[Ozymandias & Grif of Hearts] The Last Argument of Kings [IC]

[Ozymandias]

The Last Argument of Kings

A hundred legions of rain drops thundered above the the heads of soldiers awkwardly asleep in their bunks inside this one of many dozens of bunkers lining the forward trench. Thunder roared in the distance and the dark horizon was lit with the briefest flashes of light as the storm continued to grow ever more violent. A constant barrage of rain and hail had been berating the bodies and minds of the many hundreds of men and women stationed at the forward trench, both in the bunkers or the several forward operating posts that formed an elaborate connection along the ravaged, beaten grasslands (if they could yet be called thus) across Pangaea; the trench stretched from coast to coast without a single single breach in the line, for three days and nights or more without respite. The bunkers, or trench houses as they were affectionately named by the army, were situated some fifteen feet under the drenched muddy fields yet still each drop seemed as loud as a musket shot; and the hail was several times louder.

The sound of thunder grew louder as each minute passed and soon the ground began to tremble. A forward observer standing atop a tall metal structure several feet above the tallest building in a nearby operating base called out to men on the ground below her. Her voice was inaudible to anyone who wasn't within a few metres of the tower. Immediately the entire company present in the trench stood at the edge of the wooden walls and peeked over the barricades into the foreboding badlands before them. The land was black and barren in the night as clouds blocked the moon and no stars shone over Pangaea. The forward observer however caught glimpses of several torches in the far distance, waving wildly as though being carried by a runner. Soon after several more joined with large spaces of empty blackness between each light. Every night the same event occurred and every soldier knew what it meant.

Several runners ran along the outside of the trench calling to each company they passed who hadn't yet seen the torches. A young woman also ran along the outside of the trench from the nearby base with a long musket in hand and a grey hood covering her rain-soaked face. Her named was Boadicea and the soldiers lining the trenches stood at attention as she raced past them at great speed before dropping down into one section of trench which was filled with a foot of rain water, and entered one of many trench houses. Tapping the butt of her musket against the wood floor and drawing her hood back, she spoke to this battalion's commanding officer:

"There are torches on the horizon. The companies are gathering at the front as we speak. Have this section's battery ready, Colonel, and send up flares every five minutes spaced at one hundred metres."

The colonel dressed in the army's red uniform jacket with white breeches and black boots (frilled and trimmed with various threads of gold) stood at attention as Boadicea entered the trench house and saluted her for as long as she spoke until she allowed him to stand at ease as she finished speaking. He bade her a 'yes, sir' and inquired how many men were on the horizon. Boadicea could only say that some hundred or more torches were lit, which meant that the number could easily be multiplied three or four times. The colonel took a deep breath and straightened his uniform before his officer's cap and stepping out into the painfully cold night calling for flares to be sent up and for the artillery battery to be prepared. Firing these particular weapons during the rain was painfully difficult due to the soaked powder and fuses, so the soldiers were instructed to cover their weapons until absolutely ready to fire. Flares of brilliant red were fired into the night sky as far as the eye could see along trench, a hundred or more on both sides. The sky was illuminated and the ground was now visible; covered with deep craters from artillery and dozens of bodies littered the ground. The pyres that were erected to burn the many bodies that were added to the field each night were now soaked from the constant rain and would have to be reconstructed in the coming days. Now the cause of the thunder could be seen: hundreds of men clad in ragged cloth and torn fur scrambled over the varies deterrences in the field such as barbed wire and fox holes. They were running as fast as their legs would carry them and seemed to be fueled by pure rage alone, dragging clubs and axes made of wood and stone, as well as a few stolen swords and spears. Their faces were muddy and unwashed, specked with blood and their eyes were detailed with many red veins. They were the monsters that have plagued Pangaea for centuries with their endless numbers and equally limitless rage which seemed unfounded. They were not men of a rival nation or army, but seemingly came into existence out of nothingness, as forward reconnaissance teams had taken on the dangerous job of venturing beyond the forward lines into the hinterlands north of Pangaea and found no cities or structures save those of rubble and splintered wood that had been ravaged by these wild men over the years. Each night they attacked the trenches in the hundreds with renewed anger and determination.

Here Woad entered, with a musket four cubits long in his hand. The iron point gleamed in the firelight and was fastened to the body of the musket by a ring of gold. He wore garments very similar to Boadicea: a brown cloth cloak over grey upper-wear and trousers. Half a dozen leather straps crossed his torso and waist, holding various compartments and satchels filled with various items, some containing scrolls and books, others with black powder and bullets for his musket and pistols. Brown cloth hung around his waist down to his knees and was torn from many days of wear. He wore heavy boots of leather, studded with iron with steel toe caps. Boadicea stood at attention as he entered the room from another section of the trench house, much as Colonel Llane had stood before her. He waved his hand in some manner and bade her to stand at ease.

"Boadicea," he said with a polite bow of his head which was met with a bow from the woman in question. "How far out are they?" he asked his subordinate and friend.

"Perhaps three furlongs by now, though they close much ground with every second. Colonel Llane is preparing the pill boxes and batteries and his companies are at the ready," she replied and followed behind Woad as he left the trench house with his musket in hand, half of which was covered by a cloth to prevent the rain from soaking the powder in the gun's chamber.

"They are here already, Lord Scholar!" cried Colonel Llane over the sound of the deafening rain and hail as it clattered against the hard oak wood that the trenches were constructed from. Indeed the wild men that plague Pangaea each day and night were barely over a hundred metres away and they came with force in a number beyond what the eye can see.

Woad waved his hand to the commanding officer and peered over the edge of the trench. He could hear the shouts and cries in some guttural language or another that these creatures spoke. They snarled and roared as they stepped ever closer to the trenches. The sound of volleys of gunfire were already resounding throughout this section of the trench from both sides and soon the sound of cannons followed. Woad instructed Colonel Llane to 'make ready' and from there the officer was given full command as Woad stepped back.

"Make ready!" cried the colonel as he drew his sabre and raised it partway into the air in front of him. The order was carried far along the trench by his subordinate leftenants. The company present in this trench brought their rifles up to the ready and primed to fire.

