecing figure suddenly appeared behind a tree. Whoever it was wore a evil-looking mask etched with a smiling demon, and a long black cloak.

"Excellent. Great! At least we didn't hire hacks." The man rose his hands peacefully, lest the Twilarai misunderstand his presence. "Don't be alarmed, friend. I'm from the Ravean Authority-you're counterpart, you might say. I was watching the fight on the General's orders, both to assess your skills and take this clown for questioning." He pointed towards the fallen rider. "I must say, I was quite impressed by your performance. I only wish your opponent had been worthier."

He looked down in disgust at the rider.

"Honestly, heat signatures? You really let something as childish as that give you away? Try again when you learn true invisibility." The man slipped his hand into his coat and pulled out a long, strange device; yanking a long red cord, it sent a bright green flare into the sky.

"That's the signal, men." Sayf smiled as the flare burned brightly. Looks like those Twilarai were worth the cash. "Move out!"

The Twilarai backed away without saying a word, there was a clear scowl on his face. I had other purposes for him but, unfortunantly, it would be wise to go against those who hired me... The man simply nodded, "The dragon will be our claim if you don't mind, my fellows and I would like to study it..." The man then jumped to a nearby tree and was off. About five minutes later he retirned with two others at his side.

OOC: Bump for big D

ooc: sorry, didn't noice the posts

the woods were suddenly swarming with the whine of arrows. rangers wo had watched the conversation fired away- twenty of them. they were also invisible, and they had the "go-through-things" spell on.Soldiers swarmed throught the trees, screaming as they attacked the Twilarai.

the new assault was headed by a unicorn rider clad in mithril armor. he had a lance and a recurve bow. he aso carried a cavalry sword and a long hunting knife. His black mount clad with mithril shoes attacked every enemy in its path.

meanwhile, a second dragon rider flew through the air, launching fireballs at the raveans. this one bore a mage.

The arrows were a suprise but the Twilarai were always prepared. They dissapeared into whatever shadows they could find, hiding away securely. A very close call, Twilarai could fight but this kind of fight was not one for them. This enemy indeed was using any trick they could. The Twilarai would have to adapt in order to survive this. For the meantime they hid, their bodies apart of the shadows they clung to, they had to form a plan.

one of the rangers received a nod from the unicorn rider and dropped a crystal. A blazing light appeared, dipelling the shadows. luckily, the mirktrites were wearing eye protection. the rangers were used to this kind fo trick and planned accordingly.

The Twilarai were located and fired upon again. the unicorn galloped up to one adn started tying to kick his brains out.

The Twilarai simply got behind sme trees and disapeared into the shadows created when the bomb went off. This was getting rediculous, if this kept going they would have to bring out all the good stuff. Ghost was already on his way to the location of his teammates... only a little longer.

The ranger next brought out a bag. He opened it and all the shadows for miles started to go in. this was old magic, first used by the elves of the east. the rangers had copied it to great effect. now the invaders would have no choice but to fight openly. either that, or they too would be sucked in, and the bag would then be burned.

It was then that Ghost appeared, he only flicked his hand and sent kunai flying at the invisible enemies. "Huh, this is our enemy. Meaningless." He pulled down his scarf and inhaled. Art of the Red Dragon, Flamethrower. He exhaled a large cone of fire onto the location and began turning so as to hit anything he could in the area. The other Twilarai formed up behind him. When he finished he only muttered, "Genocide Protocol Rank 3." Then, it was time for business.

this was when magic kicked in. thanks to their various spells, the rangers could not be hit by anything. they drew their swords and shields and charged. meanwhile, the unicorn rider started firing and charging at various twilarai.

The Twilarai were in the trees and smiled at the unicorn. "So their spells render them with the ability to go through things... interesting. Te other Twilarai branched out to other treebranches and began preparing their spell, Ghost had to be there for it to work and it would be a lovely thing to see. But first, one of the Twilarai cast another spell and about ten demonic summonings erupted from the ground and began to attack by swinging their weapons wildly. "Hopefully that'll buy us some time..." Ghost muttered. Good spells took some time to perform.

ooc: are they in the trees or literally inside the trees?

The dragon rider plunged down on her steed, launching fireballs at the trees. the dragon snatched at one of them, uprooting it roots and all and carrying it into the air. th mage smiled to herself and bathed the tree in flames. it was carried far up and into the clouds. then she had her beast drop it, caressing it with one final fireball as it fell.
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the demonic summonings were quickly pepperes with arrows. the unicorn chraged at one and plunged its horn into it.

