War of Thrones ~ Large Scale Battle (open)

TOBI

Tobi, who was still prancing around the mages with boredom suddenly saw the group of soldiers going towards them, "Oh damn....." He said and started edging back slowly, whistling as he did. HIs showable right eye began to spin as another pupil appeared, after a few seconds 20 tobis had appeared, all of them mere illusions of course, but they wouldnt know that. So far the only person he knew of he could see through them was Quasim.

He suddenly edged back into a mage who broke trance and ended the spell chanting alltogether "YOU IDIOT" they bellowed and Tobi screamed as he ran from the hurled fire balls as he barely managed to dodge them, finally though the team violence stopped as Tobi sighed, took a deep breath and said "Battalion.....of Soldiers..." He was out of breath from the running as he said this, so his words were broke up into phrases "....Heading this way!" He said pointing towards them. The other mages stopped in there tracks and turned towards them in a formation of magic, Tobi was quickly forced to join them and did so. As the mages pulled various weopons from there cloaks (for Tobi, his normal long sword). As they all began to chant spells a few seconds later they were hurling fire balls and other elemental agressive spells at the oncoming soldiers, throwing there ranks into tatters and almost scattering them. Apart, of course. For Tobi, who was still attempting to gather the required magic in his arms to cast the spells, with no luck he decided to just wait, but all the time he was thinking of legging-it away.

But onwards the soldiers kept coming towards them, and after a few minutes the mages were involved in close combat, desperately trying to survive. They were at the clear dissadvantage, and were struggling under attack. Fire waves were sent but no more luck came out of it as 3 of the mages were affected by there own spells. After about 10 minutes of more dissadvantaged fighting the mages started retreating, screaming "PULL BACK!" As they went. The leader of the group, suddenly stopped and turned as his mages went away "Wheres Tobi?" Seeing him no-where in the bodies, the conclusion came as he started running again ~To bad, ill miss that kid~ He thought ~He was always cheerful and care-free~.

But infact his conclusion was wrong...

The edge of the orange mask peeked around the edge of his favourable spot in the trees. "Oh god...I dont wanna die!" he groaned and started whimpering, and hid behind the tree trunk hoping no-one would notice him "Ok, i stay here untill i hear no more bloodshed" And sat back, keeping his sword close and his gaurd up.

----

SHINTAN

Shintan and his elven troops, were immediately aware as more combat errupting on the feild, drew there weopons and reered there horses towards the enlarged battle, his eyes widened as he saw and had a hint of excitement at the thought of combat. "Ok men, we go! TO BATTLE!" he yelled in elvish, and after dissmounting from there horses, began to charge towards them. A few minutes of charging passed and the elven warriors were locked in combat. The elves were not only efficient in magic, but in combat to, Shintan had long been a studier of the ancient elven martial art, "The Echani", wich was highly effective and brought most honorable warriors and heros out of those who learn it.

Shintan was locked in battle with a minatour, who swung his axe wildly at Shintan, who ducked and jumped back waiting for an opening. he then found it, after waiting and blocking a few attacks his chance came. he waited for the minatour to strike, when it did Shintan held his Gold Dragon above his head, slightly forward so the handle of the axe crashed onto the pole arm, stopping the axe in its tracks, then Shintan thrust the polearm back towards him, locking the axe in place, then after spinning the Minatour was dissarmed. And slightly shocked as a quick thrust of a foot slammed back into the Minatours face, knocking it to the ground as whatever they call blood came splurting down its face. As Shintan stepped closer, he thrust his spear into its neck, and after a few seconds of wincing and stuggling, all was silenced within the Minatour.

Shintan was now locked in battle again, this time with two orc warriors who provided little challenge and effort to kill, they were stupid and weaker than he was. blocking both of there attacks at once he pushed his polearm into the air, knocking both off balance, then he span around, his spear wide outwards as he stopped. His spear in a position behind him slightly and then twrled it around his shoulder and held it in a defencive stance. As the orcs behind him appeared to be still, they suddenly dropped to the floor, the top half of there chest seperated from there bottom parts.

Yet more came at him, and with little sweat effort Shintan used his Echani fighting skills to slay yet more foes, more came to challenge him and when the small spar had finally stopped, atleast 17 dead enemies lay behind his advance. Suddenly moving his Gold Dragon into a warlord hero stance to lower the morale of the enemy units near him, he said alloud in sharp and loud elvish words "Is this all the Shadow Knights have? Is this the best they can musture, they may have numbers but my warriors have skill. I'm not getting a good impression here!" he yelled and his warriors raised there weopons in a high morale battle cry. Only two of them had died in that small skirmish around them, and Shintan was still not impressed. "Come warriors! We will drive them back!!!" he shouted in elvish again, and after wiping sweat off his forhead, Shintan and his 48 warriors ran closer to the large battle centered infront of the main wall.

-Quasim-
Sitting atop his horse, safely atop the knoll, he looked to three dozen men, those he held in great esteem. These were some of the best he had. They had not the brute strength of the werewolf, nor the breath of the dragon or magic of the dead calvary. They had raw human skill and potential. It also helped to be mounted on lesser dragons, of course. The reptilian beasts, as large as two draft horses, stood gazing upon the battle. Their thought process wasn't as advanced as the chromatic dragons, but they were formidable on the ground. Quasim's excellent eye-sight caught sight of a force of elves, riding to the city. Just what the elf-hating dragon needed. Urging his horse forward slightly, he stopped as the earth below his soldiers and all around them began to upturn, spewing forth silver-plated knights of the Voric order. Yanking back the reigns, Quasim rode between two lesser dragons to the largest of those assembled. Atop this red creature sat a buff colored Minotaur, the only minotaur to catch Quasim's eye and not his appetite or wrath.

"Minotaur, it is time for the battle. Bring your elite to the field, for the Voric knights have been cunning enough to dig beneath the battlefield," he said sourly. His eyes again scanned the fields for the Death Knight and his calvary but even his eyesight couldn't see the magical being when he wanted to remain hidden. Cursing under his breath, Quasim pointed to the shining silver knights. "The battle begins for me, as well."

