"I know we should be prepared for something to attack us, but, it still feels odd to build our fortifications this way." I remark quietly to Bsess as we observe the regular troops go about cleaning up our mess. It was a while off, but they had begun turning the abandoned lines of the enemy into something we could use. But the trenches they had dug were an issue, so we were focused on filling them up.
And, with some uncertainty, I had to sit back and watch as the bodies of our foe were used to fill them. Orders had been sent out to not be spiteful about it, so we could avoid Waionr's wrath. But this was a dangerous line we were teetering on the edge of. Thankfully, some effort was made to bury them formally, even if it was a hurried along matter.
"It's an unstable pile of debris, it would be movable if they put the effort in."
"And if they did that, it would explode right at us." I point out.
"We are keeping an eye on the other side, Wing-Tip, they won't have the opportunity to do anything of the sort."
"We have yet to even grasp what they are capable of." I remind her as I briefly look over to one of their guns which we had commandeered. It was a strange machine, one that felt so alien. Seemingly, it was a simple weapon, it had the shape of any other cannon we might've had. But there were so many things about it that struck me as odd.
We could feed it power ourselves or load it with these small, tightly-sealed barrels. Their barrels could be shortened or lengthened at a whim, though I did not know why. I just knew I did not want to ever be on the end of them. I had seen what they could do but everyone else was so calm around them.
"Hm, that's odd, a rider is coming at us oddly fast." Bsess commented as she turned towards the fortress.
"If he is riding with that kind of urgency, we should head down to meet him." I say before Bsess plants her arm against my chest. Blocking me off from any attempt to move ahead.
"The fortress shields are being turned on."
"W-Why!? There's nothing coming..." I started to question before I started to feel out the world around me. A great power was on its way. But it wasn't just the magic it was pumping out that caught our attention. A mighty declaration called out from beyond the mountains.
"Back to the fortress, now!" Bsess told me as I started to go pale. I knew that sound... The same sound that drowned my senses all the way back then... An airship...
An airship!
"No! They're coming to us." I tell her as I grab her and pull her down. Ignoring her initial anger just as everyone appeared. Everyone had been brought... The entire wing was called for battle.
"You two, with us, now!" Uala snapped the moment she passed by. Though, as the others did not stop, we could infer that our plan would be discussed in transit.
"I hope you've left nothing behind." I tell Bsess as I put on my helmet and pick up my sword. Before flying, however, I leapt off of the fortifications and briefly sprinted. Only launching into the air once a safe distance had been reached. Yet, I quickly landed again when I saw how the others had assembled on a mountain peak just ahead of our barricade.
"Everyone is accounted for, Wing-Head Allyoceer." Uala informs her just as me and Bsess walk up to them.
"I am sure you all just heard it if you did not feel it, but an enemy airship is on the direct approach. We must intercept it before it can present its broadsides before the fortress!" Allyoceer explained. And I agreed with her, we could not let those guns get near our fortress. They would erase it from existence if they so much as got within a fingers-reach!
Yet...
"Our blades cannot pierce their armour! Their weapons would wipe us out!" I let out fearfully as I remembered my past experience with them.
"Stow the uncertainty!" Uala snapped as she forced her foot down at me.
"THIS IS NOT UNCERTAINTY! I HAVE FACED THEM BEFORE! WE CANNOT WIN THIS!" I scream up at her as my fear gets the best of me.
"You face them before and have no confidence that we can win!?" she says accusingly as she hops down to confront me at my level. And within a single burst, I found myself forced up against the mountain with a blade placed right against my chest.
"Wh-What're you doing!?" I demanded to know.
"It's pretty clear that you are a... COWARD!" Uala built up to as the tip of her blade scraped at my armour.
"ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU!" Allyoceer roared as she shoved Uala away and then me when I aggressively moved to my feet.
"Wing-Head, listen to me... We cannot win this!" I tell her as that same image repeated in my head again and again. Of how my blade harmlessly bounced off of the armour all that time ago. I went at it with all I had and I did nothing to it!
"There is nowhere for us to go, Wing-Tip Vapooliar! We either fight and win or fight and die!" she told me with an aggressive poke before she backed up and went to the top of the mountain.
"I'm not a coward, I will not run... But you have to realise, the armour is too thick, the weapons are too strong!" I try to explain to her as she steels herself before the distant sight that I hid against.
"All of you, join me up here, gaze at the enemy." Allyoceer told us calmly as she removed her helmet. She was scared as well but she stood up there regardless. Slowly, others began to join her, but I stayed in the shadow of the mountain.
"Vapooliar, take my hand." Dannatili urged me after she went up onto the peak. At first, I did not respond, but, eventually, I moved my hand forward and took hers. Yet I did not move until she pulled me up with the help of the others.
"I want you all to look out at what we face, the terror that has seen our nation collapse at a horrifying rate. Lines we have held for so long, cities we defended for near-eternity. They fell because of things like this. They have established a new tradition for us, one of retreat and destitiution. But, with your help, I would like to see an end to this. I know we will put an end to this. So, Imdvarce, Ammimpaurst, Staguiffmani! VALKINVAR! JOIN ME SO WE MIGHT PUSH THIS THING BACK AND SAVE OUR HOME! WORRY NOT IF YOU FALL! FOR YOU WILL PASS ON OUR WOES TO OUR LORD WAIONR! NOW JOIN ME VALKINVAR! JOIN ME!"
And with that, she launched off towards the enemy with her blade pointed ahead. Everyone joined her with steeled hearts and determined glares. But as they went, I found myself left behind. Terror dominated me...
"You are not alone, Vapooliar, not anymore." Lavauroas told me quietly before he intentionally destroyed the mountain peak under me.
"FLY WITH US WING-TIP!" Uala of all people roared back at me as I suddenly fell with the collapsing mountain top.