OOC: Like standing on the branches
IC:

The Twilarai were concentrating on dodging at the moment as many aspects of the battle went to hell. They were still alive though, so at least that worked out. The dragon rider was very foolish to get that low, the Twilarai now had a good plan of attack. The spell was almost finished and they'd soon show their true power. Meanwhile, the demonic summonings kept fighting. When one was stapped by the unicorn it quickly brought its axe down on the beast without mercy. The others continued to flail their weapons about.

the rider deflected the axe and gallpoed off. the rangers could afford to ignore the demonics with their spells- they could get a priest-mage to banish them later- and concentrated on individual twilarai in the trees, all aiming at the same one at a time and firing without mercy until their target dropped.

the dragon rider watched the tree with the undoubtedly dead twilarai in it umble to the ground. Then she started chanting and magical shields started to appear over the mirktrite fores. she and her dragon then sent more fireballs down at the trees.

Ghost sighed, "Illusion successful..." He muttered. He got behind a tree and slammed a palm into it. The other Twilarai did the same and the spell was activated. A black rift formed about ten meters in the air, above the battle area and it began doing its job. Ghost smiled as the other Twilarai began to retreat. Ghost took one look and saw the rift doing its job. It was beginning to pull the very soul, the essence from the bodies of everyone in the area. This was dangerous, even for the Twilarai, but neccissary. Ghost and his men were moving as fast as they could, the closer you were the faster the soul rendering process happened. For all those who were standing right underneath the rift, their lives were already forfiet. The demons began to crumble as their summoned essenses were absorbed. Then the rift moved to everything else. Ghost and his men kept moving, they oculd regroup later, they had to escape now. 15 seconds... give or take... he thought to himself.

The mirktrites immediately ran away, many clutching various charms and amulets as they did so to slow down the effect.

The dragon rider shrieked with rage, her mount giving an appropriate roar. she hit a high note that was painful for all those who heard, and held it for several seconds. suddenly, a bubble wrapped a 20-foot diameter around the rift, containing its effects for at least a few hours. backup could deal with whatever remained. then she began to look for her enemies, torching random patches of forest as she did. a full blaze began to erupt among the trees.

The rift broke the bubble very quickly and from it came claws of darkness. They swept through the forest taking any life they touched. One of the assassins who'd been trying to get away was swept by one of the claws, his soul was torn from him and his body hit the ground, lifeless. Ghost knew he had done something very bad, if he made it out alive he'd be very lucky.

OOC: This is one of their trump cards, hence why it'll even kill my own men. Don't expect it to be contained so easily.

ooc: about how many twilarai did you bring again?

The mage cursed very loudly. of course, it didn't carry down to the ground. then she gave up on the encounter and flew back to base. a team of mages would shortly be dispatched. they were specialists, and they could contain this before it hit anywhere important. she could afford to take a break. after all, it was doubtful that the enemy would be able to march an army through a forest fire. she had been very foolish to think she could have held this by herself. she would not make another mistake when fighting the invaders.

OOC: About thirty (hence them being so strong), did any of your guys die? 'Cause you haven't posted any casualties.
IC:

Ghost was quick to regroup at the camp with his other two men. "There was another." One of them looked back, "Killed, the rift must have taken him. Everyone had their rings activated..." Ghost nodded, "Good."
Back in the forest, the body of the dead assassin erupted into flames and soon was erased from being altogether. The rule of the Twilarai... never leave anything behind. Even the ring itself was reduced to ash.

the rangers and unicorn rider regrouped.

"OK," the rider asked, "do we have everyone?"

a quick check revealed that 3 rangers were missing, likely dead.

"Well," he said, "that's better than it could have been. i think we took out at least one of them- the man in the tree the dragon rider picked up." There was a moment of silence as they all remembered the magnificent but terrifying sight of an angry dragon picking up a tree with a man on the branches. Some were secretly feeling sorry for him- what a way to go.

Ghost began talking with a few of his men, "Okay, we lost one. And from what I can tell, the rift, for whatevrer reason didn't damage their numbers as much as I hoped. Oe of you must go and find some reinforcements... it's about a three day journey if you keep moving. Does anyone want to take up the task?" None of them said anything, then one came foreward. "Sir, should we not check in with our employers?" Ghost nodded, "I was intending to... but I fear we may need to call Umbra... or one of the others... perhaps Crimson or Nightshade. We need someone who can act as a seige engine against these people." Ghost frowned, "They have skills I wasn't expecting... I'll have to perfect the rift system more... but until then. I'll reap their souls individually." He looked to three of his men, "You three, prepare explosive runes... we're going to be ready next time."

The town of Piar Shivani was the closest one to the previous fight. it was currently ramping up its defenses in preparation for the expected assault. at the same time, a team of mages was contructing runes to get rid of heat signatures... and a force of mixed mirktrite troops was gathering nearby.

OOC: I can understand saying you want to win the overall battle but going so far to make your army literally invincible without any flaws whatsoever is going a bit far.

ooc; they did hear what the Ravean guy said, and armies do adapt. of course, production would be minimal, so don't expect all the rangers to have them. they would only be able to make a few, if any. there's no great amount of mages here.