Spurring his war horse, Quasim led the charge. His horse, though fast, fell short of meeting the great speed and stride of the lesser dragons. With each bound of their bodies, their stubby wings brought them further, closing in on the knights. The first of the lesser dragons bowled into a unit of soldiers, decimating them with their claws. Quasim smiled grimly. Though the beasts were strong, they wouldn't fit easily into the city through the gate and were useful only in the open.

Charging the enemy knights in the back of his army, Quasim cut through one man and his horse, sending both crashing to the ground in spurts of blood. Quasim held tightly to the saddle horn and reigns as his horse reared, slashing out at a man's chest, sending the man backwards, his armor dented in enough to break ribs.

"Find me the dragon!" a noble voice rang out, demanding.

Only one dragon on the field - or lack thereof - could attract that sort of attention. For a moment, Quasim was in a quandary. Attack the man calling him out, or follow Fenron and Skallagrim's advise and leave it to his army? Wheeling his horse around, the dragon-in-disguise spurred it up the knoll once more, spinning to scan the battle for the man belonging to the voice.

The Mages broke their circle, destroying the darkness spell over the city. Enraged, Quasim spurred his horse in their direction. As he neared, he saw the offensive against the Voric Knighthood. Pulling his horse near a mage, Quasim lifted his hand, speaking an arcane word of old draconic magic, and a large fire blasted forth, incinerating three soldiers, melting their armor. Raising his sword, he called the mages to him.

"Do not retreat! Face the soldiers! Kill them, destroy them, break bones!" the dragon called loudly, encouraging the seemingly hopeless fight of mage against steel.

-Kirstana/Storm and Fenron-
Struggling in the grasp of the dragon, Kirstana kicked the beast feebly. "Let me go, beast, and fight me fairly!" she snapped.

Storm threw her head back and chuckled. "Fairly? There is no fair in a fight with a human. Dragons are the overseers of the land, now," she said. "Now, human, how do you wish to die? Quickly, slowly? Magically or mundanely? Maybe we will stab your little wings and see how you like it," the dragon chortled, her claws grasping Kirstana's arm and lifting it painfully from her body.

"Dishonorable creature," Kirstana spat, her eyes fiery with anger. As she felt the dragon's grip loosen slightly, she reached at her belt loop, pulling her dagger out awkwardly. Moving it in position, she wiggled it between the plate-like scales of the dragon's clawed hand. Thrusting it into the skin with all the strength the young woman could muster, she heard the satisfying gasp from the dragon.

Storm dropped the human, pulling her claws back to nurse the prick of blood bubbling forth. As she did so, a black blur darted by her, tackling the human girl with a fierce growl. Fenron, in his werewolf form, took hold of Kirstana's shoulder, the only place her armor was weak. Shaking his head viciously, he let go suddenly, sending Kirstana flying over the parapet into the battle below. Jumping to the parapet, Fenron looked down, his wolfish eyes following the woman's decent until she disappeared in the mayhem below. Turning to Storm, Fenron loped to her, watching as archers fled from the sight of him. Shifting back to his human form, Fenron climbed onto Storm's back, scolding the dragon.

"You could have killed us," he snapped.

Just then, a steel tipped tree of a javelin burst from the courtyard, nicking the white dragon on the hindquarters. Roaring, the beast crashed into the short parapet, falling to the ground below as Fenron held on for dear life. Stone and debris rained down upon the wounded dragon and her rider. Thankfully they crushed none of their own, but landed on an over-sized orc. Scrambling to his feet, Fenron pushed on Storm's head. "Lets get up, old girl, the battle is still on, and look who's coming this way," he said humorlessly as a group of Voric knights, apparently spawned from hell, came at them with their swords and lances drawn.

SHINTAN

Shintan looked at the advancing army, and grinned, speaking a word in elvish his men pulled out there bows, knotching there bueatifully made elven arrows to there bows, the arrows were a metre in lengh. Raising them upwards, the soldiers took aim towards the back of the shadow knights army, not wanting to fire on the clashed forces, but to weaken the support for the front line, even if only by 47 men.

Elves, most possibly the finest archers that ever existed, aimed there bows upwards, the mithril metal on the end could peirce most armors, and with the added fire, they would be very effective. Shintan gave the first order, and 47 arrows launched through the air at the shadow knights, as they landed most hit there oponents, killing them instantly. While atleast a quater of the arrows hit sheilds or landed in the ground. "Not yet." he mumbled "Wait until the wind comes from the west..." The elves knotched there bows again, and a dejavu of the first volley happened again, the arrows killing a few of the men on the shadow knight ranks.

"My lord!" shouted an elve in elvish as he ran to Shintan "Orc skirmishes, atleast 50 of them heading this way."

Shintan smiled and slipped the bow over his shoulder, slipping his bow into the leather strap on his back, and then pulled Gold Dragon out of the ground (As you cannot keep spears or halberds in scabards, he was forced to stick it in the ground so he could launch his arrow). He then held it forward in an Echani stance, feet wide apart and spear sticking forwards towards the enemy, so if an enemy ran into it the spear would stab them in the stoumach (Releasing there acid into there body and acidifying there body from the inside, causing a highly painfull 15 minute death, note the Echani was designed to cause pain).

The small group of orcs clashed into the elves, and a small combat session began once again.

----

TOBI

Tobi was hiding behind his tree, carefully watching around him incase anything bad happened, he had no idea what was going on and decided to peek around the tree, his right eye opening as he saw the battle. He looked at the mages, and could hear Quasim telling them not to retreat even from his position. Carefully taking a leather home made bottle out of his cloak and removed his mask, then opening the top he took a gulp of water before putting his mask back on.

The mages had stopped running, and used that merely as a stage to get some ground, they turned and launched volleys of flame at the oncoming soldiers, and before long they clashed again.