"Y-Yes..." I answered as I called on my magic and let it explode out of me. The rubble that once enveloped me was blown away and I soared off to join my brother and sisters. I had much to make up for and this would be where I would start!
"If you have any knowledge you'd like to pass, now is the time Vapooliar!" Allyoceer demanded from me as I went into my place at the edge of our wing.
"Whatever you do, avoid those guns! They erase everything!"
"No magic can do that!" Uala argued. And I could understand the scepticism even now. The power these weapons had was incomprehensible!
"No, she is right! Vapooliar is right! I have felt it! These guns wipe out everything! Do not test yourselves against them! We cannot and must not intercept them! Leave it to me if we must!" Dannatili told them as she built up some magic preemptively.
"Just tell me what to smash down and I'll make you an opening!" Lavauroas boasted as he broke formation to collect some stone from the nearby mountains.
"BREAK FORMATION! IT'S FIRING!" Allyoceer shouted out to us as a tremendous power build-up suddenly occurred.
"This isn't the guns... I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS IS!" I tell them as I guide my part of the wing on a sharp veer to the right.
"WIND MAGIC, BUT DON'T GET COCKY!" Dannatili clarified for us as we seemingly found ourselves staring directly at the eyes of this machine.
"WATCH YOURSELVES!" Allyoceer screamed out to us before the howl of these weapons drowned out all noise.
"What th-" I let out before I was suddenly caught in a powerful vortex that flung and threw me about. And it was only made more dangerous with all these swords flying about near us.
"NOW! ESCAPE NOW!" Dannatili roared as she briefly blasted the vortexes away. And in that moment, I shot up towards her. Snatching her up before I carried on into the sky.
"We need to get closer..." I point out as their tornado-like shape became apparent from the outside. All that power was focused for a good distance before it suddenly burst out.
"All the easier with how they are still advancing..." Dannatili commented before the titanic machine groaned under its own weight.
"It's presenting a broadside... EVERYONE! WATCH YOURSELVES!" I realised before I screamed as loud as I could so all could hear. Did they just try to disorient us so they could catch us in a mass of fire!?
"BREAK FORMATION! LOOSE YOURSELF FROM THE WING!" Allyoceer cried as our vision lit up with bluish-purple light.
"We need to move quickly, those shots are coming in at us at a converging angle!" Dannatili told me.
"We pull back, then, let them come." I tell her.
"We need to push to the airship!"
"Trust me!" I urge her as I think again and again about what we could do.
"COWARDS!" Uala presumes as she moves to intercept. But with a quick, downward slash, I stop her charge!
"Pull back and let the rounds meet us! Let them wipe themselves out so we can advance in between the volleys!" I explain to her as I send her off to gather her side of things.
"Meet back at me, both all of you!" Dannatili tells us as I dive down to grab Cetrepe, Bsess and Osses. Two of them had already got themselves back up, but one of them had it worse. They were thrown against a mountain and were dangerously isolated.
"WING-TIP!" she cried in relief as I stopped right before her to snatch up her hand. And the moment our hands locked together, I sent us back the way I came until she let go once she gathered her strength.
"We're meeting up here! Move!" I tell her as the strange warbling of the enemy artillery drowned out all other noises.
"Get ready... NOW!" Dannatili called out as she sent her own magic out to meet them head-on. And in a tremendous arcane fireball, our vision suddenly became dominated by a single mass. It vanished as quickly as it came. But the results were unsettling.
The sudden vacuum they had created pulled us all in and the sky ignited with our power. We had to get out of here! And we went about it quickly. Going ahead in three lines headed by me and the other two officers.
"Get to that hull and cling to it!" Allyoceer ordered just as we met back up. With a nod, I then split away with my three sisters. I did my best to guide them through the repeated volleys and the stress grew. Thankfully, however, we all slammed right onto the hull of the airship.
We arrived as one and now we had to fight as one!
"You're right, we can't get past this armour..." Cetrepe commented as she pulled her sword away from the unharmed armour.
"Now what? Those guns will wipe us out if we face them!" Osses said.
"We find weaker armour, head up, onto the deck!" I urge them as I glance upwards. Briefly leaping on top of one of the cannons before I launched skyward. And with my blade at the ready, I dashed down the moment the first enemy entered my sights.
"SKY-MARINES, ENGAGE THE ENEMY!" an officer roared as the army that met me on the deck of the airship opened fire. But despite their bravery and efforts, their tight formations and restricted movement was a perfect opportunity for me. And I launched ahead with my blade before me. Knocking a few off at the end of my dash before I noticed the guns were still firing on our end.
"What're you doing... Don't linger out there..." I commented under my breath as I saw my sister's circle the skies around the airship. However, it gave me an idea when I caught on to how the guns lit up before they released their shot. And I had plenty of ways to interrupt their projectiles all around me!
So with a sudden grip that snapped the neck of the nearest soldier. I brought them up and over, slamming them downwards straight towards a glowing barrel. At first, it seemed like it would miss, but their foot caught the orb just as it left the barrel. And the explosion tore through the hole!
This was our moment! I had torn open a path for us to take! We had a way inside of the airship! And I intended to exploit that!
"No..." I found myself saying, though. One peek had all but dashed my hopes of a chance to get inside the airship. The armour had been gouged open, yes, but it was too thick... I couldn't even see how much further it was going, but the gun had been silenced as well!
All I had done was ineffectively scarred the mighty warship...
"Wing-Tip, there are too many up there!" Bsess told me as she joined me with the other two in this glorified crater I had made.
"The others haven't had any luck either, it seems." Cetrepe commented as she peeked out towards the other guns.
"We need to regroup with the others, reconsider our strategy." I mutter before I catch sight of a new problem. Smaller airships were rapidly leaving the larger one and making a break for the sky!
"What're they doing!?"
