Cofus, rex, the high king and gora all lie on the ground bruised and beaten. Only gora remaining conscious, As the the tornado above head keeps reaching down.
With their enemy gone and unable to get up once more gora looks to her sides and notices an unconscious cofus to be the closest to her and starts crawling over to him.
Dragging herself across the ground as the forming tornado begins pulling up on her. Gora crawls with the last of her strength trying to get the others to get up.
With the tornado only thirty feet above head all she can do is weakly pat cofus cheek while tightly clutching on to him so she doesn’t get blown away. trying her best to wake cofus up.not having the strength to yell her exhausted whispers are sniffled by the wind”cofus come on we don’t have much time we gotta get the others up.”
Pleading desperately as the wind makes it harder and harder to resist being blown around. unsure what else to do. Gora holds on of her fingers out and over cofuses arm before shocking him.
Quickly sitting up cofu rubs his arm before feeling his head”oww what the hell happened wheres that dammed luuton”
Gora on the verge of collapse shakes her head and just points up not having the energy or time to explain everything”doesn’t matter you need to wake the others im gonna need someone to carry me”
And before either one of them can say more gora passes out cofus looks around in a panic getting up immediately running to rex.”captain you gotta get up we gotta get out of here”
Rex awakens with his back on the ground looking up and blood pouring down from hair. Seeing the massive storm coming down he waste no more time getting up and looking around trying to understand the situation”ill grab the high king you get gora!”
Cofus nods dashing towards her not wasting anytime he simply picks her up bridal style and walks back over to rex with her who would now be supporting an awoken high king on his shoulder”lets get out of here!”
With cofus carrying gora and rex supporting the high king the four begin slowly getting out from under the tornado as it hits the ground and starts pulling on them.”to think such a clear day would devolve into such a rough storm!”
Rex shouts as he holds his hand hands above his eyes to protect them from the wind. The spiraling winds pull everything on the battlefield to them as rex and cofus make their escape they witness those who are less fourtante than them as the the tornado rips them from the ground sucking them into the massive rotating collum of air and debree.
The luutons fair worse though than any one on the ground as many of the beast are sent into a wild panic as the luuton find themselves unable to fly Freely through the sky.
Many things begin falling to the ground having either spun out of the tornado themselves or the occasional luuton who has fallen off their beast,sometimes followed by their beasts soon after as the extreme currents blow apart their wings like limbs on a tree.
Cofus and rex progress begins coming to a halt as the winds pull on them is starting to become too much as the tornado seem to getting stronger.”captain im not sure how much longer i can keep pushing forward between carrying gora and these winds im at my limit!”
Standing at an angle to get more traction against the wind cofus struggles to continue their escape. Rex and the high king though would be doing no better. The two would now be leaning against each other for added weight”im sorry cofus you’ll have to press on abit more we have no other choice!”
Though despite cofus best efforts was unable to push on as the mighty winds blow a shield across the battlefield bouncing of the ground the heavy gales smash it against cofus face.
Pushed back wards cofus losses footing and tosses a still unconscious gora behind him as hes sent flying by the wind. Acting quickly rex is able to grab cofus leg and with the help of the high king are able to hold onto him as the wind is trying suck him into the center of the tornado. Meanwhile gora is carried off by the wind as cofus watches.”GORAAAAA!”
cofus yells for her as she is sent hurdling away rex and the high king though quickly pull him down to the ground using their collective body weight to prevent themselves from being carried off”im sorry cofus there nothing we can do”
Slamming his fist onto the ground cofus watches as gora is quickly flung out of site as the other two astrans lay on top of him
Being constantly pelted by small debree gora opens her eyes. Constantly being flipped around by the winds that carry her shes unable to make heads or tails of her situation as she finds herself traveling upwards through the tornado and begins violently thrashing around. Swinging her spear that she never let go of around wildly.
A bronze shield flies past her seeing nothing else to hold onto gora instinctually grabs onto it and begins spinning around with it clutched to her torso
After a few moments have past gora is able to collect her self and tries stabilizing her position so shes not constantly flopping around.
Though the task seems to become impossible as gora is forced to use her shield to block any incoming debree thats flying through the air with her. Every time she uses her shield shes sent into another disastrous spin as she loses control.
While she is able to avoid smashing into anything substantial the more gora travels upwards the less she can seem to get her balance within the swirling winds.
Though after what feels like forever gora finds her self thrown out from the top of the tornado. Leaving gora hurdling through the air in rapid panic”oh shiiiiiitttt!”
Swinging her arms wildly as she falls three thousand feet from the air gora looks around frantically. If she could find her grandfather his fans could surely break her fall she thinks but from so far up she finds herself unable to recognize anyone.