Davin grimaced, his keen eyes picking out the first of the lesser dragons and their riders as they crashed into his men. Foul beasts they were, mockeries of the mighty beings who flew overhead. Those dragons allied to the cause of the Voric knights had even now begun to push back their most hated of enemies, aided by the precise and lethal firing of the ballista crews. Soon there would not be a shadow aligned wyrm over the city of Blode.

Along the walls the archers found themselves blessedly free of distraction or threat. Without hesitation or pause they rained their deadly payload down into the Shadow Knight army, seeking to decimate the slow moving ogres and the weakly protected infantry. The most skilled of those hawkeyed soldiers took to firing upon the heavily armored ogre chieftains, seeking to plant their shafts in eyes and throats, or any other potentially vulnerable area.

On the ground the Voric Knights and the Orcs had cleared the front gate, and the great melee between the armies had polarized as lines were drawn. For both sides it became a bloody brawl. Warriors and beasts on both sides died horrid gurgling deaths as swords and spears cleft and impaled, only to find themselves moving to defend against the next man or woman to step into place.

Within the city, a small group of Knights found themselves confronted by a wounded white dragon and her rider. Though frightened near to panicking by the creature's presence, the brave men were stolid and moved to attack. Those in the fore moving to strike with halberd and spear while those further back let fly the javelin and arrow. Soon they were joined from the other side of the beast by one of the Voric Knights small mage led units, the spellcaster hurriedly seeking to let loose with some offensive charm to slay the beast as his vanguard prepared to fend off the great reptile with their pikes.

With the dragons being pushed back out of their line of fire, the ballista crews moved to their seconday stations, drawing forth medium sized mangonels from hiding. While not as long ranged or heavily capable as catapaults and trebuchets, the mangonels were far easier to move about and conceal. Taking directions from highly trained spotters on the walls, the crews loaded packets of fist sized rocks into the engines and let fly. The packets would fly past the initial lines of fighting men of both sides, to unlace and let fall their rain of stone upon the rear echelon of the shadow Knights.

Davin himself had spurred forward to meet the charge of the dragon riders. The first was but a moment to dispatch, the poor creature charing wildly only to find itself bereft of a head, its rider curshed by the body of its flailing mount in the aftermath. The second to find its way to Davin's reach was a burly man astride a jet black monster of great size and ferocity. Aroundand around the two warriors circled each other, trading fierce strikes and deadly swings. The Shadow Knights thick armor and heavy axe made the powerful warrior even more dangerous than most of his fellows, yet Davin's skill and accouterments were among the greatest of weapons. In the end it would not be Davin who would slay the monster, but a well placed arrow from the battlements, a single shaft that slammed itself into the monster's left eye, piercing his brain. Encumbered the dead weight of its rider, the dragon was quickly put down by the flashing blade.

With a quick gesture of thanks towards the wall, Davin was moving once more. Though the fell riders themselves were too thinly spread for Davin to deal with them all, to his eyes came another grouping of warriors. The dread black mages of the Shadow Knights were grouped to the rear, currently beset by the remnants of the foot soldiers who had sought to quell them earlier. With a yell and a kick, the Knight sent Kyris churning towards the fight, his speed sending the pair whipping past both enemy and ally alike.

Flames roared in his path, issuing from the coven of mages, destroying a pair of the soldiers in their tracks. The others pulled back, shielding themselves as best they could. But Davin was uncowed. Faster still the stallion sped, and with a great leap he plunged the pair through the uppermost area of the flaming cloud, where the whisps of fire managed to merely singe hair and cloth for but an instant.

And then he was among them, Gehren dancing in his hand as it passed through the throat of a mage and the upraised hand of another. The Aegis rose in his hand to fend away the eldritch bolts ofl ight from yet another caster, the magic shattering on its holy surface. The white cross blazed with barely held righteousness as the rider sought to destroy the darkness.

Ooc: by the way Rize the knight I’m talking about is you

“Pyrrus, down there we need to help the black mages” Keara yelled through the air, she held on loosely as he leaned to the side and swiftly dived to the mages landing heavily next to them. Keara leaped off and ran forward to their side pulling out her short sword. She leaped forward twirling her sword through the air, quickly spinning forward she thrust it through one of the soldier’s heart. She span backwards finding herself face to face with an enemy knight, she jumped back holding her hand forward ablaze, sending billowing flames at the Voric knight, she pulled her hand back twirling her sword at him again.

Pyrrus let out a roar, snaking his head forward grabbing a screaming soldier in his jaws and tearing it apart with his claws. He dropped the bloody body parts, and opened his maw sending flames bursting out of his jaws, cooking the frightened soldiers where they stood. He looked around for Keara, spotting her fighting, he tried to reach her but was stopped by soldiers jumping in his way thrusting spears at him.

Shintan cut down the last of the goblin skirmishers and with no casualties "ok, now on to the real battle!" he yelled as they charged onto the thick of combat, there boots making dust fly into the air and soldiers turned towards them, slightly surprised to see elves in a battle they werent invited to.

Shintan of course took no notice, and he charged into the thick of battle. Cutting down two men as he went, and continuing to fight with courage as his men drove into the thick of the battle.

----
Tobi was still hiding throwing the occasional fire arrow at a soldier who found him, but nothing more than that. He was to scared to move, but to bored to stay there, so ended up getting up slowly and walking towards the thick of the group of trees and climbed to the top of it, and started watching the battle.

WARRGH:

The focus now of the Orc warriors was to expand their lines in front of the massive city gates which hung open from the damage the Shadow Knights had done. Warrgh snarled and thrust his massive two-handed sword into the pulpy body of a minotaur. Withdrawing his sword the Orc war chief howled with delight, he could see they were slowly forcing the Shadow Knights back from the gate and walls.