"Present arms!" The muskets then formed an orderly, disciplined line as the soldiers peered down the sights over the edges of the trenches. Their hands were trembling violently as the barbarians swarmed in great numbers forwards them, waving clubs and axes above their heads as they closed the last few yards to the trench.

"First rank -" The colonel lowered his sword sharply and cried "Fire!" to the company. Immediately each soldier in the line immediately before the field pulled their trigger and an immense cloud of grey smoke filled the night air. Hundreds of rounds were fired in that single volley and an equal number of wildmen fell to the ground with gaping, bloody wounds to their chest and midsection.

"Second rank," cried the colonel and the first rank immediately stepped backwards as the second rank stepped forward and assumed their position at the front with their muskets now lined above the edge of the trench. "Fire!" A volley identical to the first fired and another mass of men fell to their knees or face first into the soaked, muddy ground. "Company - Fire at will!" was the last order the colonel gave for some time after which the entire company fired in irregular volleys at their own individual targets. The artillery battery also fired several volleys of heavy solid shots were scattered and destroyed masses of the barbarian men at once.

Woad and Boadicea both fired some two dozen shots or more combined in irregular volleys after the second rank had fired. Very few men made it to the trenches (at least to this particular section of the vast trench network) save for a few who managed to use their dead comrades as shields of meat to absorb the fire and make their way into trenches swinging their crude weapons to and fro wildly, snarling and spitting, cursing and crying various words in their guttural language. Needless to say, these individuals were made swift work of.

[Grif of Hearts]

Water continued to pour down from the heavens, hitting the mud and dirt that layered the floor with heavy drum beats. It was an endless torrent, only broken by the dash of thunder and lightning in the skies or the occasional barked order from one of the many soldiers down on the ground. The rain was positively relentless, with nothing but thick black and grey clouds in all directions. The poor fools locked up in the trenches would have trouble seeing more than ten feet away from them in this downpour, let alone the two hundred feet they'd need to make this job as easy as possible. Poor buggers, locked in position and almost being drowned by the constant rain. It was such a shame that the rain wasn't nearly the worst of their problems, even now, and it was about to become significantly worse.

A voice laughed, hushed and cut short. They were soldiers though. Taught to survive in these kinds of situations. She couldn't help but almost feel sorry for them though. The well-armed men and women that were out there, standing their ground inside the various patterns and grooves that had been etched into the earth's surface. They were strong soldiers, that much could be told with a passing glance, and she had seen many of them in action before. But they were also incredibly fragile. They had built weapons of stone and iron, capable of breathing fire and spitting metal, but they were still cursed as creatures of flesh – exactly what those very weapons were designed to destroy.

But it was the best they could do against the oncoming horde. The flood of bodies, writhing and fidgeting as they moved forwards, like a swarm of ants. Their footsteps joined in with the rain's chorus, splashing through puddles as they came. They were people, loosely organised in a disorganised manner. They looked completely insane though; one would have to be insane to walk blindly towards the barrage of weaponry that lined the trenches. And their weapons... while the soldiers were armed with rifles and flame-spitters, the crazed men and women had nothing more than sharp sticks, clubs and the occasional looted blade.

Suicidal, and the man-like beasts hadn't even a way of seeking cover from what would become a storm of bullets matching the rainfall that flooded the battlefield. Once again, the voice laughed. Such fools.

Among the lines of soldiers and infantry stood a man, clad in brown leather, tan cloth and silver iron. Humanoid, but not human, he was, layered in rough, green skin. As wide as a tree trunk and probably just as tall, Woad had the build of a warrior. A Scholar to be precise. He was not standing on his lonesome though, but he was with two others. A woman to one side, clad in similar clothing, and a tiny flicker of light to his other side. Like a star, almost, or a firefly glowing a pale blue.

“You'd have thought they'd have learned by now,” said Efari. The tiny flare expanded, glowing brighter, before shrinking once again in a new form. Humanoid, but glowing bright blue and slightly faded. Like a ghost, almost. “Flesh isn't very good at resisting cannon fire. They only have numbers to protect themselves.”

Efari was a tall figure of feminine proportions, standing almost as tall as Woad standing beside her. Her skin, a glistening, blue and translucent, was marked with patterns and symbols. Hair felt from her head, reaching down to her shoulder blades in locks of dark blue. Much of it seemed to have a will of its own, flicking and waving around in all directions, as if Efari were underwater. Her toes pointed downwards as if performing an arabesque, and were only just grazing the ground.

Hovering gently beside her host, Ef threw her arms out in a hug, resting her head against Woad's shoulders. “Don't you just love the smell of gunfire in the morning? I can't wait.”

She broke the embrace, chuckled to herself and drifting lazily to the side for a moment. The wraith placed a finger in each ear, anticipating the gunfire. Finger's twitched, and bullets rained down upon the wildmen in the distance. They fell in great clusters, tumbling to the ground. A few scrambled into the trenches, but were quickly shot down and torn to pieces. Efari made no effort to help the soldiers fend off the beasts, as they were doing well enough on their own. She watched intently, however, enjoying the scene at hand.

[Ozymandias]

I

Woad tried his damnedest to ignore the incessant prodding and verbal poking of the creature that had come into existence from augmentations that proverbially constructed his body. It held his shoulders and leaned against the walls of the trenches, watching the bloody warfare in absolute glee, seemingly revelling in every drop of blood shed and every round fired. The riflemen about him were distracted by the partially blinding light surrounding it and it brought their eyes away from the trench. He instructed them to focus on what was before the trenches and not what was within it, for it was merely an apparition. Bringing his musket up to his face, perpendicular to the ground, and primed the pan before lowering it to safe what the Collegium Scholaris referred to as aegerum, meaning 'sick ones' in written Pangaean. Others simply called them 'wildmen' which was a more than accurate branding.

He turned his face away from the apparition as it spoke to him and pulled the trigger of his musket before calling out in a loud, coarse voice over the sound of musket and cannon fire: “Adurae,” he raised his hand and brought it to a fist, signalling for the soldiers who specialized in warfare involving the use of fire and explosives to introduce their weapons. Streams of searing fuel ignited into streaks of brilliant flame poured over the trenches into the broken field in front of them. The soldiers in the trench were relieved that the flames created walls of thick smoke to block their view of the wildmen that were now burning to death. The fire spread about them and activated several mines that had been placed as a deterrent; metal or clay objects filled with tiny pieces of iron as sharp as razor which exploded upon pressure with enough force to vaporize a leg completely. During this time Woad, Boadicea and Colonel Llane's company had brought their weapons back to the ready, and as the smoke cleared after some time they saw that they had barely scratched the numbers of wildmen; more than half still remained.