"Whatever it is, they're headed for the fortress!" I point out as I watch their trajectory. They were amassing large amounts of wind magic at their rears!
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.
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"We have the Valkinvar occupied, commence with your assault, Lead of the Charge." the Captain-Engineer ordered across our communications.
"Of course, cut transmission." I acknowledge before I order the pilot to put us in the dark. We knew what we had to do and this would ensure we stayed out of sight. It was hard to not notice the Thunderous Brawler, but we did not need any wayward minds following us.
"Inter-ship transmission established." one of the crew told me as I walked out of the cockpit.
"All heavy lancers, rear your ryphurgok into position. We make landfall soon!" I snap to all the other landing craft before I head over to my mighty beast. A scarred veteran like me. One that showed no fear even before a line of pikes and bayonets! Her roar out-deafened their guns and there was no finer partner I could ask for.
"Your ryphurgok is ready, Lead of the Charge." one of my squires told me as they brought forth a step for me to use.
"Make sure everyone else is ready, I can handle myself." I stubbornly told the squire as I snatched up my lance and rested it on the neck-bound hook. And while they scrambled about in cramped conditions to make sure everyone was outfitted. I put on my helmet and made sure it was secured. A low growl left me and I eagerly held onto the handle of my lance, just waiting for the moment to pick it up.
"Landing imminent!" the pilot called back to us as the landing craft suddenly began to swerve and bounce about.
"Easy, Girl." I tell my ryphurgok as she became hypnotised by the forceful shaking. Then, the moment the doors opened, I drove her out onto the man-made mountain. Aware of how eager she was to submit to her base impulses. It amused me still after all these years.
And as she did that, I turned back to watch as the rest of my troops disembarked. Some came out as quickly as I did, their beasts doing much the same. The more timid ones slowly trekked out and a few even came out on foot. Seemingly choosing to mount up outside.
"HEADS HIGH! LANCES FORWARD!" I called out to my men as I urged my mount forward. Bringing her to the top of the enemy's barricade before I brought her up onto her rear legs. And I let her howl to her heart's content so that the fear of our presence would fill them. Then, once my men gathered up alongside me to the backdrop of the orbital-halo...
I lowered my lance...
"FORWARD!" I roared before I threw my weight down on my mount. Forcing her to charge down the steep slope whilst I kept my lance tip held high. The men around me relied on their magic-filled ryphurgokshoes to keep themselves on the sharp slope. But my dear beast was better than that, and I quickly sprang ahead without them.
I was then the first off the slope as patchwork cannon fire began to assail us. With a mighty crash my ryphurgok slammed into the ground. But with the springiness of small game, she leapt back up with a triumphant roar. And we headed the charge as all the others began to follow suit.
Bang after bang came from behind and in front of us. They stormed at us with shot and shell, but it was not enough. Their skills were not enough and we kept on charging. Even as legs were blown out under us and comrades were sent spiralling out of control.
We kept our line and our lances levelled. We brought our power out and let it spiral across the lengths of our weapons. To the greatest sound ever, we charged. That of wind magic and the roars of the legendary beast that gifted it to us!
Their defences grew closer and closer with each violent vibration that shivered through me. We all felt it, the power of our beasts as their rock-crushing limbs smashed at the dirt. The thick, heavy armour they all wore jangled as if it were nothing. Our knuckles were turned white by the strength of our grip.
A rodeo as much as it was a charge. But, the time had come and we were plunged into the battery smoke. Right through their lines, we broke. Cowards and the brave reeled from our charge.
Vicious bangs went off right in our faces as those dreaded pikes of theirs called for our lives. But Mighty Jhrarda would not console our loved ones this day. He would drag their screaming souls to the damnation they had so justly earned. I may have not seen it clearly, but the screams and brief red mist along my lance proved my thoughts true.
Then, upon spotting an opening, I guided my ryphurgok as well as I could to it. Urging my lance forward to tear apart what I could not avoid. Splinters and nails then assailed me as I broke past the hijacked fortifications of our fellow soldiers. But, rather than carry on my charge, I forced mt ryphurgok to stop!
I reared her up and slammed her back down towards their backs. The confusion and battle ahead of them blinded them to me. But to save the lives of my men, I had my beast roar as loudly as she could as I went at them. And right from behind I tore through their lines.
Scything the battlements clear of those I could alongside the support pillars. And as I left, the wooden wall collapsed under its own weight. A process helped by the encouragement of my fellows who leapt out of the debris moments later.
"BRING SOME MEN AROUND AND RUN THOSE LOT DOWN! THE REST OF YOU! FORM A LINE WITH ME!" I called out to the men after slapping a few to the still-standing half of the wall. And with a thudding, anxious heart, I stared up at the distant fortress. A wall of guns and men awaited us and our duty was to head towards it. Bravery, gallantry and honour was needed here.
And I had full confidence that all here could bring it with them. Even those I had asked to come on foot before we had even landed. They of all people needed it. To keep up with our charge while bringing forth the siege equipment...
"A stern heart to you all, brave runners!" I told them whilst thrusting my lance skyward.
"FORWARD!" the men all then roared in unison as we began to slowly build up to our top speed. Thunder filled the plains but the sky did not rumble. Our charge was what matched the wrath of the sky!
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.
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"All aircraft, call in." I called out to my team as I adjusted the settings on my craft. Briefly looking up at the peculiar magic distortion further beyond the clouds before I returned to doing my job.
"Here."
"Same."
"Yes, again."
"Stuff it, you."
"Loud and clear."
They began to say, comment and retort. Some responses provoked bickering from others, but, we were orderly. Everything was so far going fine but we all knew what we had to do. Mislead and misdirect the Valkinvar from our heavy lancers whilst screening the Thunderous Brawler.
"Check payloads and begin your descent." I remind them one final time as I take the lead and head down.