With renewed strength the Orcs fought. Warrgh shouted to his banner carriers, "Wave them forward! We strike at the heart of their power, their dread wizards!" Soon along the front heavy banners of the Orc nation began to whirl and wave in a beautiful and deadly dance of color as the cry carried and filled the air as the thunderous chant rang forth from the Orc Warriors. "Has'xam Magus Sh'aarm! Has'xam Magus Sh'aarm! (Slay the Black Mage!)

Warrgh paused a moment as he looked down the line of warriors on both side of him, they lurched and surged forward crashing bodily into Shadow Knights that aligned before them. Slashing at a cavalry rider, Warrgh knocked the rider from her mount. As the armored woman struggled to rise, Warrgh slammed his mighty sword into her exposed throat.

SKALLAGRIM:

The death knight sat with his undead horseman, black and amethyst banners tied and held as the battle unfolded before them. From the hill where they waited, Skallagrim watched with interest as he realized that they would be unable to charge through the massed army before the gates. Reaching out with his magic, Skallagrim began to weave the resonance of the elements to create a ominous clouds, thick with quintessence that charged the eldritch storm clouds and fueled their electrical energies.
With a wave of his skeletal hand the torrential downpour began, stretching along the entire front of the armies and back into the city of Blode. The swirling clouds hammered the area with a monstrous clap of thunder. The heavy charged particles began lighting the skies as the energy arced and leaped from cloud to cloud. Suddenly a huge burst of blue-silver light sparked and cracked, veined with black it reached down and struck in the city far behind the walls. The huge energy strike danced and skittered, scoring the cobbled stone pathways with destructive energies, finally finding a wooden building the lighting bolt eagerly charred and burned the wooden structure igniting a fire as it's energy spent the lighting bolt ceased to be, followed by a thunderous boom, that sounded like evil laughter over the city.

-Fenron and Storm-
Taking the lance from Storm's saddle, Fenron set his stance, spreading his feet wide, giving himself the balance needed to swing the immense lance. As a brave soldier stepped from the rest of the group, Fenron swung the lance with explosive force, hitting the man in he hips, folding him and throwing him to the side in an unconscious heap. Fenron turned just as another soldier leaped forward, breaking the use of his lance. Ducking under the shaft of the lance as it passed over his head, the soldier drew his short sword and charged. Thinking quickly, Fenron pulled the lance closer to him and threw it at the soldier. Taking the break in activity as his cue, the human shifted into his werewolf form, thick black hair covering his body, his legs becoming muscled, his hands turning into vicious claws. Seeing the soldiers back away, he had the advantage. As he leaped forward, he saw a man moving towards Storm, a silver sword in hand. Enraged, Fenron landed on a young soldier, tearing his throat out as his sword flailed uselessly. Turning on the men advancing toward Storm, Fenron let out a furious, bone-chilling howl. Swiping the silver weapon from the man's hand, the werewolf grabbed the man's arm in his jaws and shook his head, tearing the arm from the joint.

Storm lifted her head, shaking it slightly. The fall had damaged her body. Her back left leg was broken, no doubt in several places. Angry with her weakness, the dragon struggled to her remaining three feet. She would need a healer soon, or the damage would be irreparable. However, they were now inside the walls of the city, surrounded by the enemy. Where were the rest of the dragons, the rest of the army, when they needed them? Once to her feet, Storm swiped her tail at an oncoming man, taking him by surprise. As the man went flying into his companions, Storm lifted her head and roared, sending her cry for help into the skies. As she did so, storm clouds rolled in to replace the spell of darkness that had disappeared over the battlefield. For a moment, they hung ominously over the field. Then they let forth their fat drops of rain, pinging off armor, battering soldiers. Springing into action, the great white dragon pushed forward, shoving frightened men from her path to the gate. What she would do there, as the orcs held it, she didn't know. Turning her head, she saw Fenron fighting at her back end, keeping men from taking advantage of the dragon's injury.


-Quasim-
Seeing a brave knight crash into the ranks of the black mages, Quasim stepped his horse forward to meet the blade of the man in combat. Offering the man a cruel grin and a devilish glint in his eyes, the dragon-in-disguise pushed against the man's blade. As the skies released their pent-up rain on the city, Quasim's eyes wandered to where he felt the Death Knight and his calvary were. His eyes flickered back to the young man, observing his armor and his actions. Clearly a high-level knight. Quasim reigned in his horse, taking his sword back and retreating to a safe distance.

"Retreat to the stand of trees!" Quasim ordered, indicating the several trees in the clearing. His golden eyes never once left the young knight, sure that something about him was unique and possibly offering a challenge to the dragon. At least in his human form. For the dragon, his ego knew no bounds. He was convinced none could defeat him, and it led him to recklessness.

Davin lunged downward, lashing his great blade through the exposed throat of a Shadow Knight mage, ending the man's surely withering incantation before it could reach fruition. Even as he straightened to meet the next of his opponents, there emerged before him a powerfully built man, a strange aura of majesty and strength rolling from the dark rider like heat radiates from a blazing bonfire. In an instant the two had locked blades, the runes marked along Gehring's blade flaring into vibrant crimson life as the two struggled with one another.

Something about the man, something about this dark rider with his fell steed had caught Davin's attentions, and would not let them go.

Yet as suddenly as it began, the tides of war carried the two apart once more. Even as the rider had dropped back, a surge of soldiery milling between the two, he began to sound a retreat, calling for his men to return back to the treeline. Davin, however, was far too busy to do more than note this happening and consign it to memory as a new threat materialized.

A girl, hardly old enough to be called a woman, dropped from the sky on the back of a mighty dragon. At the first Davin assumed the pair were fighting for the Voric Knights, given the great reptile's coloring. Yet in the next instant such thoughts were dashed as the bronze dragon viciously struck out at his men. In but a moment's time, the girl herself had found her way to where Davin fought. She seemed somewhat surprised, almost, yet to her credit she acted quickly and decisively by putting forth a blistering jet of flames.

Unfortunately for the girl, such tactics were of little use against him.