With the luutons trying to avoid the tough winds themselves gora cant even spot any of them to maybe hijack. Seeing no one and nothing but the fastly approaching ground gora cant help let a deep sense of doom sink in as all hope is lost”by the ancestors this is it. This is how i die?”
No longer thrashing she closes her eyes waiting for death. The sounds of the battlefield are distant as the sound of the wind drowns them all out, The fient roaring of thunder the barely audible screams of the battlefield and the ever loudening sound of some one shouting her name….. someone shouting her name?
“Goooooorrrrraaaaaaa!”
She quickly thrust her eyes open and looks around astonished to see none other than secomi. Holding his hand out as he leans forward off his diving beast that he stole from the luutons.”GORA GRAB MY HAND!”
Without another wasted moment gora quickly clasp hands with secomi letting him drag her onto his borrowed beast. Clutching his waist tightly they quickly pull up with only 200 feat to spare. Gora squeezes secomi so hard he lets out a audible gasp as she tries to calm down”oh by my ancestors thank you secomi i really thought that was the end for me!”
Struggling to breathe and control the flying drake while gora squeezes the air out of him secomi lets got of the reigns with one hand to quickly tap out on goras hands around his waist”gora i can barely fly this thing as it i don’t need you suffocating me”
Calmed down now gora loosens her grip and smiling just for a moment untill she realizes something isnt in her hand.”oh no wheres my spear!”
Hitting gora with a wave of emotions once more as she desperately looks around for her beloved weapon.”secomi was i holding my spear when you caught me?!’
Though before secomi can answer goras attention is distracted by a booming thunder off in the distance below them.”that was probably it secomi we have to land!”
Secomi takes a look behind him and seeing ravenous storms to their back decides to instead look forward,denying Gora’s request”ya gora that isnt happening. not only are there several of the largest tornados I’ve ever seen in my life! this is like only the second time ive flown on of these so if we’re landing we’re not taking off again! Understand!”
Gora looks baffled by Secomi’s refusal as they get further and further from where she believes her weapon had landed.”secomi what in the world makes you think i care about this drake? My weapon is the last of its kind at least fly me close enough to ground so i can go find it!”
Now secomi sits baffled”and what about the storms gora?!? Whos gonna catch us if we get sucked up?”
Gora huffs getting agitated she pulls on secomis ear”secomi! That spear is made from the last dragon of Sokara. A symbol of my clans legacy and i demand you aide me in its retrieval!”
Griting his teeth secomi aimed the creature downwards pulling the reigns above his head.”fine gora but if that storm eats may my descendants be a constant curse upon yours!”
Gora rolls her eyes looking towards the ground waiting for the right moment to jump so she can break her fall.”you dont have any children secomi if you die here there wont be anyone to curse me”
As the ground moves closer and closer her and secomi see their moment and disembark from their temporary mount crashing it face first into the ground as they land a 5 feet jump unscathed.
Secomi looks behind them seeing their former airborne stead as its neck and wings lay contorted and broken in the impacted dirt.”man what a waste”
Gora sighs and shakes her head and turns toward the direction from which they came”you had to leave it eventually secomi now come on we have to find my weapon and then find the others and then kill the ahkla fon!”
Now its secomi turn to sigh as gora makes them head back from the way they came. Going towards the storm rather than away from it secomi runs with gora across the battlefield disheartened as the tornado moves around randomly and could easily start heading for them at any moment.”fine whatever but lets do this quickly "
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Running into the storm they find themselves very much alone as any living soul they do see is running the opposite way of them not bothering to stop to make conversation.”dont worry secomi its bright blue i don’t think we could miss it on this black battlefield!”
The winds pull at them every step they take they feel the air pull at their feet loosening their balance for the moment until they put it back on the ground just so they move the other one forward. Gora has to pull her hair back as the wind keeps blowing it into her face only adding to the annoyances.”wheres my grandfather when you need him!”
A sudden gale pushes secomi from behind toppling the young man onto gora sending them both to the ground clutching to the burnt grass”gora i think we need to turn back your weapon isnt worth your life!”
Gora tries crawling on the ground using secomi as an anchor as she inches across the battlefield” secomi I cant just give up i started this journey because of that spear!”
Secomi tries getting up and pulling gora the other way as the winds are only getting stronger”gora thats no reason to let the journey end though just because you lost it!”
Gora stops trying to crawl halting in place as she just stares into the ground before violently smashing her fist against the dirt”DAMNIT DAMNIT DAMNIT DAMNIT "
in furious rage gora keeps punching at the dirt as she curses.”so what im this far in and i have to find a new reason for joining this war! What will i have to prove when i return home secomi?!? grandfather will have received the land and the honor of uniting our peoples and i will have failed the single reason i have came this this far!”
Secomi grabs ahold of gora and shakes her in a mix of confusion and anger”gora what are you talking about? Was it not you that challenged your grandfather so that your people would be here? Gora whatever reason you came out here no longer matters! Look at the skies! The luutons have scattered and fled this battle is over now we must retreat so that we can prepare for the second attack!”