Several men had slumped against the walls of the trench in fear as they heard the raged cries and cries of pain. They clutched their muskets or the sleeves of their jackets as though they feared death would come to them if they let go. Boadicea and several officers made their way up and down the long section of trench-work and brought these men back to their feet and reminded them who and what they were fighting for. They had been in similar situations almost every night of their deployment, though every time had much the same impact on their minds: terrific fear. As strong as men and women are in Pangaea primal fear cannot be erased. The fact that it was still pouring with legions of rain drops and shards of hail made matters yet worse for them; they had no relief.

A brilliant hum could be heard above the front trench. As Woad and several others looked above for a brief moment, they saw the ovular shape of an airship and the magnificent envelope that kept it aloft. Dozens of riflemen fired from aboard the ship and as it lowered itself over the field and came about to it's port side more thick streams of burning fuel poured from the weapons held by adurae. Woad took this time to dress the ranks of the company in the trench. Morale began to rise as the wildmen stumbled in their tracks and froze in their place as they realized their weapons could not bring down an airship. Those moments were put to good use.

“Ready arms,” cried Colonel Llane, raising the blade of his sword above his head.

“Present arms.” The company raised their muskets parallel to the ground, each loaded and primed to fire.

“Fire at will!” Colonel Llane lowered his sword sharply and drew his pistol as the wild men of the hinterlands seemingly ignored the airship and with their last breath and gasp of strength stumbled towards the trench. Several dozen of them fell to bloodied knees as another irregular volley was fired.

The airship came about once more and moved away from the front trench and hovered barely a few feet above the ground. A young woman stepped off, accompanied by an entire platoon numbering some fifty men. She wore black boots and grey clothing with a long brown cloak that was strapped around her neck, along with a brown hood over her hair. She was Pandora, Adjuvant to Boadicea. She marched with her musket in hand and primed the pan before kneeling over the trench with her cohort en tail. She gave the order for her men to present arms and shortly thereafter fire at will. Fifty men lined the outside of the back of the trench and fired in unison several feet above the heads of Colonel Llane's company.

Sliding down the partially diagonal back wall of the trench Pandora gave a military salute to Boadicea and Woad as they stood together. Her company remained on the ridge and fired in irregular volleys. She gave a brief glance to what the Collegium referred to as a 'wraith', the vibrant colourful being standing beside Woad yet watching the ensuing battle. She brought her hand back down to her side as Woad bade her to stand at ease.

“We are recalled from the line, sir,” she began, turning her head to face the battlefield as her company of black-clothed men fired another volley. The numbers of the wild men were finally dwindling and some had even turned tail and ran in fear after seeing the airship and their fellows burning in pitch and tar. “The First Lord Major would have us track a fugitive in the north east; one who may be connected with aegerum. His letters were intercepted some weeks ago and he has since been implicated as a war criminal, condemned for high treason.”

“Have we a name?” asked Woad. Pandora shook her head.

“No. Alas not a real name, he has been going by several aliases for some time. However, we do know his last location from the letters. A small town that we deemed overrun and abandoned some time ago in the Black Forest.”

Woad then bid farewell to Colonel Llane, his friend, and climbed out of the trench behind Boadicea and Pandora. The battle was beginning to calm at long last, though the torrential rain yet continued.

“Sections two-through-four remain here along the trench, section one with us,” said Pandora to her company. Forty men remained behind and split into groups of ten throughout nearby sections of trench. They were ordered to remain there until recalled by the army Command. Boadicea, Woad and Pandora climbed aboard the hovering airship along with another ten men clad in black clothes and berets, and immediately the airship began to soar. A dozen aeronauts and technicians scurried about the ship and tended to the pipework and navigation, weapons and repairs. Within a few minutes they were several hundred feet above the land and could see the vast series of trenches that covered the ground from coast-to-coast towards Pangaea as the sun began to rise.

[Grif of Hearts]

Efari chuckled once more, with a more childish tone than the last. She was distracting the other soldiers in the trench. Although she joked to herself that it was because of her stunning beauty and that they couldn't take their eyes off of her, she knew it was simply because she was lit up like a house on fire. Her pale blue glow was clearly knocking their concentration. The rain made her appear even brighter, each rain drop and hail shard glistening and refracting light as if it were a rainbow. Ef spent a few moments watching the colours dance across the trench walls. She could see how it might be a distraction to some people.

Woad was the first to actually bring this up however, telling the soldiers to ignore her. He called her an apparition. “Now, now. We both know that I'm far more interesting than a simple apparition,” she said, although her comment went mostly unnoticed by the others. The new sounds of air burning and flesh searing made it difficult to hear anything but the sizzle and hiss of rain smashing against the fires.

More spears of sparks and cinders erupted from weapons that lined the trenches, turning the ground to ash and reducing the aegerum; the wildmen, to disfigured skeletons, flesh melted off of the bone. Many of those who were not directly hit by the flames were set alight by their kin who had been, and Efari was sure she saw one or two choke to death on the thick smoke that left the corpses. Fire always had been their best defence against the wildmen, many of which barely understood that it was painful. By the look of things, these weapons were mowing down their barbaric foes as they came. Then the mines were set off. A poorly placed foot would tear one of the creatures to pieces, along with anyone who was close to them. The wildmen moved in large swarms, and even one well placed mine could take out a sizeable chunk of their numbers. While the soldiers were quick and their weapons were powerful, the first strike had barely taken down half of their numbers.

Then there was gunfire. The second line of defence. But it was not those in the trenches. Many of them cowered in fear, clinging to themselves in hopes of finding some comfort. The angle was wrong too, with bullets striking the head and tops of the shoulders. They were coming from the skies. Reinforcements had arrived, it seemed, in the form of a great airship. The wildmen were completely confused, clearly unable to harm the floating behemoth. One or two threw their weapons at them, but none could through that far and it simply left them without a weapon.