Instinctively the Aegis lifted into the path of the eldritch flame, taking the brunt upon its ancient surface. Yet still curls of blazing fire likced at his arm, his hand, his face. In the end, Davin emerged unscathed from the fiery lash, the arcane manufacture of the element shattering upon his form like water against stone. For generations his family had found itself impervious to the machinations of spell, both malign and beneficial.

As there were men who were born to wield such power as to burn the heavens themselves, so was Davin Cloud born to defy those powers.

In a heartbeat he was upon her, Gehring sweeping forward to deflect her own spinning blow, a short bladed sword in her hand. Even as her initial strike was tossed out of line, his own sword struck with lightning speed and impeccable skill. The flickering blow lanced towards the inside of the elbow of the woman's sword arm, even as Kyris stamped forward with flashing hooves and a mighty snort.

-----

Within the walls, a hurriedly assembled group of mages, most merely apprentices gathered to deal with the quickly rising flames. Working in conjunction, the smal lgroup summoned the element of water, coursing it in sweeping waves over the flames until they were doused. Next, they would turn their attention to the much more difficult task of pushing away the storm itself, summong the wind to their bidding.

Meanwhile, the group of knights attempting to tackle the dragon and its rider found themselves in somewhat of a pickle. The dragon, though wounded, was dangerous and was making a break for the gate, whether for escape or for mischief none could tell. Her rider on the other hand, had shifted into some nightmare of a beast and was quickly proving that he too was far from being simple to deal with. The pursuers had held back, unleashing javelins and crossbows, attempting to take the pair down from range.

-----

Below the city itself, the true mages of the Voric order had gathered, and here they were attempting to put into place their plans for saving the city. Twenty four in all, the group stood in silence, gathered about a great rune marked stone, pooling their mystic ability and building up to being able to work their grand defense.

SKALLAGRIM:

The death knight and his cavalry sat silently watching the events unfold. Quasim had ordered the men to fall back to the tree line, the ensuing chaos sealed it. The heavy cavalry would not be employed this day as the sudden and unexpected show of force from the orcs had secured the entrance into Blode. Clearly the leader of the Shadow Knights had hoped to trap what ever defenders he could between his foot soldiers and the living cavalry.

Of course it would have worked as it had in the past, allowing the heavy cavalry to crash through the meager defenses and burst through the gates leading the Shadow Knights to another conquest of a defeated city. But not today, not today, Skallagrim wheeled his mount and said gruffly, "Pass it down we shall be falling back behind the line of trees the foot is retreating too." Without waiting to see that his orders followed, Skallagrim and his commanders made their way to a point just outside the tree line and far enough away from the infantry to allow them to support Quasim and his madness if they had to.

As he started away he felt a tug of resonance swirl from the Shadow Knight leader, pausing Skallagrim let his amethyst energies trace the thrum towards...a Voric Knight? As he watched Skallagrim became intrigued, the martial display and what? Skallagrim probed the knight but for some reason the quintessence seemed unable to catch and define the knight or his thrum.

Turning Skallagrim focused his energies to explore the knight...yet found nothing there, simply a blank slate, the sheen of the knight pristine, yet the magical energies that comprised the death knight's powers could not define the creature, no matter how much effort he expended. Snarling the death knight sat astride his undead mount, the swirling amethyst energies flowed around him, seemingly alive, the skeletal hands tapping the hilt of his war sword. Who ever that knight was, certainly had his attention as well.

WARRGH:

The sudden retreat of the Shadow Knights fueled the Orcs to pursue the enemy, yet Warrgh snarled as he paused a moment to catch his breath. He traced the movement towards a line of trees a fair distance from the battle field. As he watched he caught the gleam of purplish light, turning his attention towards it he spotted a shimmering field of purple light...a death knight!

Gnashing his teeth, Warrgh furrowed his brow as he noticed the heavy black and purple banners of the feared dead cavalry of the Shadow Knights. For some reason they had not attacked, they could have tipped the balance in their favor, yet they had remained on the side. Was this a trap?

Suddenly Warrgh looked around and then towards the sky, clearly the Shadow Knights were planning something, and the black clouded sky, rife with unnatural lighting indicated something of the eldritch wizardry of the Black Mages. His deep bass voice carried and was picked up by Jarls and shouted down the line, "G'jast! G'jast!" The word retreat was passed to the orc warriors, who took swipes at those close by but stopped and closed rank, and started back pedaling slow until they were flush against the castle walls.

Looking at the battered remains of his army, Warrgh snarled and slammed his sword into the ground, grasping a fallen warrior's spear he planted in front of him, quickly the others followed suit. Soon a wall of spears and pole arms lined raggedly before the orcs, they were prepared for a cavalry charge.

Fighting against the men, Storm wasn't ready for the spears and arrows slung at her. Several arrows found their way into her skin, between her scales. Snarling in pain, the dragon snapped the arrow shafts off, leaving the heads embedded in her skin, irritating her. The dragon limped toward the gates, seeing her escape cut off as orcs began to line up before it. Growling to herself, she turned to face the men as a blur of blue landed before her, electricity shooting from its scales and mouth. The blue dragon, Klaus, whipped around, shooting dangerous, if not deadly, electricity from his maw. Men fell back from fear, intimidation, and the force of electricity. Where the blue dragon landed, Fenron stood with hackles raised.

Using the temporary distraction, Klaus turned to Storm. "Rescue. I owed you, now I dont," he said simply. "Follow me. Can you fly?"

Storm lowered her head. "Questionable," she said quickly, testing her leg and wincing as the bones ground against each other. "I can try."

Klaus snorted, sparks of electricity jumping from his nose. Battle charged him, excited him and thrilled him. "Hurry to it, there is no reason I should be fighting humans," he growled.

Storm bunched her muscles, twitching in pain. Fenron leaped from the ground, scrabbling to the saddle as the white dragon let off a puff of ice air and pushed up. Her wings flapped hard, pumping strongly as she rose off the ground. Pushing off the wall, she gained altitude slowly as Klaus protected her from below. Arrows still shot toward her, some hitting while others fell horridly short. As she cleared the wall, she heard a dim shout rise from the battlefield, growing in intensity as time passed.