Gora searches the sky for her foes hoping to atleast see one but secomis words lay true as the rampaging winds have either torn them from their beasts or they have fled.
Even if gora was to find her weapon now there would be no one for her to use it on. Secomi was right the battle has ended. Neither side can continue in this storm. Putting her pride aside gora gets up and begins heading the other direction back towards their camps. Using each other as weight they walks arms around each other to weigh themselves done as they make their slow returns.
Taking two hours to walk from the far corners of the battlefield back to camp secomi and gora plop themselves down exhaustedly by the fire. Their squad happy to see their safe return.
Cofus in particular seem relieved so much so that he walks up to gora himself kneeling in front of the tired warrior”gora im happy to see your made it back in one piece i was sure we lost you in the storm”
Gora lays on her back letting out a sigh as she can finally rest”thank you cofus but i have no more strength for tonight so i ask you let me rest”
Rex looks out into the distance as the storms swirl over the battlefield showing no signs of stopping but even more alarming on the other side of the storm the fields lay lighten up with the luutons campfires, like small city looming in the distance.
Rex then looks back to his own camps and sees nothing but dismay. As the camp lies 1/3 of its original size knowing very well those not present shall be sleeping on the battlefield tonight and forever more.
Seeing his squad pushed to their limits seems to pull at him having had known the warriors of his nation for many years. today was the closest he felt to the reality of losing them.
They have to retie all their tents throughout the night as the storms move around their; strength growing and weakening depending where the storms are. By midnight the storms break and the winds disperse tearing through the astran camp and many of their tents. Leaving many of them without shelter for the night as the winds only lightly give out as they wane.
In the morning the clouds linger above the battlefield in a solid mass. The ground would be wet as the storms had started raining sometime last night.
Gora awekens from her tent unscathed and unbothered though looking around her allies tents she looks around in groggy confusion upon the devastated camps. With her sheets still over her shoulders she walks up to a drenched secomi huddling next to the fire”secomi what happened to you?”
Tired and shaking from the cold. secomi points to the spot where his tent use to be with out saying a word letting gora see for herself the four stakes in the ground that remain. Gora looks around abit distraught at seeing the her allies and their camps in such a rough state. Patting secomi on the back and giving him her dry blanket gora ”rest as long as you can secomi who knows how long until the next battle begins.”
Secomi nods appreciating the blanket before going back to soaking up the fires warmth. Gora leaves him behind walking around the camps seeing that many slept without structure last night including the injured.
The sound oh woes and wales fill the air as the injured wait to die all around her they sit laying against what they can some properly wrapped to hide their wounds be it from arrows, the luutons spears or frostbite. their is no shortage of suffering at the astran camps as the lisads try to deal with all of it the best they can.
Though there is only so much they can do and the more gora walks around the camps the less she is sure how much fight these soldiers have left in them.
A bit of hope though as she returns to the sokaran camps seeing that most of them had returned. Suffering from the same conditions as the sokarans. they look tired and worn nonetheless but the small victory gora feels upon seeing them lift her spirits.
Only for the sight of her grandfather carrying her spear to lower it and raise three more times. Approaching with his normal look of contempt he holds out the weapon for gora to take it”this an important part of our history gora make sure you take better care of it.”
Gora grits her teeth and bites her tongue she takes the weapon from her grandfather as calmly as some one as angry as her can.”i know that very well grandfather i lost it in the middle of those storms when i was quite literally falling to my death”
Her grandfather though simply scoffs seemingly uninterested as he walks off only making gora grip down tighter on her spear.”grandfather how can you be so short with me after i told you i almost died! Do you not care for me in the slightest!”
Dyues stops and slowly turns back around. His contempt turns to rage as he gets ready to speak”not care for you? You need to care for yourself gora! I have rescued you and saved your beloved weapon. It seems at every step you need someone to help you.”
Already annoyed dyues walks off before anything else can be said leaving an enraged gora to her own devices. Looking down at her weapon looking down at it with the same contempt her grandfather shown her as he walks away disappointed. Wanting nothing else to do with her grandfather for the moment gora heads back to captain rexes camp. Getting a hot meal in the very least for breakfast. Facing the battlefield as she eats gora looks in the storms.
The swirling columns of death have come to a halt it seems but the clouds they sucked in now hover above them in the sky blocking the sun on the bitter autumn morning. The air feels damp and stingy the fire on goras back the ony thing letting her relax in this bleak situation.
Gora looks onto the the battlefield horrified as last nights rain had eroded the burnt, trampled and impacted dirt turning a majority of the battlefield into a muddy wasteland. With the clonds responsible still hanging above head ominoussly”captain rex surely we can’t go out there? Well be up to our feet in mud!”