This gave the soldiers a little more time to compose themselves. Even Efari raised her arm, pointing towards the wildmen, wanting to have some fun of her own. Her fingers glistened, more so than the rest of her body, and after a few seconds, a tiny bolt of energy burst from her fingertips. It was no bigger than a bullet, and struck one of the wildmen in the shoulder, kicking him back a few feet. His tumble took a few other of the crazed monsters back with him, although they quickly scrambled back to their feet, only to be struck by a barrage of gunfire from the other soldiers. Ef fired a few more bolts, tearing a few men off of their feet just as regular bullets would have.

She even turned it into some kind of game. One point for a successful kill, two if she managed to kill one with a single bolt and five if she planted one right between the eyes. A sick game, but a game none the less, and she was rather enjoying it.

More men and women piled in from the airship, armed to the teeth, and added to the great barrage. They made singling out a target to pin down extremely difficult, and eventually Ef just gave up with her game. The other soldiers ruined her fun. Luckily though, she hadn't missed out on much. Many of the wildmen had scattered after seeing the sight of the airship, and now all that was left were a few stragglers.

Now they were being relocated, apparently. A woman aboard the airship had said so. Apparently, finding a lone fugitive was more important than fending over several hundred wildmen from storming the cities and slaughtering the people. He was believed to be related to the aegerum, however, which did make him important. How he was related, even Efari and all her worldly wisdom could not say.

Woad, Boadicea and Pandora clambered aboard the airship, followed by several of the soldiers that had dropped down, clad in black cloth. Efari followed with a graceful hover, landing on the deck of the airship where the other three were standing. She was tempted to explore the ship, but refrained from doing so. She hadn't the foggiest how this ship even worked, and she'd rather not give the soldiers down in the trenches a firework display.

“So, the Black Forest?” Ef said, glancing at Pandora. “Any idea what he's doing there, or are we just hoping to find out when we arrive?”

[Ozymandias]

II

The loud hum of the airship's engines could at last be heard over the vast volleys of musket fire and deafening cannon blasts as the ship passed through and over the majority of the mist, ascending some several hundred feet. The drop in temperature was noticeable, albeit not by much considering Pangaea's weather was generally damp and dreary with much rain and several feet of snow in the winters.
---Several of the commandos aboard the airship fired in irregular volleys at the few aegrum that managed to survive the barrages of muskets, cannons and adurae, as did a handful of the ship's crewmen and most of the artillerymen who fired light cannons, much smaller than the field cannons present along the vast series of trenches, though powerful in their own right. They fired from both port and starboard sides, and two or three men, part of the ship's crew, sat casually at the bow of the ship with their own rifles aimed over the edges, picking off the odd wildman before they disappeared into the mist. Most of the aegrum who fled, following their primal instincts, were cut down by their own kind, as more of them appeared out of the mist and ran blindly towards the trenches. They carried no torches however and were likely responding to the deafening cannons as well as possibly investigating the sound of the airship's engines which were by now quite far away.

---Woad stepped towards the bow of the ship, gripping one of the many ropes that supported the vast weight of the airship under the enormous envelope that suspended it. The wind blew harshly at this altitude and several of the commandos withdrew their berets from their heads and placed them inside their coats, so as not to lose them to the gale. The airship however proved to be impervious to the wind and seemed to breeze through the turbulence, though the engineers on all decks still scurried to and fro, checking gauges, tightening valves and taking care of general maintenance none-the-less. Boadicea had descended into the deck immediately below the top-side deck and had, in a manner, taken command as she asked for diagnostics and situational reports of the ship. She was a keen mechanic and specialist engineer and took great interest in the airships, as they were a fairly recent addition to Pangaea's technology. Her eyes darted to and fro as she watched the crew scurry about, silent and dedicated. She wondered whether they were always as such, or whether her presence made them feel as though they shouldn't speak; out of worry. However, on the contrary, Boadicea complimented the flight officer in command of this deck on the professionalism and skill of her crew. Thereafter she pitched in with the engineers and began assisting where necessary.
---Woad had stepped into the command centre which was located at the bow, with two small aisles either side which lead to the very frontal point of the ship where a few off-duty crewman sat casually. The command centre was a large room with several windows lining all four walls, enabling the officers present to view the area around them. Two stair wells lead down to the other decks on either side of the room, both port and starboard. The navigators and observers were positioned at the fore of the command centre in front of a single, vast window made of thick glass, with several wheels present, each of which controlled a different rudder. The navigators were required to be alert at all times as a single mishap with one of the rudders could potentially send the ship speeding in the wrong direction if not swiftly resolved.
---A large platform was present halfway down the two flights of stairs which stretched from one end of the room to another and a long rectangular table was present with chairs lining either side. The table was littered with maps and documents and a dozen officers were constantly checking, rechecking and triple checking information regarding their course and objective. Along the walls of the room were communications officers, sat with their elbows against their desks, one hand against their ear listening intently into a headset, the other furiously writing down information. Cables lined the walls in an orderly fashion, straight and neat with none overhanging, carrying archaeic power from the main and auxiliary generators to the various systems present, most of which were radios and other devices used to communicate with Anora.
---The officers all wore deep blue uniforms, lined with white, as was common for the Pangaean airship crews, though one officer stood with gold trims and embroidery along his uniform. He had a beard of white and his face was lined with indentations of age and stress, as well as a number of scars, some larger than others. He was the First Sky Lord of Pangaea, the commander of the Aedelus Aurorae, the name of this particular vessel, which translated to 'Lady of the Sky' in written Pangaeaic. He stood with his arms pressed against the oak table and his lower back bent outwards, his head buried in a mound of documents and papers, dossiers and letters, signing this and that, writing here and dotting there. Woad descended the port stair case, his heavy steel-toed boots thudding against the solid steps and stood before the ship's commander who saluted him and stood rigid at attention as soon as his attention was pulled away from the mass of paperwork and he realised a Scholar was present. Woad bowed respectfully as not to demean the commander in front of his crew and bade him to stand at ease. Thereafter he spoke at length with the commander in his quarters.