"Retreat! Retreat!"

The voices, human, ogre, minotaur and dragon floated on the air. The battle, though not over, would take a rest for the night. Setting her wings in a glide, she set towards the back lines. Klaus, injured by multiple arrows, lances, and javelines, followed suit, his majestic blue and tan body soaring over Storm, dripping crimson blood on the white dragon below.

Shintan sighed heavily. Seeing both forces retreat he stepped back and wipes sweat of his forhead. He was thankfull for the battle ending for the time being, he had been fighting for endless hours and was greatly fatigued. This also gave him the chance to enter Blode, as his troops were supposed to go there before battle, but since they had been stopped from marching to blode by the bandits they had arrived to late to do that. Now was his chance. Whistling loudly 50 steeds rode galliantly towards Shintan and his elven warriors. He mounted his white steed and the other elves (43 left alive) mounted theres, while some got the wounded onto the horses of the dead. Once they were all mounted, Shintan lifted his spear out of the ground and watched as both forces retreated.

Carefully biding his time and cutting down the few goblins who hadnt retreated, Shintan and his elves rode towards Blodes city gate. He watched as Voric Knighthoods troops quickly went through. Looking back at the endless destruction behind him on the feild, he watched as thousands of soldiers from both sides lay still on the floor, odd spears and arrows sticking on the ground and dead horses. If Shintan wasnt on horse back and was fighting on the front lines, he could have swam in all the blood that was there. Hopefully they would move the bodys or destroy them before the next sun rise. Or the area for miles around would stink of rotting flesh. He knew that orcs and goblins stunk while alive, and didnt want to find out what they stunk of dead. So on that he rode through the gate after the rest of Voric Knighthoods army. As soon as his troops were through Shintan and his warriors immediately found themselves surrounded by troops, raising there spears towards them. "Easy there!" Shintan said holding Gold Dragon up "We come as reinforcements from the elven kingdom, i am Shintan, son of eglevian and these are my loyal warriors. I have a scroll for the leader of your army that explains the situation. Where can i find him?" He said his words boldy and in the best english he could. His accent faultered a bit and he immediately heard elven words spoke besides him;

"What if they dont accept our reinforcements, after all we have 37 men and 6 wounded, that isnt even enough for a battalion!". Shintan turned to the person who was speaking elvish, and watched as his young Co-commander spoke. Shintan looked at him and spoke in elvish words

"Firstly, i thought you were dead, secondly: If you remember we only came here as an envoy and to help them in the battle. And they will have to accept are reinforcements. Even with us they may lose the city, but they should be desperate for extra men after what ive seen. They should accept."

The Co-Commander, better known as Egeth spoke again in quick elvish words "Fine, when they answer our question i will send a messenger to our king. He will then decide what to do. If we are lucky. He will send reinforcements"

Shintan turned back to the soldiers surrounding him "Where is your leader?" He asked again in weak english. And then waited for an answer

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

Tobi was thankfull of the retreat. He quickly hopped down the tree and landed on the ground, another picture held in his hand wich he folded into his pocket "War is only good for my art" he said smiling. He then quickly went with the rest of the Shadow knights back to camp.

The Voric Knight ignored the flames she sent at him, Keara thought quickly for a second faltering in her spin, giving him just enough time to place a cut now her sword arm near elbow. She let out an angered scream, jumping back quickly, her sword placed protectively in front of her, “Pyrrus” she called, sounding calm except the urgent tone to her voice.

Pyrrus let out another roar, trying to get to Keara, he slashed his bronze claws at the soldiers, knocking them flying, with long slashes across their chests. He thundered forward so he stood behind her, thinking fast, he let out another roar sending flames at him, giving Keara a chance to get on his back, which she took. Pyrrus slashed at the horse, hoping to send it into a frightened frenzy, before taking off into the sky. “I told you to stay close to me” he growled annoyed. "Retreat! Retreat!" they heard from the battlefield. Pyrrus gave another annoyed snort before gliding down to the back of the army, landing heavily back on the ground.

Kyris leapt as the dragon's breath erupted towards them, skittering away from the blazing cloud of fire. Flames scorched both horse and man, though the quick action of the steed had kept both safe from more serious wounds. Yet there was still the woman, who's speed and skill allowed her a single pass at Kyris, the blade biting into the animal's haunch viciously. The two tumbled, Davin springing clear as any able horseman would, to come up in a clatter of armor and weapons some few feet away. His eyes narrowed as the girl was carried away on the back of her dragon.

In the next few moments, the field was clear of the enemy, and the regrouping had begun. Wounded were quickly removed from the field, be they Voric or Shadow. All would be treated and cared for, though the warriors of the Shadow Knights would be kept under close guard and constant vigil within a secure area. Likewise with the mounts of the fallen or wounded. Those animals well enough to serve would be put back into service for the Voric Knights, gathered up as the field of battle was emptied and the city refortified.

Davin walked slowly with his faithful friend. His sword hung silently at his hip, bumping mutely against his leg as he walked. He had alreayd removed his saddled and tack from the horse, making it easier for the animal to move. It was a slow, painful procession, but it was steady. When the doors were reached, the pair moved slowly inside past workers and soldiers who had alreayd begun to shore up the gates once more, and to reprovision the arrow baskets and prepare for the next attack. There, held at bay by a group of soldiers was a mounted group of elvish warriors, seemingly trying to explain their case.

"Stand down, men, let them breathe for your fathers' sakes."

Davin moved forward, pushing past the soldiers as they lowered their weapons. Kyris stood calmly as a squire beganto check the wounds of the horse.

"Hail and well met then, Shintan ap Eglevian. Your help and the aid of your men is gladly welcomed in these dark times. I am Davin Cloud ap Carin of the Voric Knighthood."