Rex strokes the stubby facial hair he has started growing over the course of the week perplexed”no i think not gora we would put a great disadvantaged upon ourselves if we did so, but im worried if we try to go around will they accept our challenge or just use the muddy battlefield as a gap to invade and plunder our lands.”
Gora ponders herself trying to see over to the luuton camps but a thick fog seems to be seeping in from their area”i dont even know if they’re over their we need to get ready to move as soon as possible no matter what we do.”
Gora gets up dusting herself off. She had yet been able to clean herself off luckily the battlefield had not been wet yesterday as the dirt only lays on her clothes and her person lightly.
Rex sighs looking off into the distance not able to see any sign of the luutons himself”they could be using the fog as cover to mount their beasts they could cross the battlefield in just moments to attack our camps in surprised they didn’t do that in the night”
Gora shrugs getting ready to head out along with the others. Utum unwraps his his shield as he had wrapped it the previous night so it wouldn’t get tarnished in the storm. letting the linen straps that had covered it fall those around are in awe of the shear magnitude of the chunk of drakkite he uses as a shield. Rex himself taking interest walking up to the young giant himself.”utum where in the world did you get that? You’ve been carrying that inside your shield this whole time?”
Utum looks around abit nervously as if unsure how to answer the question though he soon bends over to tell rex in a soft voice”well captain if you must know im the first born bastard of the head of the omen clan. I got it to from my father to keep safe”
Rex strokes his stuble of facial once more, tiny bits of red hairs sparkling among the black. As he processes what hes just heard, having known utum for quite some time this comes as a shock to him.”i see i guess in times of war it is necessary to use such relics but be sure to preserve it as much as you can utum their is no replacing something like that anymore and there hasn’t been for centuries”
Utum nods looking at his magnificent shield it still shinned a brilliant red.”of course captain. Though to be honest I’m not even sure if i should use it until now ive only heard stories of its beauty i feel like a savage using something so old and so valuable as my shield. Without the covering i worry for its longevity”
Rex nods looking at the massive red material still amazed”yes but theres nothing we can do until the battle is over and I’d personally rather see you live utum than to preserve this chunk of drakkite by going into the battlefield defenseless.”
Utum smiles contently though no more pleasant words can be shared as rex is called for by the guards. The captain gestures goodbye to his squad only followed by gora and cofus as they make their way to the high kings tent. Their the high king sits on his side of the table where a map of the battlefield had been skillfully drawn by the lisads throughout last night and this morning.
It displayed the the camps on both sides but shaded the luutons side in lightly as they dont know for sure where their camps lie. The high king pulls from the side of the table a slim wodden pole made for pointing dragging it across the map his advisors lay ribbons of white and red signifying the way the astran or the luuton forces could move.
Six captains stand in the tent with rex along with the two low kings with only one of the two commanders of the armed forces remaining. Dyues enters the tent himself meaning all the remaining military leaders that are left are in this tent. Making a grand total of nine people that are capable of leading men into battle, left.
Once the high king is done laying out his board he slowly stands up needing help from his advisors as linen rests itself upon his head and torso”i applaud you all in making it this far friends of the astran alliance. The battlefield infront of us is impossible to fight on now we must decide how we can continue fighting.if any have something they’d like to say let it be known”
The room stands quiet for a moment as the nine men ponder and observe the map. Rex once again stroking his half an inch long stubble that lies across his face before speaking “I worry if we attack from either sides the luutons will simply ignore our challenge oh high king and will simply use the mud ridden battlefield to create a big enough gap between our two parties to raid and plunder your kingdom”
The high king nods looking at the battlefield himself pondering intensely. Before dyues begins making his weigh through the tent having to crouch in some parts as to not bump into the fabric that makes up the tent”i say we pull back your highness”
The room turns into an uproar of whispers. The high king himself seems to be thrown off abit by this”what? Retreat now? I know we’ve lost quite a few but our strongest fighters still remain! Surely the luutons lost more people in the that storm than us the gap between our war parties must surely be closer than ever before!”
Dyues nods standing boldly in the middle of the tent”yes so for us to retreat now is a sign of weakness. If we flee they will chase to finish us off and if we flee in a tight formation we can be prepared for what they believe to be an easy fight”
The room only continues to be overwhelmed by whispers as the 9 leaders and their lieutenants ponder the ancient sokarans words. The high king ponder for a moment staring at the map profusely pondering himself”i guess either way it would be the best option if we cross they can go around us or wed have to fight on the edge of the mud pit. By pulling back no matter which way they advance we can meet them there, By advancing ourselves.”
Dyues nods looking content with the high kings observation. Gora exits the tent with rex and cofus her grandfather exiting soon after for a moment gora considers going with him but instead heads back to Rex’s camp and packs her thing along side them.