“So, the Black Forest?” said the illuminated creature who was part of Woad, in a manner of speaking, whose presence had to be explained by Pandora and Boadicea before she had disappeared below deck. While the wraith were not to unusual to Collegiae, having been taught of them by scholars and some of whom having actually met them face-to-face, as Boadicea and Pandora had with Efari, the name given her by Woad. Neither Pandora nor Boadicea knew the meaning of the word, as it wasn't Pangaeic, whether spoken, written or even Classic, though Woad was a worldly man and had been to many places and done many things before even Boadicea had become Collegiae, thus they imagined it meant something in a language known to people far from Pangaea.

“Any idea what he's doing there, or are we just hoping to find out when we arrive?” she continued.

Pandora cleared her throat, which was inaudible over the harsh wind, and shook her head slightly at Efari. “Nay, yet. Our greatest military operatives have been searching for this man for some time and although he was easy to discover he hasn't been particularly easy to track, at least not to pin-point. We know where he last stayed, which was quite recent, in a small village or town within or on the border of the Black Forest.” she explained. “One thing has been on my mind however and I have yet to confide in Woad... The Black Forest is only some forty leagues or so from Pangaea which is scarcely far enough to escape aegrum. In truth, there's a reason it's called the Black Forest. Which is one of the reasons the First Lord Major is sending us instead of the commando unit alone. He wishes to know exactly how this town has survived for this long without becoming victim of marauders. Of course, if they have some method of protecting themselves, Pangaea has a population hundreds of thousands of times larger than they, and so we hope to speak with them. Though we also wish to know exactly what our quarry is doing with them.” her face was vacant and emotionless as pondered the possibilities and scenarios, which is what all Collegiae do: consider all possibilities and plan for the worst outcome based on what they know and what they can imagine. She wandered away to the port side of the ship and, holding onto the heavy ropes, gazed over the edge, her black hair flowed freely as the wind was caught in her hood which was blown backwards. She breathed the icy air deeply and turned away to check on her section who by now were sat comfortably three decks below in the recreational centre, most of whom were now eating, some were smoking long wooden pipes filled with tobacco and others simply stared out of the many glass windows lining the walls, though all they could see immediately before them were vast collections of clouds.

[Grif of Hearts]

Although Efari leant against the side of the ship, her hands pressed against the small safety fence and most of her (non-existant) body-weight resting on it, and her head peering over the side at the battlefield below, it was almost completely unnecessary. That was what solids would have to do in order to see over the edges of the airship, not her. Ef could quite easily drop to the ground and experience the fighting herself. Getting back up onto the airship might be a bit more difficult, as the large steam engines pushed it along at a frightful rate, and she wasn't entirely sure that she could fly back that quickly. But Efari could quite have easily just stuck her whole head through the safety bar instead if she wanted to.

But she liked watching battles from afar, even if it was common for her to forget she wasn't quite as physical as the others around her. Chaos in general, now that she thought about it. All of the combat, excitement and tension without all of the grisly details. A few shots were fired from the trenches, picking off those wildmen who straggled behind, and off in the distance a few artillery shells were fired, taking out a few of the larger groups of them that were still holding their formation, if you could even call it that. One shell flew particularly close to the airship that they were all aboard, which made the the deck shudder back and forth for a few moments. Efari raised her hand in the air, shaking it and yelling down to the ground where the artillery cannon was, effing and blinding at the person in charge of it. “Watch where you're bloody shooting! Son of a...”

She didn't finish her sentence, instead heading back over to the rest of the group. Ef has grown bored of the fighting either way, even though the ship itself continued to fire off the odd shot, either from a rifle or from a whole cannon, down to the ground in hopes of catching one of the aegrum in the arm or chest.

The rest of the group seemed to have parted ways, the only person worth noting left on the deck being Woad who had found himself a good perch upon the ship's brow. Efari was tempted to go and join him, at least having someone familiar to chat with, but decided against it, at least until he too vanished towards the ship's command centre. With a faint sigh and a tut, Ef picked up speed, trailing after Woad's footsteps and entering the room that was deemed the command centre. It was filled with people, all operating various pieces of machinery, all vital to keep the airship afloat with such a heavy load, consisting of tons cannons and weaponry that were, in themselves, vital to keep the airship in working order. Wildmen never gave up.

Catching up to Woad, his heavy footsteps clapping against the metal floor, she joined with her own, although most of the time her feet never even touched the ground. Down here it looked much more like a command centre than the pilot's deck. Various documents littered the huge table, mostly consisting of maps for them to use to plot a course for the ship or stock checks, because running out of sufficient coal supplies half way through a trip would not only be embarrassing. It would be down-right dangerous.

Upon arrival at the belly of the beast, where Pandora was already hiding, she answered Efari's question. “The lack of information doesn't bother me all that much, admittedly. I'm just worried that little ole' Woad here might get cold feet and scramble off,” she taunted, although was interrupted by the continuation of Pandora's speech. Efari would have thought that finding out how this town had survived this long to be an obvious part to the mission parameters, not a side thought as Pandora seemed to explain it as. Whatever this man seemed to be involved with must be some extremely high level content for him to be more important than finding a repellent for the aegrum. “But I'm sure we'll manage to find whoever this man is and drag him back for some questioning. If he's dangerous or important enough for us to be called in then the quicker he stops moving about the better. How long 'till we get there, do you think? Soon?”

[Ozymandias]