Davin moved forward to greet the elf, reaching for his hand to shake.

"Please, come with me. I feel there is need to consult, all of us allies here, for the Shadow merely rests and licks it wounds. They will come again, on that you can be certain."

With a gesture the Knight summoned one of the ubiquitous pages, and quickly instructed the boy to ask the Orc commander and the high mage as well as the eldest among the gold dragons to join them in the meeting hall of Blode Keep.

"Come friend Shintan, let us confer and replenish ourselves. There will be food and drink for us as well as for our men. We are well provisioned, thank the Gods, and hunger shall be no problem, for now at least."

That said, Davin began making his way to the keep, sighing as he surveyed the damage done to his belowved city, yet proud for the valiant defense put up thus far.

Egeth looked at Shintan and said in thick elvish "He seems....Energetic" the words came out curiously and Shintan smiled at him and replied in his native tongue "Thats how they are here, a land of cheap traders and people who will do anything as long as they get what they want in return".

He turned to his troops and spoke in quick elvish words and then turned, resting Gold Dragon across his shoulders he looked at Davin "Lead the way" he said in english and dissmounted his horse, wich followed the horses of the other warriors out of the city.

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

Tobi looked at the shadow knight camp and wandered around trying to find his tent. After carefully finding it he walked through and saw a black mage there sat on one of the three empty sleeping platforms. "Wheres whats-his-name?" Asked Tobi noticing that the other one wasnt here. The mage said "Probobly dead, anyway get some rest."

Tobi didnt reply and sat down. He pulled out his pictures and welded them into a large book wich seemingly empty pages, he did this with basic magic and then slotted it back into his bag.

The skeletal riders of the heavy cavalry sat silently as the rest of the Shadow Knights retreated back to their camp. Drummers of the cavalry beat out a somber march as the fluttering black and amethyst banners stood silently, poised at a precise angle, as the undead arms no longer became weary from the stance.

Skallagrim shook his head slightly as he traced the walls of the great city below them, the ragged horse traps placed before the walls indicated someone wanted the cavalry to stay away. Turning his great charger, Skallagrim made his way towards the camp, followed by his guard.

Somehow the enemy had managed to thwart their first attack, an attack that should have allowed the heavy knights into the city followed by the rest of the army, yet they were met and forced back from the gates. Stopped so throughly that the heavy cavalry had never been put into place.

And that warrior who was unreadable with magic, he was clearly a threat, an unknown factor and Skallagrim hated unknown factors. They tended to make their leader, a boastful and arrogant dragon, take unneeded actions to satisfy his own pride.

The knights rode past the remnants of the black mages, they had suffered mightily in this battle and that happened rarely. Clearly this was going to be a much tougher city to take than they had imagined.

-Quasim-
Standing near the trees, the great dragon closed his eyes, concentrating fully on his true form, that which allowed him to think like a dragon. Not a pathetic human. When he opened his eyes, he towered over the trees and his army, just the way he liked it. His lips pealed back in a sharp-toothed grin as he set his heavy body down on the ground, rolling his shoulders as if to work out the kinks of his human form. Seeing his horse panic before him, he reached his neck down, his forked tongue slithering around the animal's middle, pulling it into his jaws. With a crunch, the horse was dead and sliding down the dragon's throat. It was a guilty pleasure of his, horseflesh. He was aware the horse would have been useful to someone, but he was hungry and the dragon always served himself before others... if he served others at all.

The dragon's golden eyes watched the battlefield as it emptied of both Shadow knights and Voric knights. The lesser dragons and their riders pulled from the battle field only after the reptilian creatures had had their fill of the dead or dying men on the field. Heaving a sigh, the great dragon looked around him, watching the mages regroup and the death knight's calvary assemble outside the ranks of the other soldiers. Tents popped up in the area, brought to the stand of trees by those who hadn't participated in the battle. Dragons began to drop from the skies, landing gracefully on the outskirts of the army, tending to their wounds on their own. Making a mental note to send a healer to the dragons, Quasim sighed heavily, wondering what they were to do for their next attack. Surely the Voric knights would be watching the castle walls all night. An attack under cover of dark wouldn't be an advantage at all.



-Kirstana-
Drifting in and out of consciousness, the young archer lay at the bottom of the wall. Her body felt broken in every possible place when in reality she had suffered only a broken rib. She had landed on a minotaur. The smelly beast was still below her, twitching occasionally. Her eyes fluttered open as hands grasped her, lifting her from the back of the shaggy minotaur.

"You're in good hands," a voice said. "The healers will help you, dont worry."

She closed her eyes, wincing in pain. She hoped the healers would be able to help, she felt broken. Her mind searched her body for her arrows and her bow, but found no sign of the quiver on her back or the bow in her hand. panicked, she fought futilely against the men, her eyes wide in fear. "My arrows! My bow!" she gasped out.

"Don't worry about them, the battle is over for now," a different voice said softly.

Calming down, the young woman let herself be pulled to the healers. Once they had worked their magic over her body, she felt new, at least for the most part. She still had a slight limp, but was otherwise in working order. Thanking the healers, she found her way to the courtyard. Seeing the Knight Davin and a small group of elves, Kirstana walked to them. Nodding in greetings to Davin, she looked to the elves.

"This is a war. And you bring a handful of elves. Do your people not care if the Shadow Knights take our lands? Yours will surely be next," she said, frustration blazing in her eyes. Her distrust of elves stemmed from her past experiences with them. Turning to Davin, she sighed. "What are the orders? I've been out cold, whats been happening?" she asked.

Shintan

Shintan looked at the rude Human girl with an annoyed look on his face. A face expression that stretched between "Oh no you did'nt!" and "How rude". He looked around curiously and heard her comment about his 'Handfull of elves'. He watched her talk to the man called Davin then said to her "Well this 'Handfull of Elves' as your so stupidly put it, is not meant to be a full fighting force. This is nothing more than an envoy - Or scout force. We should be expecting more back up in the following days."