"Valkinvar-Imdvarce in pursuit." one of my rear pilots called out before there was sudden static from him.
"Release payloads if necessary." I tell my pilots calmly as I briefly glance at the flaming debris catching up to me.
"Long Battery is in sight, heavy lancers crossing the Batterywatch."
"Keep them on us." I remind them calmly as I move my hand up to flick some switches. An explosion then went off on my left before an armoured woman shot across my front.
"Breaking formation." one of my pilots called out as they veered away from the main formation.
"Copy that, all follow the example." I tell them calmly as my aircraft suddenly shakes violently as one of my neighbours goes up in flames. Somehow, I was still dropping fast despite holding the lead.
Stolen novel; please report.
"Lead, you got one on your engines. Shooting them off, hold steady." someone told me as my eyes briefly tried to go as far back as they could. But with a neck that would not move, I saw nothing beyond my cockpit.
"Fire away." I acknowledge calmly as I heard metal crunch and shear. I heard it loud and clear on the outside and through the vibrations it sent through me. My hull then began to pop open as missed rounds wounded my craft further.
"You're losing control." someone points out to me before I watch their craft suddenly get bisected. And true to their final words, I was having some trouble maintaining my angle of approach. The Valkinvar suddenly launching off of my rear had forced me elsewhere and damaged my rear.
"Directional fins are gone or locked up. I cannot pull up." I tell my men calmly after realising what that had done.
"You'll miss the target." I was informed as the mountain came more into view than the fortress.
"Stay clear of my rear, I'm building up a bigger load." I tell them as I do a full reverse on what I had done earlier. Warnings then blared off all around me as my craft failed to grasp our situation.
"Hold her steady, I'm coming in over head." I was warned as another aircraft sped up and matched my speed.
"Downwards now, don't worry about my cockpit." I explain calmly as I place both hands on the steering to try and force my directional fins.
"Incoming!" they let out before they went quiet. And their aircraft suddenly rolled off of mine and tumbled to its doom.
"Release loads and break off from me." I tell my men as my ears started to swell up. The thudding in my chest was becoming painful and sparks were blasting against my face.
"Jhrarda guide your aim!" someone told me just before they flung upwards and dropped their magic bombs on the fortress. But, as we knew, nothing was getting past that mist barrier. The bombs lost their form and barely blew it away.
"Stay safe, you lot, pull back from the battle." I told my men with a smile as a tower came into sight.
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"This doesn't make any sense..." I remarked after smashing apart another one of these small airships.
"Don't think about that sort of stuff now!" Osses told me as she knocked another off course.
"They can't break past our shield... These machines are too weak even with all this magic." I explained to her whilst we were briefly near each other before we split off once more.
"Yeah, that explains why they run." she scoffs as I pull her back from pursuing them.
"We only broke off to scare them away, we need to join the others and figure out how to deal with that airship." I tell her as I begin to guide her back in the direction of the distant behemoth.
"Maybe someone should tell those lancers that their support is gone." she comments as we head back to support our wing. But, having said that, I couldn't help but look down at the thin line charging across the plains. They were just lancers and those were thick, stone walls.
For all their status, I had never seen or heard of any ryphurgok capable of such a feat. Only the exaggerated legend of their founder could likely ever accomplish that. But he was just that, an exaggerated legend. It was genuinely strange...
Yet, it was expected in a way. The soldiers for these heretics seemed to be reliant on faced-individuals to lead them. Their leader must've been killed by our guns on the charge. They weren't even going after the men in the plains!
They just went past them completely in a focused charge towards the walls...
"Wing-Tip?" Osses asked me confusedly as I suddenly stopped to watch the charging lancers. Something felt odd here...
"You go ahead, join up with the other two and assist Wing-Head Allyoceer and Wing-Tip Uala however you can. I'm going to..." I explained to her, although I never finished my explanation before I headed down.
"We need you to stop that airship!" she argued.
"Go and help them!" I told her once again as I dived down towards the mass of cavalry. And as I got closer, an object in the back became clearer. Infantry were keeping pace with the cavalry... Strong, able-bodied men with the help of magic were keeping up with them.
The men on the walls were shooting at them, but they were doing it half-heartedly. They were as likely confused as I was too. But, then, all of a sudden, the lancers began to turn away. And they raised their lances as if to honour something.
And I noticed all too late what the small band of infantry were doing.
"OFF THE WAL-" I started to scream before I was suddenly flung back by a massive explosion. I flipped and turned in the air and along the ground briefly. But with one sudden dash I was back in the sky with my sword at the ready. And I crashed into the nearest lancer as they circled back around.
I tried to get as many as I could, but as it was earlier in the day. I found myself panicking as things went awry. The men I was tasked with protecting were now being run down within the very fortress that was meant to protect them! So many had been trampled already and the explosion had only recently occurred...
"No... No! NO!" I began to repeat again and again as I went through with a frenzied slaughter of the ryphurgok cavalry. Yet, even then, some still made it through. With one even going all the way up the path to the upper fortress' gatehouse! And he charged right back down after leaving a large object at its gate.
The soldiers within the tunnel-like firing ports couldn't do anything against that armour. And he rode back down with a triumphant blast from his horn. But, having just seen what those objects do, I set aside my murderous efforts to stop it. I left my sword behind and leapt for it.
Reaching out for it desperately as I watched something change shape and glow brighter. I saw the metal casing heat up rapidly and I hissed as I picked it up. I threw it as far as I could. But was blown into the gatehouse as it suddenly detonated mere halfmans from me.
"VALKINVAR!?" a soldier cried as the sounds of pain and coughing filled my ringing ears. I blinked a few times and got up with their help. But I felt... Shallow...
Again I had failed and the consequences of it were dire. Our fortifications had been breached completely. Both gates were gone. A direct path to the main fortress lay wide open.