III

“… I'm just worried that little ole' Woad here might get cold feet and scramble off,” said Efari with a chuckle as she spoke to Pandora. The Adjuvant replied that Efari clearly didn't know Woad particularly well though shortly thereafter recognized the jest. Pandora was silent for a moment as she wondered about the wraith. It was a being of pure energy, yet displayed human characteristics – such as humour, apparently -, which she imagined was taken from her host, Woad. The wraith then questioned how long the journey would be aboard the airship.
---”We have already made good progress by having such tremendous tailwinds. Anora is already far behind and we cross a league every few minutes. Thus, it shan't take us too long, though it won't be instantaneous, so I'd recommend settling yourself in...” said Pandora, wondering if wraiths even feel fatigue, or even sensation. She had read much about them, though Efari was the first she'd met and obviously having none of her own she had no clue how the creature or Woad felt. She wondered how Efari sustained herself and how much of a toll it was having, or would have, on her commander.
---Pandora gazed out of a small window on the port side of the ship and saw they were over the treacherous North Sea which bordered the east side of Pangaea. The ocean swelled with waters cold enough to stop a person's heart in minutes and writhed with creatures darker than any nightmares could imagine hundreds of feet belong the surface. They were called 'Jortrkin' in written Pangaeaic, creatures of immeasurable length, with carapaces as thick and hard as steel. No ships sailed around Pangaea, or any part of the continent, except for fishing vessels in very shallow waters that were often guarded by reefs of corral and passes of rock too narrow for the sea's most feared creature to pass through. Pangaea had many fjords and inland waters where most fishermen preferred to work as going out into the open sea was almost as guaranteed for suicide as stepping into adhéafod ád, the great battlefield outside of Anora. Although her face was vacant and expressionless, Pandora's heart throbbed painfully. She had great anxieties about the oceans, as any Pangaean would, and to be above such a vast body of water was concerning. She took comfort in the fact that the airship was many hundreds of feet about the sea line and even the largest Jortrkin would not be able to snatch them from the air; not that such a thing has ever happened, as they tend to pray on one another for the most part. A human to them would be as insignificant as a single speck of dust to a Man, though the younger creatures had a tendency to attack larger vessels that were unfortunate enough to veer so far off course as to end up in the dark waters of the North Sea.

“Pandora is young,” said Woad to the Sky Lord who sat in a large armchair made of oak and padded with dark brown leather. One of his legs was crossed over the other with an ankle resting on his knee and he sipped from a small clear glass filled with a potent spirit. He offered a drink to Woad, though he declined. He was never fond of the taste of spirits and much preferred the taste of water, or rather the lack thereof, though he often experimented with different fruits to create a pleasant flavour. “But impressive for her age. She's no child, though barely past the age of twenty five. I've been following her progress within the Collegium for some time by now and she's a very skilled leader and tactician. I've given her great responsibilities in keeping an entire platoon of commandos, most of whom she is already familiar with; she was an officer in the Royal Commandos before applying to the Collegium. We have only worked together for barely over a year by now and already I can see she's pushing herself to prove something, to whom I am not sure. Perhaps only to herself. She has the Soveriegn Cross for gallantry and is part of the Order of Merit, which you and I know well that there are only ever twelve members. So of course, Boadicea was more than eager to take on the challenge of tutoring her. She has only recently become qualified to tutor an Adjuvant, though she's taking it all in stride. The girl hasn't slept in two days and is yet working with your crewmen to maintain the ship. I am proud to work these two, William,” he said. The Sky Lord was a very old friend of Woad's, one of whom he had known in the Royal Army. William was once Woad's superior, an officer whilst Woad was of enlisted rank. Woad smiled to himself and lowered his head slightly as he pondered the thought. Even Adjuvants, the newest additions of Collegiae were above the highest ranking military personnel and nobility, though the majority were very humble in the knowledge of this. Pangaea is a nation of great social equality and while the Collegiae are above High Commanders and Sky Lords in terms of rank, great humility is shown and often even the First Lord Major bows in respect to others.

“As proud as I was when you became an Adjuvant,” replied Sky Lord William. The conversation sprawled into various subjects for some time and after two hours or so the airship cast a dark shadow over the treetops of the Black Forest as they descended through the clouds. A comms officer knocked the towering oak door and entered into the Sky Lord's quarters, saluting her commander and the Scholar present before informing them both that they had arrived at the Black Forest.

Woad and William both clambered up the stairs with two officers en tail flanking the Sky Lord as they reached the top deck and peered over the port edge. The black forest was filled with a hundred legions of towering green pine trees. Mist swelled and flowed through the tops of the trees and hung lazily in the air above the dozens of running fresh water streams and lakes. The surrounding area was that of tundra, cold and hard underfoot. Caribou ran past the airship some two hundred paces away, one or two of them stopping to investigate the loud hum of the ship's engines before scurrying off with their friends. The ship lowered itself to a hundred feet above the ground, brushing the tips of the pines and causing a fleet of birds to vacate their branches and make for the skies. Half a dozen triple-braided ropes were cast over the edge of the ship and half of the ship's ground force, which was a team of two dozen men, rappelled down to the ground with loaded muskets in hand. Each man wore the Royal Air Army's blue uniform and on their heads they wore the grey regimental beret. Following them were the ten commandos lead by Pandora. The two sections, commandos and Aedelus Aurorae's ground force formed a perimeter two hundred feet around the ship, forming a complete circle. They searched the area for any sign of aegrum that may have taken refuge in one of the Black Forest region's many caves and secluded areas. For the moment, it was clear of all hostile life, though no man or woman thought such a thing as this region was on the border of the Dead Lands, where the aegrum lived in full number. The forces that besieged Pangaea each night were only a small number of them, those cast out to make room for more. Pandora made her way back to the ship and waved her arms into a cross to signal that it was clear. During this time, Woad had given to Sky Lord William a heavy letter which bore a red seal. He bowed to the Sky Lord and shook his hand as the ship's ground force climbed the ropes and returned to the ship. They had their own mission to attend to whilst the Collegiae and their commando section tended to the Black Forest region. William gave Woad a small nod and bowed his head in respect. He feared for him and those of his company. The Black Forest was as close to the Dead Lands as one could be without stepping passed the border, though neither of them spoke of their fears. They were men and women and thus felt fear, though they were also the strongest that Pangaea had and had chosen to place themselves into the fire to protect others from harm and each person knew that they'd be placing someone else in their boots if they didn't do the job they did, which in their eyes was unacceptable.

“Farewell. We shall speak again in a few nights,” said Woad before rappelling down to the ground with Boadicea en tail. A few moments after they had reached the ground the ropes were brought back up to the deck and the hum of the engines drew louder as the airship began to drift away. Their mission took them further away on a reconnaissance mission, a mission of no consequence in comparison to that given to Woad and his company.

[Grif of Hearts]

“Good to hear,” Efari responded, happy to know that the trip would take a minimal amount of time. She had never been one for extended travel, at least by anything that wasn't on foot, if you ever thought Efari to have ever actually 'walked'. It would likely take more than a few hours though, and it was suggested that both Woad and Efari find themselves a place to settle down for a while until they arrived at the Black Forest.