Atleast...I hope so...Surely our prince will not be as arrogant as to send no help, or word of our next orders....Until then, ill just have to help this battle in any way possible Shintan was slightly annoyed now, and turned to his warriors who were standing uncumfortably in the Human enviroment. Looking around at the injured and soldiers hurrying through the streets he sighed, wandering what to do and blatantly decided to wait until 'Davin' felt ready to lead them to there destination. He then turned back to the women"You seem to have a hatred of elves. Well you should atleast be thankfull. If it wasnt for us you would have little more than a hundred goblins sneaking around the side of the city, perhaps even sneaking onto the city wallls."However, once again his mind and sight wandered over all the strange human architechture he had never layed eyes on. This was extremely weird, alien even from his point of view. These buildings Had triangle roofs and were made of stone bricks, rectangle doors and plain windows. Whereas his home city had bueatifully curved and hard worked on architechture, even peasent houses were made bueatifully. With the stems of the roofs curving and ending in sharp points. Some even had short statues of great elven leaders on them. But his mind immediately went back on track as he heard Elvish words pour into his ears. He looked calmly at the soldier speaking to him, and nodded. He replied in his native tongue and the elven warrior stood back. "Ok. So are we going to be made to stand in the cold all night. Or am i going to be escorted to your leader, as was our.....Original arrangement."


Tobi

The strange-little-orange mask wearing-Black mage was sat quietly on a branch of the tree he spent most of his time sat on earlier in the day. Things seemed to be much calmer now - This he was thankfull for. He carefully slipped off the tree and landed with a silent and soft thud on the ground, his legs ready bent and his right arm touching down on the floor to keep himself balanced. Then at that, he hopped back to his feet; in the manner of a small fluffy creature most people would want to hug for the rest of there lives.

His vision streched only around 20 metres infront of him in the dark, and since his vision was limited only to his right eye whilst wearing the mask. He did not see it coming when the left side of his face smashed into the trunk of a tree. The force of impact sending him spinning like a spinning-blade as he dizzily continued his way back to camp Why does that always happen? He thought slightly confused as he saw the camp coming into the sight of his right eye. He looked at the strange goings on his fellow soldiers and mages did as he walked through the camp. He passed Minatours and goblins and all sorts of evil creatures. Doing what they naturally do (Wich Tobi didnt understand). He sighed as he walked back to a fire nearest to his tent. Then sat down on a log and enjoyed (At the curtosy of a goblin) rotten sheep meat cooked by a fire. Even though it was still raw to Tobi. So whilst talking to a few fellow soldiers, he nodded and agreed with them. Almost ellegantly as he flicked his meat behind him and heared it land softly in a bush. He was good at tricks, and deception while doing them was easily done for him.

As he continued his conversation with a minatour and goblin - Whos languages he hardly understood, he lost more and more morale as they spoke of evil things like killing women and children and such. Although he would never admit it openly (Upon fear he would get killed). He started fearing he had chosen the wrong side; he simply didn't have the heart for evil.

After saying good-bye to the goblin and minatour he started walking away from the camp. As he left it he started walking the woods alone in the dark. With the help of a spell so simple he could even do it (Night-eye incase your wondering). He wandered through the trees and slightly got offset by the sudden noises of owls and forest animals. What calm creatures...No-one ever bothers them and they live there lives without even thinking.....Glad im not one of them he thought as he continued on his way. He then suddenly stopped, looking at a strange creature in a tree that he couldnt quite make out. But of course he didnt know what was going to happen would happen...

After 5 minutes of thinking he came to the conclusion that it was a squirrell, and then took a step forward, tripping over a large stick and landed in a slight rolling pose at the very top of the land that he didnt notice before that suddenly sloped down into a very steep hill. Slightly annoyed about his stupidity he spen the next 3 minutes rolling down a mile long hill. Grunting and wincing in pain as he hit rocks, twigs, trees and even the occasional cute dear thats always in the wrong place at the wrong time as he continued on his way down the path of fate. When he finally stopped he was covered in so many bruises he was black, not to mention unconcious as he started to slowly wake up. When he came fully awake he spent the next 10 minutes wondering what had happened "Strange....I could have sworn i was on higher ground than this before...." he muttered as he got up. However as he used his muscles and got to his feet he suddenly realised the pain that had been cast upon him like a curse on a princess from those soppy kid fairytales.

In the following hour, anyone within 3 miles away would hear the small orange masked man making his way up a steep hill, grunting and cursing with pain as he went.

Warrgh stood a moment as the night fell, his Orc's had broken into small camps of troops huddled around fires outside the walls of the great walled city of Blode. His dark eyes followed the last of the Shadow Knights as they retreated towards their camp fro the evening.

Turning he made his way into the city, clearly the war chiefs would have to discuss their next actions, the power of the Shadow Knights hadn't been fully revealed. It seemed as if this attack was merely a probe of their defenses, and what they had discovered only the Shadow Knights would know.

Warrgh strode through the city and found the leaders of the defenses, and was mildly surprised at the appearance of an Elf. As Warrgh got closer he realized it was none other than Shintan, an elf would he would count as an enemy any other day.

Warrgh's growling voice carried, "Shintan! Indeed the world is coming to an end when Elf and Orc stand on the walls of a human city against the Shadow Knights!" After a moment he broke into a large toothy grin as he bowed in the human fashion to the Elf.

"As much as I loathe to say it...I am pleased to see you here." Turning to the others Warrgh said quietly, "What shall we do now!"

"As much as i hate to say it, i am pleased to see you to" Shintan said rather akwardly, although was slightly held back as he had a very hatefull past experiance with Orcs.

He is right though....The world but be coming to an end if an orc and elf are in a human city...ON THE SAME SIDE

He sighed and looked around, quite bored as he waited for the knight who was supposed to be leading him to a meeting would take himt here. "Anyway, is there any news from outside Blode? Any reinforcements on the way?"