"You..." I started to say as I watched the remaining lancers gallop away as our guns fired at them erratically. Many were caught but they escaped with the aid of those small airships which had come back around.
"VALKINVAR, LOOK!" one of the men cried as a terrible noise shook the sky once more.
"N-No..." I struggled to get out as the mighty airship passed over the very rim of the plains. Its shadow already blacked out so much and the magic from its engines disturbed and flattened grass. A shimmering field beneath a potent, blinding power. The world in all its forms quaked before such a sight.
And the world knew only one mindset right now...
"MAN THE GUNS!" filled the fortress and the air around me. And within that steel giant, likely rang the same words. But whatever their silent, shadow-faced soldiers heard. I had to move...
I had to fight!
"Allyoceer..." I choked out as I saw what seemed like mere buzzards. My fellow Valkinvar had still accomplished nothing! So what good was it for me to join them...? I...
No, this was not a time to doubt myself. So I quickly forced myself into the sky and stretched my strength to its limit. All to put myself into the same danger that they were all facing right now. For the sake of everyone I had to.
"WING-TIP VAPOOLIAR! WE'VE HAD NO LUCK!" she screamed to me as I joined up with her as she made another pointless carving run. Her blade showered the sky with sparks but she did nothing. A superficial effort that had hammered hopelessness into all of us.
"THE LOWER FORTRESS HAS BEEN BREACHED! BOTH GATEHOUSES ARE GONE!"
"WHAT!?"
"RYPHURGOKS!" I answered as we found a safe spot right against the hull of the airship.
"No... No... Dammit..." she growled as she violently slammed her free fist against the impenetrable hull.
"What do we do...?"
"Find Dannatili, find Lavauroas, pull them back to the fortress, we need them to join the defence to buy us more time so we can figure out how to stop this thing!" she explained to me as she shoved me back into the air.
"The fortress won't survive!" I cried back to her as I tried to resist looking down. The shadow was only a prelude, but it measured just how far the airship had gotten...
"AND TELL THE GUN CREWS TO FOCUS ON THIS MACHINE!" she screamed at me, ignoring everything I had said so she could have another go at uselessly flailing at it. And, swearing under my breath as I felt water in my eyes, I did as I was told.
"DANNATILI! LAVAUROAS!" I cried again and again as I shot and dashed around the airship. Ironically, however, I could not look for them because of the danger I was in. Shot flew past me with distorted sounds and sensations. Strange magic nets tried to slam against me.
The infantry on board were even still firing from the deck! Even as my sisters went through them like thin glass. They cut them down as a farmer did his crop. So very easily, so very casually with minimal effort.
But they still focused on me and tried to fire, their reckless dismissal... As I panicked and became stressed about the idea of dying. They held their ground even as they died. But, I was still alive and so were the others, so I had to keep going for their sake.
"STAGUIFFMANI! AMMIMPAURST!" I cried out differently before I caught sight of a large blast of wind magic. That very moment, I then burst over to my sister and chaotically halted by her. Finding myself in her care for that brief moment of incompetence.
She had saved my life from one of those cannonballs...
"Where's Lavauroas!?" I asked her as she was meant to be paired with him last I checked.
"ASK HIM!" she shouts before she takes out another gun with a well-timed, well-placed shot. But one out of thousands meant little... Yet, I had not forgotten her words and looked down.
"MAYBE A LITTLE MORE WEIGHT!?" Lavauroas asked the machine as he came rocketing up with a whole train of linked-up boulders brimming with magic. He brought them up and over and slammed them right at the tower on the airship's top. Yet for all the showiness, he had just clogged up their deck with shattered stone.
"Wing-Head Allyoceer has ordered you both back to the fortress. She wants you to focus on stopping the shots from this thing hitting it!"
"Why me!?" Lavauroas demanded to know as he adjusted his position to avoid enemy shot.
"You can throw up interceptors! She wants you to pass on that as well to the gun crews! Have them focus on stopping this thing's shots! Do you hear!?"
"O-Okay..." Dannatili breathed in relief before she left. Lavauroas, however, lingered, seemingly angered by the change of events.
"GAH! IF THIS THING WAS AN ANIMAL THEN I COULD JUST SMASH ITS LEGS AND CRIPPLE IT!" he roared in anger before he explosively shot away from me.
"Oh, we all wish how it was easier..." I groaned fearfully before I joined up with Uala's group. Just as they were making more passes against the topside crew.
"I HOPE YOU CAME TO ME WITH A PLAN!" she roared at me just as she suddenly fell out of the sky and crashed at the end of the prow.
"UALA!" I let out as I dropped down before her to keep her safe from incoming bolts.
"Help me by figuring something out..." she panted in exhaustion before she went into the sky again. Leaving me on my own to face the troops as more and more poured out to meet us. Seeing that, I considered maybe trying to make a sudden dash to the doors. But, it was clear that the others had already tried it.
The signs of battle were there... They had failed to get past the defences of the airship and its crew. Yet, despite this, I still made an enraged sprint for the head of the airship. Its glass windows must've been a weak point!
"DAMMIT!" I cried in fury as my blade bounced away from the magic-dense material. A dull thud shook me and I quickly dove over the airship's edge.
"Wing-Tip!" Cetrepe called out from a safe spot carved from the hull. So I joined her to catch my breath and maybe get her assistance in at least something.
"It's stopping..." I let out as I suddenly snapped my grip on the hull.
"The airship is preparing a broadside!" Cetrepe explained whilst I was confused about why all the guns had stopped. And as we found ourselves presented before the Long Battery Fort. I prayed to all I could. That the gun crews would hit their marks and that the mountain cracker was ready.
I cried out for Guareroisncer in desperation, begging for his strength so that our fortress might hold...
"Hold... Please, hold..." I sobbed as I made sure to stay away from the barrel at the centre of the crater. And then, in a single moment, beyond the green mist that now covered the fortress. I saw it light up orange, yellow and red. I heard a storm suddenly form on the other side.