Ef supposed that, judging by her responses to her questions, that Pandora wasn't particularly well versed in the needs and lifestyle of a wraith. There were only subtle hints in Pandora's speech, but they were enough to be picked up by the wraith who stood in front of her. It could be accepted, as wraiths were rare, so far only known to be partnered with high ranking members of the Collegium. Efari was sure that there were exceptions, although they were bound to be even less common. Never the less, wraiths such as Ef did not need to sleep, per-say, as Pandora might have assumed they did. They grew tired and weary as any living thing would do, mostly during times of great physical exertion, but had no need to sleep as humans might do. All they would need would be a few moments to catch their breath again before they would have successfully recuperated as any human might do after an extensive sprint. But sleeping? No. The closest Efari had ever seen a wraith come to sleeping was some kind of meditative state – something that Ef herself hadn't the patience to try and achieve. Maybe impatience wasn't it. Sleeping just seemed to be so terribly boring. She didn't understand how any human being could stay still for such a long time. Efari would have to find something to occupy her time with, no matter how simplistic it may have been.

Pandora kept glancing back and forth between the window and her two new travelling companions. Ef wasn't entirely sure how far the airship had travelled in the time she had been on board, but she caught glimpses of deep blues and pale blues. The wraith assumed that they must have been above the ocean by now, and that was more than a reason to keep an eye on the waters. Wildmen plagued the lands, but that made the waters no less deadly, as some of the largest and most terrifying threats lurked beneath the deep blue surface. The ship was bound to be high enough to avoid the snapping jaws and writing tentacles of anything dwelling in the oceans, and this one ship was better equipped than half of the Pangaean army put together. They had nothing to fear.

When the woman, Pandora, left the room to tend to her own things, Efari left too. Woad had begun a conversation with the captain of the airship it seemed, and she had no interest in the conversation, nor did she want to intrude on Woad and the captain seemingly catching up on old times. Instead, she spent this time to familiarise herself with the ship, slowly passing down one of the various corridors that lined the inside of the ship. Learning the physical aspects of the ship would put her into a position of usefulness aboard the ship, and while Ef doubted she could be much use to the crew (as if she would offer her services to them anyway, both because the current crew were working just fine and Efari's own sense of pride told her to go about her own business), knowledge of it might be of some use to someone.

Most of the crew that the blue spirit passed seemed to either stare at her, quite unsure of what she was exactly, or shield their eyes completely, not wanting to draw attention to themselves. The remainder of the crew seemed even less knowledgeable of the existence of wraiths in common use by the Collegium than Pandora did. They seemed to think that, though, assuming that Efari wasn't stopping them from completing their jobs or making their tasks about the ship more difficult or time consuming, she would be allowed to remain around the machinery for the time being. She had little else to do after all, and while she seldom spoke to any of the engineers scurrying around the ship, watching them work actually passed the time quite well. Eventually though, Ef found herself atop the airship once more. She could already see the peaks of the Black Forest from here, faded from view by a thin layer of mist and fog, which was not uncommon for the area, or so she had been told. It appeared quite peaceful, which was far from the truth, as it was known to be plagued by the wildmen. But so far, all was quiet, bar the sounds of the engines which propelled the contraption forward. No screams or gunfire.

Woad and Pandora made their way to the deck of the ship too, along with the captain of the airship, She knew that the captain would remain on-board, but Woad and Pandora were bound to be readying themselves to be deployed back onto solid ground now that they had arrived above the forest. Efari joined them, giving a gentle nod to both of them. Several soldiers poured out from the belly of the airship, adorned in blues and greys of the Royal Air Army. Efari knew full well that just the three of them would be unable to survive should the aegerum attack them in full force, which they always did unless caught by surprise. Many of them used ropes to lower themselves down below the airship, touching down on the dirt and mud that matted the forest floors. Ef could see their movements. Slow and cautious. If there were wildmen hanging around the area, alerting them would be a terrible mistake. The soldiers made a quick but thorough search of the immediate area, searching for any kind of hostile life, but by the lack of musket fire and yelling, they had found none.

Ef, eager to join those that had already landed, almost threw herself from the deck of the airship, landing slowly and carefully down onto solid ground, kicking up a little dust as she dropped down. Woad soon followed, relying on a rope to help himself down as the soldiers did, and then by Boadicea. The engines about them roared, but then faded off into the background before vanishing altogether. There ride had left to provide assistance on another part of the continent, no doubt.

Although the wraith knew that the soldiers were competent enough to secure the area, she still took it upon herself to keep a keen eye on the surroundings, as if expecting a wildman to leap out at the group. They had a habit of doing that. “Which way is it to this 'town' then, or are we expected to pick a direction or hope for the best?” She smirked.

[Ozymandias]

IV

As Woad landed on the solid ground after rappelling down from the airship, a cloud of dust hung lazily around his feet. He landed with a heavy thud, his steel-toed boots leaving a deep impression on the dirt, detailed furthermore as the metal plates within his armour, which was concealed by his clothing, as well as his gear weighed him down. He unslung his musket from his shoulder and peered about him. He breathed deeply and exhaled slowly, watching the fine mist of his breath disappear into the air a moment later. He watched the grey-white mist that was common to Pangaea and lands further north swirl and hang lazily around trees and along the entire lengths of various streams.
---The shadow cast over the region Woad was standing in slowly began to retreat as the sun peaked over the snow-capped mountains on the horizon. It wasn't particularly dark as it was, though when the sun reached its zenith the company would be relatively easy to spot if they remained where they were, which they certainly didn't plan on doing. Thankfully the area they were in was often concealed from wildmen beyond the border of the Dead Lands due to the vast curtains of mist and fog.

“Which way is it to this 'town' then, or are we expected to pick a direction or hope for the best?” said Efari. Woad was standing immediately next to her, so he assumed she was talking to him. He'd known the wraith for a fair time now and he knew she seemed to have a rather sarcastic, dry nature about her. He had no idea where that came from.

“You should know by now that commandos are trained in tracking. There are thirteen of us here, plus yourself, so it won't be long till we find something significant.” said Woad as he gradually loaded his musket, which was kept empty on board the airship. Pandora had wandered some hundred feet or so away with her section and was directing them to and fro as they searched the area. Men appeared out of various caverns and caves waving their arms to Pandora to signify that there was nothing inside save for more rocks and the odd pool of stagnant water.

A few minutes passed as Pandora recalled the commandos who thereafter stood in a semi-circle in front of their commander as well as Boadicea and Woad. Woad then informed them of the immediate objective, which was to scour the immediate area for bi-pedal tracks. There were dozens of footprints around belonging to caribou, bears and other beasts though so far no human prints could be seen. Pandora split the section into two groups of three and one of four and thereafter each was lead by Pandora, Boadicea and Woad respectively, all of whom then began to trudge their way through the Black Forest and its surrounding area within a hundred yard radius of another group.

The commandos were each trained extensively in tracking for such a mission as this: to find a missing person, or rather one that was actively evading capture. Two men from each group scoured the ground in front of them a few feet apart from one another, while the others kept watch over them and also kept an eye on the border of the forest. Woad lead the group of four men and thus chose to join the tracking rather than guard. Several minutes passed as the groups searched under every bush and turned over ever stone. Thereafter they came upon a wide gulley, hidden mostly by dark mist along the horizon. It was filled with dozens of sharp, jagged rocks with a single narrow stream running along its length. Woad carefully climbed down the sharp rocks and stepped onto the muddy surface of the gully. He had spotted something within the mist and sought to investigate it.

As he stepped towards the stream, crossing over various rocks and beds of pebbles to reach it, Woad saw the dull impressions of footsteps present in the muddy ground, some of which were barely recognizable as the water had contorted them. Several sets of footprints could be seen moving in the same direction – vaguely north – each with irregular steps, some deeper than others, some larger and others smaller. There were also thick lines through the ground, each set had roughly a foot of distance between them which Woad identified to be the marks of boots being dragged. He then surmised that wild men were certainly in the area very recently as the heavy rain throughout the night would have otherwise washed the prints away. He waved to Pandora and Boadicea who were both on either of Woad's flanks, still searching. He beckoned them down to him, and they did so after instructing their cohorts to guard the area they were stood in; bringing every man into the gully would be asking for trouble.

“There are many tracks here. Some of which indicate a sacking. Here – these look like drag marks to me and here – immediately beside them – you can see the prints are significantly deeper than others. Whoever was here was primarily here recently and was also carrying something heavy, or someone of course. They're heading parallel to the forest's border from what I can see through the mist and we know the vague location of the village is also in that direction – a few degrees off to the west, of course. Be on your guard – we now know we aren't alone in the immediate area, rather than simply speculating it. Be wary.”

[Grif of Hearts]

“I know,” replied Efari, nudging Woad gently with her elbow. “Doesn't mean that we're not going to be stumbling around aimlessly for the first half an hour before we stumble into something that's worth following, or at least investigating. I know it's all we've got, really, but that does mean it's all we've got to go by. Just being a pessimist, you know that.”

She knew that the Commandos were meant to be skilled in tracking and combat in these kind of wilderness conditions, but that didn't mean that she trusted everyone who said they were skilled in an area of expertise. Only a fool would do so, or at least Ef thought, as the Commandos began to return from their small trek, clambering out of caves and trenches, finding nothing that needed the attention of their superiors. Efari hadn't expected much, as usually the wildmen would charge in at the first sign of life. The fact that they weren't meant that there might not been an aegrum for miles around. If anything, that worried her more than a horde of them did, because these forests were meant to be thick with wildmen. There wasn't even a corpse to signal that the beasts had walked through here. There were few signs that anyone or anything had stepped on this land in years beyond the knuckle sized circles implanted in the dirt, which were likely made deer or caribou.

Efari, however, complained no more, letting the Commandos get on with whatever work they felt necessary to pick up a trail of some sort. They lead group, some keeping watch at the ground while most keep their eyes level and their guns ready, expecting some kind of attack. Ef was equally alert, as was Woad, it seemed. The others seemed to have noticed how eerily quiet it was already, and were ready to jump at the slightest sound that wasn't their own footprints. The groups of Commandos were split into three, lead by Woad, Pandora and Boadicea respectively. The others may have assumed that Efari would have flocked to join with Woad's party, but she did not, instead covering the rear of the group, trying to ensur that the group weren't snuck up on by members of the aegrum, if they were even capable of stealth. Usually they moved with heavy footsteps and screams of pain and fury, so it seemed unlikely, but it looked like just about anything could hide between the thick tree trunks that composed the Black Forest whether they wanted to or not. Ef was surprised that she had not lost the rest of the group already, although was careful to keep within a good distance of them. They wouldn't be too hard to find if lost, but she would rather not have to go through the bother of finding them.

The sound of running water broke the moment of silence, the source of which was swiftly found by the Commandos. The wraith who had once been watching their tracks quickly caught up, and saw that the thin layer of mist that could be spotted from on board the airship hadn't just taken the skies, as it hung lower here, making seeing what was on the other side of the gulley difficult to tell. More forest, obviously, but what about wildmen? Efari did not know them to wait and ambush their prey, but she had not seen them often in their homelands. Just when they attacked in an endless horde.

The wraith followed as various members began to traverse across the sharp rocks of the gulley, following in Woad's example. Efari need not bother with such an effort, gliding gracefully down to meet Woad. He had found some footsteps, as observant as he was, moving along the side of the stream. No ordinary people would be stupid enough to wander through the Black Forest, so it was safe to assume that these were aegrum footprints. Along with the thick lines that had been dug in beside them which even Efari could tell were drag marks, they were on the right trail.

Woad spoke briefly, although Efari knew what he was to say, and instead, began her own journey following the footsteps, slowly enough so that the group could see she hadn't wandered off too far but enough to successfully take the lead this time. “Come on, children. Hurry on now, we're going to be late,” she called back to the group, possibly a little too loudly. She pivoted on the spot, turning back to the group. “Besides, if those drag marks were made by the one we're searching for then we probably don't have much time left. The wildmen aren't known to be the best hosts.”

Efari turned back and continued along the path laid out for the group by the wildmen, keeping her eyes firlmy on the ground to make sure she didn't step off of the path by accident.