A volley of stone and metal then washed over us and crashed against the unbreakable armour. The sound of smashing, shattering munitions and fireballs nearly deafened me. Some even struck me and shook me violently. Then it happened again and again!
"WE HAVE TO MOVE!" Cetrepe shouted as she flew over to grab me. Only to be struck right in the side by a large cannonball from our own side!
"Don't worry! I got you!" I told her as my nose flared with activity. Her loose grip contrasted my tight one. And her groans managed to reach me despite the shower of violence we had to endure. Then, with a single push, I pulled her close and shot down the length of the broadside.
Weaving past glowing barrels as they expunged oblivion. Those great engines below me were my target. I wanted to get Cetrepe past the guns and to the ground so she could at least recover! I kept my focus and weaved past the arcane and the physical.
Screaming as I made the final push past the great suction of the engines. Then, just as we neared the ground, I flipped Cetrepe over me and let my body take the force of the blow. I groaned in pain and cried as my body ached. I did not let go until she reacted in some way.
"Wing-Tip..." she let out quietly before I shoved her off.
"Stay here and recover, okay!? We need you..." I tell her as I shake her shoulder harshly. Even now, I could feel that she was stronger than me. They all were. I was just a...
"No, they need you." she corrected as she forced my arm off of her shoulder.
"You're all stronger than me..."
"None of us are stronger than the other! We are stronger together!" she snapped at me as I rose to my feet.
"No... Lavauroas is right, if this was just a living creature you could cripple it and I could watch uselessly from the walls..." I cried as I looked up at the engines struck down at the earth below.
"Yes... Cripple it! TARGET THE ENGINES!" she encourages me to do with enthusiastic fervour.
"My blade can't cut through that!" I tell her as she tries to get me back into the air.
"TOGETHER!" she reminds me with a scream as I am suddenly thrown into the air.
"Dannatili... Lavauroas..." I realize before I rocket towards the fortress. It was a struggle passing by the engines and all that magic. But, I squeezed by, and I did so by forcing myself into the dirt like it wanted me to be. And I popped out into the air the moment the pressure eased up.
I put all I could into my upwards flight and I switched direction the moment I aligned myself with the fortress. A forearm stayed ahead of me, blocking any munitions that might've hit me while my head kept turning back. So much danger was behind me that I didn't remember to look forward. And I crashed through the protective mist and into the fortress.
"GET UP!" Lavauroas demanded as he pulled me out of my mess.
"YOU TWO, WITH ME!" I screamed at them as I snatched up Lavauroas' hand, dragging him along.
"HUH!?" Dannatili squealed as I snatched her up. I brought both of them out into the crossfire and threw them out into the air.
"WHAT'S THE PLAN!?" Lavauroas roared excitedly as I did my best to guide the pair towards one of the forward engines.
"WE'RE GOING TO CRIPPLE IT!" I shout back at them just as Dannatili shoots a bolt of magic to preemptively detonate one of the orbs.
"YOU BEST HURRY!" Dannatili screams as I take painful notice of how many of these orbs were flying past us. Then, in a mere moment, we crashed collectively against the frontal corner of the airship.
"Tell me where!" the Ammimpaurst demanded to know as he prepped his war maul.
"Valkinvar-Staguiffmani Dannatili, lend me your power!" I ask of her as I notice somewhere where I could lodge my blade. I could not cut this steel, but that is what I was counting on. And as I asked, she lent me her power and I grit my teeth as my body burned under the strain.
"GO!" she roared as she funneled it towards me in spite of the engine that tried to steal it from her with its devouring maw.
"STRIKE HERE!" I declare to Lavauroas as he suddenly rose up with a glowing weapon.
"DOWN I COME!" he let out as he suddenly dropped faster than I could fly. He was above it one moment and the next a burst of fire filled my vision.
"We did it..." I let out in relief as the groan of metal drowned out all other noises. The engine was falling and all that magic was suddenly exploding outwards!
"HERE!" Dannatili called out as she shielded us from the blast as best she could as the airship we were pinned against suddenly buckled and moved.
"Take that you stupid machine!" Lavauroas taunted as he bonked his weapon against the thick steel.
"It's still not going down..." I let out with worry. There were six of these engines and I doubted that we had the strength to handle it all. My blade hadn't even survived the moment intact. It had been shattered and bent...
Only the handle and the core remained in any real capacity...
"HOW'D YOU DO THAT!?" Allyoceer suddenly demanded to know as she appeared above us.
"I put my blade into the exposed..." I failed to explain before she caught on to how we did not have the power to do it again.
"Get everyone topside, I have an idea." she suddenly said as she went about gathering the dashing lines of emerald.
"Let's go." I tell the other two as help them up initially before I remembered Cetrepe.
"You did it!" she called out as we met in the air.
"Allyoceer wants us all up top now!" I explain as we instantly follow the order. And as if we had leapt up, we landed on the decking with the others as they gathered about. Some fought while others took the moment to catch their breath.
"They're coming at us in force!" one of Uala's lot pointed out as she gave ground to the horde.
"PUSH DOWN!" Allyoceer suddenly shouted as she went up and slammed straight down into the decking. An action that I only thought of as odd, I did not let it stop me. I joined up with her and exerted all I could. I had a feeling I knew what she was doing!
"THOSE THINGS ON THE EDGE WON'T LET YOU!" Uala pointed out as she broke away from the group to suddenly shear off what we had ignored previously.
"IT'S WORKING! THE AIRSHIP IS LOSING ALTITUDE!" someone called out as explosions began to litter the left side of the airship.
"JUST A LITTLE MORE!" Allyoceer roared as we all screamed to our heart's content. We forced all of our magic out and watched from the corner of our eyes as the view changed. The airship was going down! We were really doing it!
"Time to go!" Dannatili suddenly told us as she scooped us all up in her magic and took us away. And, thankfully, the gods had granted me a great view from this compact sphere. My face may have been shoved against brittle, fracturing magic. But I got a clear view of the airship as it crashed into the earth.
All that weight and power suddenly backfired on it and its engines crumbled as its carved a canyon! The guns slid right past the fortress and could be aimed no more! We had stopped it! I had managed to help stop it...
"I..." I was about to cry as I suddenly felt a huge burden lifted from me. But it ended the moment Dannatili's magic failed and we crashed against the roof as a group.
"Well done everyone..." Allyoceer struggled to say amidst the pile of groans and exhausted movements.
"I'm spent..." was a comment that was repeated in many ways over and over. Yet, despite all that had happened, I tried to force myself to my feet and perched myself against the nearest wall.
"The smaller craft, the ryphurgoks..." I realised as the troops we had largely ignored came back to protect their own fortress. But, those ryphurgoks, they were on an open plain and were headed right for the men left out in the fields.
"Rest, Vapooliar, the guns are facing away!" Osses laughed from the ground as I saw squares and lines form in the distance.
"They'll be slaughtered!" I realize as I once again found myself thinking of my past.
"There's nothing we can do! We're spent!" she told me as she came up to join me against the wall.
"NO! I CAN STILL FIGHT!" I shout in defiance as I got my adrenaline pumping once more. But, with my body being as spent as it was. Every step was agony and my legs trembled as I stepped onto the wall.
"What're you doing!?" someone called out to me as I began to fall over the edge.
"Saving my men..." I sneered back at them as I made one final sonic boom to launch myself into the distance. And while I came up short, the sheer force I threw myself out with sent me rolling towards the amassing ironcoats.
"Valkinvar!" one of them cried out as I struggled to get up.
"N-No! I'm fine..." I told them as I shoved them back to the formation.
"We're doomed... No shields... Nothing..." one of the men squealed as he trembled. Yet, despite this, he held his boom-pike out and braced himself for the oncoming charge. Their roars filled their ears and the field lit up with the magic of spiral-lances. But they all held their ground even as an armoured earthquake approached them.
"Hand me a weapon!" I hissed as I physically forced out a space in the line for myself.
"We're glad you're here, Valkinvar." an officer whispered to me as I adjusted my grip on the feeble weapon.
"Make sure to exploit the gap I make for you..." I tell him as my tiredness becomes even more apparent. I couldn't hold a line, I had to go about this differently...
"HOLD STEADY MEN!" the officers repeated as roars went through us. The terror of the Seven-Peak Union heavy cavalry was thundering closer. One galloping motion at a time. One drumming of the earth...
"HOLD!" I roared out to them as we lowered our weapons to meet the roaring beasts and their howling riders!
.
.
.
"There is quite a ruckus going on..." Ainael remarked as she turned away from the stained glass window to look at the busy halls behind us.
"Sudden, as well." I add on before I began to move closer to the door. Perhaps just seeing what was going on out there would make it clear?
"All members, gear up for battle! Chapter-Mistress Chiara commands!" someone relayed loudly from down the hall. But, it appeared most people were already prepared for such an order. Me and my friend, however, weren't. So I made a point of making sure she was aware.
"Ainael, we need to ready ourselves. It appears the Thunderous Brawler has failed." I explain to her as an uncomfortable sensation shivers across me. Despite the siege they were locked up in, the Valkinvar still found the strength to best an airship... That was quite the feat. Something of that size had been defeated.
"I-I see... You go ahead, I need to finish up with a few things." my friend told. And the moment she first stuttered, I looked into her eyes.
"We've just been looking at glass." I point out to her bluntly, though I still respected what she was feeling.
"Come back here, when you're armed, okay?" she asked me as I noticed her fingers trembling on the windowsill.
"If I can make it back, I will." I tell her before I rushed off to the armoury. Forcing my way through the crowds of war-witches, servants and chapter-guards. But it wasn't just soldiers, women and men dressed in cloth and steel. Whole crates and racks were being moved about and keymasters were going about locking things up.
"Sister Noalla, your space has already been cleared, move it!" one of my superiors pointed out to me as I rushed in through the door. Yet, the moment I walked in through that gap, someone was already on me and straightening out my posture.
"There are rules, Sister Noalla." a chamber-mistress reminded me before she sent me on my way with a firm pat to my lower back.
"Now's not the time..." I sneer under my breath as I obliged with the asinine rule. To maintain an air of respect and dignity within these halls. I understood the need for order and discipline, but this was just silly. And still, I followed through with it until I reached an empty space with idle servants occupying it.
"Sister Noalla, shall we begin?" one of them asked me as their slender arms guided me towards a pedestal.
"Let's get it over with." I tell her as I strip down completely so that they may do their task fully. The observing chamber-mistress didn't help things. That magic rod of hers hurt.
"Sister Noalla, whom do you dress for?"
"Mighty Jhrarda." I answer as I graciously accept the first layer. Mostly simple linen undergarments that could easily be mistaken for other purposes. In reality, however, they were that way for practicality.
"For who will you offer up your life for?"
"The Jhermonikra." I answer as I accept the next layer of clothing. But unlike the last lot, they handled it. I personally found it somewhat humiliating to be handled like this. But every one of them looked at me with a form of reverence.
"From where does your power flow?" they asked as a I let magic show itself in order to activate all of the mechanisms enscribed into my armour and attire.
"Jhroungijherammujhernosumonaterikra, ignited by Jhrarda himself so that the winds that blew would save us." I tell them all, and contrary to the rest of the pointlessly extravagant ceremony. I said that part with genuine pride. Being a citizen of the city of Unondsburhg, from a long, storied family. It made me happy to think of my home.
Even more so when I considered that my homeland is where it all began... Where the Lone Lancer rode down the mountainside. The backing of The Mighty himself all around him. And I, in the far future, beyond his time, I carried on that burden.
"Then go forth, Sister Noalla, war-witch of the Order of the Outreaching Wind!" the lead servant invokes before they all stand aside respectfully. And, as I step down, the clank of armour and the jangling of jewellery is added to all the noise.
And now I just had to go back to my friend as I had promised. But, for the first moments since I stepped off of that pedestal. I made a point of adjusting my armour and clothing. Comfort was such a strange thing to focus on, but these subtle feelings mattered all too much.
"Chapter-Mistress Chiara would speak with you, Sister Noalla." I was informed just as I began to bend over to make sure my shinguards and armoured heels were just right.
"One moment..." I tell them before I rise up to meet them. Having sorted out my task.
"Come with me, please." she told me as she briefly took my hand to guide me out of the armoury.
"Has she told you anything directly?" I ask her impatiently as I glance back towards where I had initially come from. Ainael was waiting for me. I owed it to her as her friend to go visit her.
"No, and there will be no issues with her explaining it as of now." she told me before she stepped aside as we found ourselves at the grand banquet hall.
"Wonderful." I remarked quietly as I straightened myself out. Gracefully stepping into my superior's ironically private dining room. And despite the sudden pressure I felt from my superiors baring down on me with their auras and gazes. I kept my legs in stride and my back upright, my head not so much as looking anywhere but ahead.
Then, I dropped down swiftly in a display of subservient respect.
"We march to war, Sister Noalla." the Chapter-Mistress told me as she put down her grail. A quiet metal ting preceded harsher taps from her sandals. But even they were quite soft. Her power, however, was something different.
An oppressive force that blew out everyone else's power as if she was a sudden gust coming in through an open window. The gale that snuffed out all the candles in the room. Yet, when she touched me, she was gently and she even raised me up herself. That cold gaze of hers, however, silenced any positive assumptions.
"One of His Lunar Majesty's airships has fallen. The Thunderous Brawler, which you led astray has been grounded by the unclean you sent it against." she said to me as the urge to reply filled me. But I nearly had to bite my tongue to keep myself quiet.
"They fought bravely and with honour, as is to be expected of them. Ryphurgok-hearted heroes." someone commented from the table.
"And you are expected to live up to those same standards as we march against them." the Chapter-Mistress tells me as she gently takes hold of one of my hands. The one that I had chosen to be decorated by my mark of rank. A silver-rimmed, green gemstone that covered a large portion of my backhand.
And I take my hand away as she starts to rim the precious stone.
"I will show them that same quality. I will show the Valkinvar what it means to be a sister of the Order of the Outreaching Wind." I speak out of turn as I turn to leave.
"Show this same boldness before them in battle, and your transgressions will be forgiven." Chapter-Mistress Chiara explains to me as she let out a noise. One that seemed to imply my rudeness was amusing.
"The King expects the same of you too." I tell her as I look back at all of them. And I leave quickly as I felt a danger approach me from the other side of the hall. With that then out of the way, I made my way back to my friend as quickly as possible. But rather than finding the silence I had left her in.
I heard worrisome sobbing. My friend was crying. I had a feeling I knew why. But I still approached her with the mindset that I did not, just so she could let it out to me.
I had a responsibility to wring it all out until she was confident in herself. If I had the power to do that, I would find out. If this was, in fact, some kind of marathon. Then I would show her my stamina and be with her every step of it.
"Ainael, what's wrong?" I opened up with as I took hold of her hand. Helping her slip on the piece of armour her trembling hands could not put on. Then I waited for what seemed to be a while. I waited for that instant switch in attention.
And I returned the hug as I felt her tremble in my arms. I stroked her blonde hair and rubbed her back through her pure, almost ceremonial silk robes. I waited and waited. Not stopping until she started to push me away for the right reasons.
"Noalla... How're you not scared?" she asked me as she tried to avoid making a mess of her uniform. The symbology its cleanliness represented mattered a lot. So I offered up my own clothing for her to dry her eyes on.
"I am." I answered honestly.
"Then why am I..."
"Don't do that, Ainael, do not compare yourself to me like that." I gently scolded as I brushed aside some of her hair.
"I'm a war-witch, just like you." she points out before I let out a light-hearted laugh. I didn't want to offend her, so I kept it short and came up with a response quickly.
"You are a healer, Ainael, a sacred maiden. A Lady of the Wind. Not a war-witch."
"D-Don't start being pedantic..." she moaned as she briefly smiled. Only to force it right back down just before she looked away from me.
"Ainael, do not worry about being brave. So long as you are there, right behind me when I need you. You will have done more than anyone else here." I tell her as I bring her face back towards me.
"Like always, huh?" she asked as more tears started to come through.
"Like always." I tell her with a smile and nod.
"I will look after you." she told me as she started to nod again and again.
"And I will protect you."
"You can't protect me without me..." she laughed out awkwardly as I brought her to her feet.
"I'd like to see you look after yourself, then." I teased as I rubbed her upper arm.
"N-No thank you." she let out with a slight cough before she moved a few more pieces of her armour into place.
"Just stay close to me, okay, Ainael? When the guns of that fortress start firing, make sure you are right by my side." I explain to her firmly as I hold her still.
"I will not even lose you before then." she tells me as she smiles warmly at where her hand grasped my arm.
"We best find something to do, then." I huff in amusement.
"You'll have to forgive me for being a little distracted." she laughs out as she looks down at her tights-covered feet.
"No worries, the Chapter-Mistress wanted to see me whilst she was dining in her banquet hall."
"You know... Some extra pudding would cheer me up." she suggested as we started to leave the room. Returning it to the quiet it had once been.
"Yeah, right." I scoffed as I defended my right to be treated.